The Constitution

The Constitution
The Constitution

Friday, May 26, 2017

The Gettysburg Address

Today, we will be learning about perhaps the greatest presidential speech of all time.  Click on the link to start the lesson:  The Gettysburg Address



Thursday, May 25, 2017

Civil War Simulation

Today we will begin our study of the Civil War.  First, you will click on the first link below to play a simulation where you make decisions as either a member of the Union or of the Confederacy.  When you have completed the simulation, click on the second link to a Google Doc that you will copy to your account.  Complete this document of the major Civil War battles.


1.  Civil War Simulation

2.  Civil War Battles Google Doc

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Civil War Newspaper

Civil War Newspaper Assignment
Due May 23rd

This project is worth 40 pts.


Imagine that you are a reporter during the Civil War.  What kind of writer would you be?  What type of things would you like to write about?  In this assignment you will write as if you were a reporter during the War.  First, you have to decide if you will be writing from the perspective of a Southerner or a Northerner.  Then you have to give your newspaper a name such as the “Gettysburg Gazette”.  Your newspaper will contain at least four articles and you can choose any event that occurred between the years 1860-1865 in American history.  You need to write the articles as if the events you described happened just a few days ago.  Each article should be a minimum of 100 words.

Your grade will be determined by how well you describe the events, how many details you provide in your articles and the thoroughness of your research.   Each article should also have a headline.   Grammar, spelling and punctuation errors will result in a loss of points for each individual article.

There should be no excess white space in your newspaper. You should include pictures with captions, political cartoons, advertisements, etc. to complete your newspaper.  All pictures, political cartoons, advertisements, etc.  must be relevant to the time period.

The newspaper must be done on the computer.  You will assemble your newspaper using Google Docs.

You must use at least 3 resources other than your textbook for the newspaper.  Internet sources are acceptable as long as they come from reputable academic sites and are properly cited.  (Do not cite Wikipedia as a source)  Each article that you write should have a live link that I can click on to see the source.

THE ARTICLES MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS.  DO NOT COPY AND PASTE TEXT INTO YOUR WORK WITHOUT GIVING PROPER CREDIT TO THE AUTHOR.   It helps to write the article with a biased view (Northern or Southern).  Quotes are great, just make sure they are in quotation marks and that you have cited the source in the article.


ARTICLE #1 – A NEWS STORY:   Your first article will describe a major event from the War.  Give specific details from the event and make sure that you include all of the important points about the event.  You need to give information on the background of the event so that the reader will understand what led up to the event.


ARTICLE #2 – A NEWS STORY:    This article is the same as the first.  Just describe an event that happened around the same time as the first event.  If you want to you can write a story that is related to the first.  For example, the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg occurred at the same time.  Your first story could be about Gettysburg and the second about Vicksburg.  Or you could write about the Battle of Antietam in your first article and you can write about the Emancipation Proclamation for your second article.


ARTICLE #3 – SPECIAL INTEREST STORY OR A BIOGRAPHY:    This article is about an individual that is directly involved in the War.  You can write about a real person such as Robert E. Lee or U.S. Grant or you can make up a fictional character such as a Union or Confederate soldier.  If you choose to write about a real person you need to include details about their background such as where they were born, where they were educated and how they got involved in the war.  You need to include details about the role they played in the war and the impact they had on the outcome of the war.   If you choose to do a fictional person you also need to give details about the background of the individual and create a plausible reason for that person to be involved in the war.  Although this person is made up, you need to give details about real events that your fictional person might have been involved in.


ARTICLE #4 – EDITORIAL:    This article is an editorial.  That means you need to pick a controversial topic and give your opinion on the topic.  You should write this article in the first person and in such a way as to persuade the reader to see things the way you do.  If you think that the North should let the South secede with fighting, talk about how costly the Civil War is in terms of both money and lives.  Talk about how hard it would be to reconcile with the slave owning states after the war was over.  Like all the other articles you need to include historical facts in your editorial.

Newspaper example from my class


Suggested Resources:

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Causes of the Civil War Test

After you finish the test today, please go to the following link:  HS Transition Survey

When finished with the survey, please watch:   Crash Course: The Civil War


Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Flight to Freedom

Today you will begin an interactive game called "Flight to Freedom".
Click on the link to begin the lesson:  Flight to Freedom

Monday, March 20, 2017

Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion

Today, we will begin our unit on Westward Expansion with an explanation of Manifest Destiny, some map practice, and a timeline.


Click on the following link to begin your lesson:  Westward Expansion Map



Thursday, March 9, 2017

"I can" Reflections

Click on the following link for today's assignment: "I can"

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Monday, March 6, 2017

Elections of 1824 and 1828

If you missed class today, we began our unit on the Presidency of Andrew Jackson.  Take a look at the Google Presentation below to learn about the elections of 1824-1828

Monday, February 27, 2017

The War of 1812

Today you will begin creating a presentation for the War of 1812

Your presentation should cover the following topics:  (these are not in order- your presentation should be in chronological order)

The Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of New Orleans
The Burning of Washington D.C.
The Declaration of War
The Hartford Convention
The Treaty of Ghent
The Star Spangled Banner (Battle of Ft. McHenry)
James Madison

Your presentation should include primary documents for each of these events.

Primary Documents

You may use any presentation tool that you wish to use (Google Slides, Prezi, etc.)

How to get an 'A' on this assignment

Simple example of a presentation that uses primary sources

Another example in a different style

Below is an example of a slide I made for you in class.





Your presentation is due on Friday







Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Life during the Industrial Revolution

Click on the link for Thursday and Friday assignment:  Life during the Industrial Revolution



The Industrial Revolution Web Quest

Today, you will be completing an Industrial Revolution Web quest.  Click here to copy the Google Doc to your account, complete the webquest, and share with me:  Webquest




Tuesday, February 21, 2017

The Industrial Revolution

Today, we begin our study of the Industrial Revolution.  If you were in class today, you received a hand-out of inventions to identify.  If not, click on the following link to get a Google Doc:
The Industrial Revolution Assignment

Make sure you share it with me.



Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Louisiana Purchase Map

Today we will create a map of the United States as it appeared in 1803.  The map should contain each of the following:






1) Label the states that existed at the time of the purchase.
2) Color the Louisiana Territory (create a map legend).
3) Label the river that marks the eastern boundary of the Louisiana Territory.
4) Label the following rivers:
-Missouri
-Ohio
-Columbia
-Snake
5) Label Pike's Peak
6) Label New Orleans
7) Draw and label route taken by Louis and Clark
8) Label: Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; Gulf of Mexico
9) Color Oregon Territory (use map legend)
10) Color U.S. Territories (use map legend)

Monday, February 13, 2017

The Louisiana Purchase

The purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France in October 1803 doubled the size of the United States and foreshadowed its emergence as a global power. The purchase marked an unprecedented use of executive power by President Thomas Jefferson and evoked strong resistance from Federalists. In this lesson, a timeline of the purchase along with letters by Federalist leaders help you to decide whether practical concerns or political agendas motivated the opposition.
You will all be answering questions today from the assignment- however, there are four groups of you that need different types of questions.  Click on the link color that I assign in class to go to the proper Google Doc.  Copy the document, answer the questions, then share with me.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Is President Trump's "Travel Ban" Constitutional?

Click on the following link to complete the assignment and share with me:
President Trump's Travel Ban.




               

            VS

The 9th Federal District Court has ruled on the Travel Ban.  Click on the following link to watch a video about the decision and read the article that follows:  9th Federal District Court Decision


Today, students received a worksheet on the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798.  If you were absent, you will have to get this when you return to school, complete it, and turn in.

Monday, February 6, 2017

The Presidency of George Washington

Today you will be learning about some of the important events that occurred during the presidency of George Washington.

Go to the following link to start the lesson: Google Doc Questions

You will need to answer questions and share with me.

Poster Assignment:
Create a poster that supports or opposes the actions of George Washington during one of the following events:

-The Neutrality Proclamation
-Jay's Treaty
-Pinckney's Treaty
-The Whiskey Rebellion

Your poster should:
-Either support the action or oppose the action taken by George Washington.
-Include details about the event.
-Attempt to persuade person viewing the poster that the handling of event was good or bad.
-Be colorful and neat.
-Turned in on Wednesday, February 8th (along with the Google Doc questions).




Thursday, January 26, 2017

Separation of Powers

Today, you will see the concept of separation of powers in action.
Click on the following link to play the game:  Branches of Power

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

The Bill of Rights

As we know, the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to guarantee certain basic rights.  Today, you will go to icivics and play a game where you will be a lawyer in a law firm that specializes in Constitutional law.
Click on the following link to play: Do I have a right?



Friday, January 20, 2017

Supreme Decision

Ever wondered how the Supreme Court really works? In Supreme Decision, you help cast the deciding vote. At stake is the suspension of Ben Brewer who wore his favor band t-shirt to school against dress policy. You’ll help the final Justice make up her mind and influence the outcome of the case!

Click on the following link for today's lesson:  Supreme Decision

For those of you who have not finished the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial webquests, please do so, and share with me.





Wednesday, January 18, 2017

The Judicial Branch- Courts in a Nutshell Webquest

The Courts in a Nutshell

A Court is Born!

What if there were only one court in the entire United States? Would that be enough? The Constitution of the United States created just one court: the Supreme Court. But you probably already know that today there are LOTS of courts. What happened?
Well, for one thing, each state has its own state court system. But somehow, a whole network of federal courts also came into existence...

Click on the following link to start webquest:  
Click on the following link to find questions for the webquest:
Google Doc questions for the webquest

If you finish early, you may play the following game:
Court Quest

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Being President Webquest- Executive Branch

Being President

Play by the Rulebook

So, how does the president know what to do every day? The president’s basic job description is in a very special place: the Constitution!
The Constitution is the government's official rulebook, and it explains what powers and responsibilities the president has. It even includes the oath that the president must say before taking office!
Click on the following link to start the webquest:  Being President
To answer the questions on the webquest, you will need to click on the following Google Doc and copy it to your account:  (make sure you share answers with me)
If you finish early, you may play the following game:






Friday, January 13, 2017

Legislative Branch: Making Laws Webquest

Making Laws

Our Nation's Lawmakers

Who gets the important job of making laws? Congress! This is the legislature (or lawmaking group) for our country.
Today, you will go on a webquest to answer questions about Congress.  
Click on the following link to find the webquest:  

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

The 3/5 Compromise

Today in class, we will be analyzing the pros and cons of the 3/5 compromise for the purposes of representation in the House of Representatives.
Our historical question for the day is :  "Was the 3/5 Compromise fair?"



Tuesday, January 10, 2017

The Great Compromise

Click on the following link to read about the Great Compromise and answer questions:
The Great Compromise

When you have answered all of the questions correctly, you may play the following game at icivics:
Represent Me!




Tuesday, January 3, 2017

The Revolutionary War Presentation

Click on the following link for today's assignment:  Revolution Presentation