Voting Rights

We began class today with a look at the March on Washington from August, 1963. We narrowed our focus to an examination of the speech that John Lewis prepared to give and the one that he actually gave during the rally on the National Mall.  Here is a LINK to those documents.  We then watched Eyes on the Prize: Power and the Vote which introduced Malcolm X and followed the activities of activists from SNCC and CORE in Mississippi during Freedom Summer of 1964. You can see the video by watching both of these clips: Power and the Vote 1 and Power and the Vote 2. After our discussion about Freedom Summer, we watched the next phase of the movement in Eyes on the Prize: Selma which showed the continued pressure applied by activists as they planned a march from Selma to Montgomery in the winter of 1965 to highlight the voting discrimination that continued to plague Alabama and other areas of the South.  You can see the video by watching both of these clips: Selma 1 and Selma 2.
After Mr. Kramer explained the Voting Rights Act of 1965, students were given a series of current articles and statements by John Lewis, concerning the current status of voting rights as well as commentary on the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases. Students were asked to read those for Friday and potentially use them as a basis for Friday's "Sharing Your Voice" activity (see the post from earlier this week).
All of our notes and reflections today were done in a different format than normal. Instead of using our journals, we put details, quotations, reflections, images, and interpretations on big paper, forming a collage of ideas from these periods.  Here is an example:

Rachel's 1964-65 Collage

Birmingham

Today in class we finished our discussion of Native Son, Book II. Then we explored the Birmingham campaign of 1963.  You can see the video that we looked at in class by watching both of the following clips: Birmingham Part I and Birmingham Part II.  We followed that by taking a close look at excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham City Jail, focusing on the detail, structure, and philosophy of individual quotes and then presenting their meanings in a series of physical tableau with our groups.

Sharing Your Voice

As we explained in class today, we will set aside time on Friday for you to share your voice - to freely express your thoughts about the recent series of events we have been discussing, including the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases and the protests that followed.  Perhaps you want to lead us in a discussion, play a song or video, write a poem, give a speech, or anything else you'd like to express. The time is yours - we are simply giving you the forum and opportunity.

Please use this form by the end of class on Wednesday to sigh up for a time slot.  We'd like to be able to make sure everyone has the opportunity to share / participate.

Sharing Your Voice registration form

Native Son Book 2

Today we'll be continuing our look at Native Son by focusing in on Bigger Thomas.  We will begin with a piece of individual writing considering two key moments from Book Two.  Then, in our groups, we will consider not merely his actions but also the factors and motivations that are influencing those actions.
To do so, each of your groups will be assigned one section of Book Two to examine with one person taking notes on this CHART.  In your discussions you will be asked to consider the aggravating and mitigating circumstances surrounding Bigger's actions.
Mitigating circumstances are circumstances that partially explain or excuse behavior. Mitigating circumstances are often referred to in the legal context as factors that make a crime or other action more understandable. Mitigating circumstances are not an absolute excuse, and do not mean that no culpability will be attached to the actions; they simply mean that the actions are viewed as less egregious in light of the circumstances. Mitigating factors are the opposite of aggravating factors. Aggravating factors are those factors that make a crime or other action seem more egregious, such as prior felony convictions or choosing an especially vulnerable victim.

For your discussion of the mitigating and aggravating factors surrounding Bigger's actions, you will take note that some of these will be “internal” factors, in other words things that Bigger is thinking or telling the reader about his behavior that might be considered mitigating (things that help to explain his behavior) or aggravating (things that make his behavior seem more egregious or outrageous).  Others will be “external” factors or in other words things from other people or society around him that might be considered mitigating or aggravating circumstances. When finished, you will be asked to share your findings.

Strategies for Change

Last week we explored the legal strategy that went into the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Mr. Kramer used this powerpoint lecture to lead us through the strategy and then we looked at the key excerpts from the decision itself to understand the change in the law as a result of the strategy. When looking at the decision in CDW or AR, make sure that you understand the holding and the reasoning behind it.
We also looked at the decision's direct impact on schools by watching a video about the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.  You can watch a long form of the video HERE (the first 30 minutes or so highlight the Little Rock 9).  We discussed the different forms of resistance shown from multiple perspectives in the story.
We closed the week by reading a fictionalized account of the Emmett Till case and then a short VIDEO showing the key elements of the story.  We discussed the different forms of resistance shown by Emmett Till, Mamie Till Bradley, Mose Wright, as well as J.T. Milam and Roy Bryant.
We then talked about how the "Emmett Till" generation would react to the Jim Crow society that continued around them first by looking back at Little Rock, and then by watching this VIDEO about the Sit-In movement in Nashville in 1960.

Native Son into the Harlem Renaissance

Yesterday in class we continued our look at Native Son by sharing our intial work on pages 1-42 with this chart. We then followed that by using this second chart to begin to make conclusions about how the topic of fear is represented in the novel.  We created new "scenes" by combining important quotations.
Today in class we will be looking at the Harlem Renaissance by focusing on the works of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.  We will also be examining these paintings by Archibold Motley and Jacob Lawrence. We will finish class by writing a paragraph in which students will be asked to evaluate the Harlem Renaissance as a response to the Jim Crow Era.  This paragraph is due tomorrow in class.
Here are the paintings we'll be looking at in class.

"Cocktails" by Archibald Motley

"Nightlife" by Archibald Motley

Migration Series: Panel #3 by Jacob Lawrence

Lynching

After our day exploring responses to the Jim Crow era by looking at Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois creatively with the use of Haiku, today we worked to put additional information on the table to further inform how we may evaluate ways in which to respond.  First we brought our attention back to the present day with a discussion of Eric Garner and the New York grand jury's failure to press charges against the police officer involved. We then read and talked about this ARTICLE and how the information from our webquests and documents might have influenced the author.  After a segue into the topic of lynching, we looked at Without Sanctuary, a short film with images of lynchings put to the music of Billie Holliday as she sings Strange Fruit.  A different version of the images can be found HERE (although it has narration rather than the music). The song can be found HERE.  After responding to the images in our notebooks, we worked to answer some questions by reading excerpts from Hellhounds an essay by Leon Litwack.
We spent the last part of class thinking about the first part of Native Son.  In groups, we were assigned one section of Book One to consider and filled out this CHART corresponding to that section.  We'll continue our look at Book One on Monday.

Plessy and Jim Crow

Today in class we reviewed our conclusions about Reconstruction. We then discussed the 14th Amendment (CDW p. 296) and discussed the Plessy v. Ferguson Decision (CDW p. 423) by using these QUESTIONS.
During the 2nd part of class, we explored what kind of society the Plessy decision created (Jim Crow) by completing and discussing these WEB ACTIVITIES with partners and keeping track of our conclusions in our notebooks.

Ferguson - linking history and current events

Last week's events in Ferguson, Missouri raised a wide range of questions as well as links to historical events.  We'll start today by looking at some articles published over the weekend, and then ask our own questions about what else we need to know to fully understand them.

Here is a link to the handout of excerpts we used in class.

Here are some links to some other articles that might be helpful:

• "What Happened in Ferguson?" - New York Times
• "Barack Obama, Ferguson, and the Evidence of Things Unsaid" - The Atlantic

Here are the questions we generated in response to the articles we read

--

During the second part of class today we were in the computer lab, catching up with the historical chronology by looking at the era of Reconstruction in the years after the Civil War.

Here is a link to the chart you'll use for your work

Here is a link to the website we'll use

Lincoln conclusions assignment

Greetings from the White House!

Today in class we focused on interpreting the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural by going over the document analysis questions that correspond to those speeches. We also discussed Sherman's March to the Sea and the concept of Total War.
We closed class by introducing the assignment that we will be doing in class tomorrow which focuses on the question: How should Lincoln be remembered?

Click here for a link to your assignment.

Click here for a link to the prep sheet

Click here for a link to the LucidChart example





Use these abbreviations in your chart:

• HD = "House Divided"
• LD = Lincoln-Douglas debate
• 1st = 1st Inaugural address
• Col = Lincoln's speech on colonization
• HG = Lincoln's response to Horace Greeley
• EP = Emancipation Proclamation
• GA = Gettysburg address
• 2nd = 2nd inaugural

The Gettysburg Address

Today in class we read Frederick Douglass' Men of Color, To Arms! which is in CDW.  We answered the questions on the analysis sheet as we explored how the Emancipation Proclamation was the impetus for Douglass' editorial and the impact of blacks being allowed to fight in the Civil War.  We then watched and discussed "Bottom Rail on Top", another scene from Ken Burns' The Civil War that showed us the NY Draft Riots and the role of African-Americans in the War.  We closed the first part of class by listening to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and thinking about why the ideas he expressed were necessary for the Union in the fall of 1863.
During the 2nd part of class students performed their own reading of the Gettysburg Address that we then posted to Ken Burns' website learntheaddress.org.  You can find our version HERE.
There is also an addition to the homework for the weekend. Students need to answer the analysis questions about the Gettysburg Address from the document analysis worksheet  and read and annotate Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural (AR) in addition to the DH readings listed on the calendar.

Group work - Lincoln's thoughts in August, 1862

We began class today by assigning everyone to read one of three documents in the packet:

• Horace Greeley's letter to Abraham Lincoln, A Prayer for Twenty Millions
• Lincoln's Address on Colonization
• Frederick Douglass' response to Lincoln, The President and his Speeches.

We then broke up into groups to create a Lucidchart that traced the factors that influenced Lincoln's beliefs in 1862 (See the linked directions).

Here is a link to the directions for today's group work.

When we finished and shared our Lucidcharts, we then returned  to the classroom to watch The Higher Object, a scene from Ken Burns' documentary.  When finished, we read The Emancipation Proclamation and then answered the questions from the packet about it.

Lincoln and the start of The Civil War

Today in class we took a quiz corresponding to the DH readings for today.  We then watched the clip "Secessionitis" from Ken Burns' The Civil War taking notes as we watched.  The video closed with the context surrounding Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address.  We explored that speech in the American Reader by answering the questions in the document analysis worksheet that is posted in the Unit 5 tab above.  As we discussed differing interpretations of the legalities of secession, the Union, and the motivations of both sides for war, we then brought in Frederick Douglass' viewpoint by reading the editorials titled "Nemesis" and "How to End the War" (both are found in the Lincoln/Douglass reading packet posted in the Unit 5 tab).  We responded to the questions about Douglass' editorials in the document analysis packet.

John Brown-Is violence justified in pursuit of a noble cause?

Today we began by doing a short in-class writing where students were asked to take two of the annotations that they made as they read Thoreau's A Plea for Captain John Brown, explain the quotations and describe why they were annotated.  They were also asked to use those to describe what Thoreau was arguing in the essay overall.
We then watched a clip from Ken Burns' The Civil War, called "The Meteor" which provided some additional perspectives on John Brown.  The notetaking sheet that we used with it is posted in the Unit Tab above.
We finished class with a series of fishbowl discussions about Thoreau's essay where we explored the following topics: when (if ever) is violence justified; how should John Brown be remembered; and in what way is John Brown "the most American of us all"?

The rise of Abraham Lincoln / Ongoing issue of slavery

We started today by watching an excerpt from Ken Burns's documentary, The Civil War. In the chapter, "A House Divided," we heard about ways in which issues surrounding slavery continue to plague the country, from "bleeding Kansas" to the beating of Senator Charles Sumner in the US Capitol to the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Here are a few excerpt from Uncle Tom's Cabin so you can get a sense of the ways in which it expressed the horrors of slavery.

Back in the groups we used for our study of Huck, we read several speeches from Lincoln, including his House Divided Speech and excerpts from his debates with Stephen Douglas.  The worksheet that we used is linked in the Unit 5 tab above (labeled Document Analysis Worksheet) and here.  Just to make sure you remember the difference, between Senator Stephen Douglas and Frederick Douglass, former slave,
here is Stephen Douglas:

and here is Frederick Douglass:

Huck: The Final Day

On Monday in class, we explored ideas from the end of the novel by using this WORKSHEET.  We also handed out the ESSAY that students will write to finish this unit.
For today, we will be discussing the last chapter of the novel as well as the Toni Morrison and Jane Smiley critiques from the back of our version of the book.  If you are using a different version, use the hyperlinks above to see these pieces (they are also posted in the Unit 4 tab above).  In groups we discussed each author's interpretation of the novel and identified three main points from each author.
The second part of class today will be spent working on the closing essay.

Huck - chapters 32-39 - Phelps Plantation

Today you returned to your groups - our work for the day is described here:

• Huck groups day 2 handout

After a class discussion about the end of chapter 31, we identified Huck, a 13-14 year-old boy, as both manipulative and well aware of the power of language.  He fools the duke into thinking he is heading in the wrong direction, and uses the n-word to powerful effect.

The events in these chapters are confusing and frustrating in many ways, revolving around the return of Tom.  We'll see how things play out in the final chapters over the weekend!

Huck - chapter 31

Here are some images of Spanish Moss - described by Huck at the start of chapter 31.

Today in class you read the first part of this pivotal chapter, up to the point when Huck wrote then tore up the letter he was going to send Miss Watson.  Jim was sold by the king and duke and Huck now commits to freeing him.  But at what risk? What does this decision mean for Huck?

Images of Jim

The collection of images below comes from a variety of versions of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn published over the last 140 years.  They represent different parts of the novel, so as you view them you might see references to specific events, while others of them are simply portraits of the character.

1. Scroll through the images slowly and consider: Which image of Jim best reflects your sense of this character at this point in the novel?
2. Once you have selected an image, go to this link - it is a folder containing all of the images, although they are in a variety of sizes and not in the same order.  
3. Find and copy your image.  
4. Open a new Google document and title it - Images of Jim.  
5. Paste your image into the document, followed by a short personal explanation about why you chose that image.
6. Go back to the novel and identify a section corresponding to this interpretation of Jim. It might be something he says, something Huck says about him, or a piece of description.
7. Return to your document.  Insert the quotation, including page / chapter information, and explain it - when is it said, and by whom? what is it conveying about Jim? how? why?
8. Identify an image that portrays a different perspective - one held by a character in the book.
9. Copy and paste that image into the document.
10. Go back to the novel and identify a section corresponding to this interpretation of Jim. It might be something said by another character, or a piece of description.
11. Return to your document.  Insert the quotation, including page / chapter information, and explain it - when is it said, and by whom? what is it conveying about Jim? how? why?
12. Write a short conclusion - are the two images you selected (for #1 and #8) similar or different? Why?  What conclusions can you make as a result of seeing these two images together?

Satire - What is it? How is Twain using it?

Yesterday we read several examples of satire.  We discussed what it is and how it is done.  In groups, you identified potential places in the text where Twain might be using satire, thinking about what commentary he might be making about the world in which Huck and Jim exist, as well as the time and place in which the novel is set - mid 19th century America.  At the close of the day you worked with your group to start a map of this section of the novel.

Here is a link to the handout from yesterday.

The Dred Scott decision / Huck Finn continues

We spent the first part of class today going through the details of the Dred Scott decision.  We will continue to keep track of the ways in which the decision - and the dissent - play a role in mid-19th century America.

After we collected your journals, you worked individually to read and answer these questions about chapters 14 and 15 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  If you did not complete the packet in class, we asked you to do so for homework.  Also, for the weekend reading - chapters 16-23 - you do not need to write a journal entry. Just keep notes / annotations of what happens.

Here is the map we shared about where the action of the novel is taking place:

12 Years a Slave, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and evolving laws about slavery

We watched 12 Years A Slave together in E116. After the film you gathered some of your thoughts in response to this powerful film.  We will continue to refer to it throughout the next units, including looking back at the film clips and audio recordings we used last week.

For our opening look at The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn we discussed Huck, Pap, and Jim.  For Huck we noted how he wanted to avoid being "sivilized" and decided to do something about it: "I lit out." In terms of Pap, his abusive and alcoholic father, Huck's decision to escape took on another shade of meaning.  His escape, which included making an elaborate scene that appeared to be his own murder, also reflected his imagination and the ways in which he wants to impress his friend Tom, and have his life mirror what he read in books.  As for Jim, we read the same words, "I lit out," to describe his escape, but for him it was for a different reason: he heard the might be sold down the river to New Orleans.

This threat paralleled not only ideas from the film, but also the description you read last night.

In class today we talked about compromise in terms of new states entering the country as slave or free. We used Chromebooks to look at other examples of the changing laws about slavery.

Abolitionism

Today in class we discussed different methods and reasons that abolitionists used to justify their actions and then tried to connect their ideas and actions with Thoreau's.  We divided the readings on this CHART and then shared our conclusions in groups.
During the 2nd part of class, we heard Mr. Kramer read Frederick Douglass' "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" (AR 203 or CDW 157) and then answered these QUESTIONS in our groups.  We closed by reading the final section of the speech that is not printed in either the American Reader or Crossing the Danger Water and discussed how this section might or might not change the impact of the speech.

Civil Disobedience

Today in class we discussed Thoreau's Civil Disobedience.  In groups, we looked carefully at the language of his essay by using this WORKSHEET.  The articles that correspond to the questions on the last page of the worksheet are this one on the protests in Ferguson and this one on protests by students in Colorado over a decision to eliminate Civil Disobedience from the curriculum.

NOTE: The new assignment sheet is posted in the Unit Four tab above.  Please bring CDW and AR to class on Friday.

Slavery, Manifest Destiny, and the Mexican War

Today we continued our look at slavery by listening to excerpts from slave narratives read by contemporary actors.

We looked at John Gast's "American Progress" and discussed the imagery.

We read an excerpt of John O'Sullivan's "Manifest Destiny" and other descriptions of America in the mid 19th century, then responded with a tweet.  Here's mine:

• check it: life-giving truth > hoary-headed hypocrisy #boundlessprairies #dazzlingrewards #WestwardHo!

We finished by dividing into groups to read a collection of pieces of evidence to help us explore the question: Was the Mexican War a justified war?  Why / why not?

____

Tonight for homework you will be reading the first 8 pages of Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience."  

Here is a link to your homework assignment about it.

Today in Class (10/20)

We began with a writing loop:
1) List the last 5 things you purchased/bought
2) List a few things that you'd like to buy
3) What does it mean to own something?
4) What does it mean when something is labeled as your property?  Is that different or does it imply something other than ownership?
5) What are first thoughts that come to mind when you hear the word slavery? After first thoughts-extend to connect or link back to responses about ownership and property?
6) What did the Constitution (the law) say about property and slavery?

We then began our look at slavery as an institution, using a variety of sources to try to describe it.  After looking at each of the following sources, we responded in our notebooks using any of the following methods: personal response, point of view response, poem, image, letter to someone in the clip...
Sources
Images of Slavery
Slave Ship Scene from Amistad (warning: graphic-we only watched about the first 4:30 minutes)
Slave Auction Scene from Roots
The Civil War: All Night Forever
Slave narratives (22:50-25:58 and 44:35-46:20)-didn't finish this today, will finish tomorrow.

HOMEWORK DUE TOMORROW:
First read the background information on the Annexation of Texas and then the background information on the Mexican War.  Then read Howard Zinn's history of the Mexican War, "We Take Nothing By Conquest, Thank God" carefully.  When finished, respond in your notebook by identifying the arguments both in favor and against the war with Mexico.  In your response, include your opinion on whether or not you think the war was justified and also consider how and why slavery might be a factor.
Also, make sure that you have Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau for class tomorrow (it was one of the small, $2 books that you should have purchased already).

Today in class (10/15)

• We spent the first period discussing Columbus Day.  We read this ARTICLE to inform our discussion.  In our journals we answered these questions: 1) What is Zinn's argument?; 2) What information (if any) surprised you and why?; 3) What should students be taught about Columbus?; 4) Should we celebrate Columbus Day?  We closed our discussion by watching John Oliver's "How is This a Thing".
• During the second period, we looked at our Walden reading from last night.  We used this WORKSHEET to frame our study of these ideas.  Students were assigned an additional chapter from Walden to read for homework.  The journal entry for tonight should explore how the assigned chapter expands on the ideas from worksheet.
• Finally make sure that you bring in your field trip permission forms if you have not yet done so! If you need copies of these, they are linked in the post below.

Copies of field trip information

Here are links to the letter and the permission slip for our field trip on Friday:

Field trip letter 

Permission slip

Emerson's "Self-Reliance" + weekend homework

Today's fishbowl discussions in class were outstanding - you brought great insights and questions to Emerson's ideas. There is a lot packed into that essay - we look forward to continue to explore it with you.

We again used the technique of writing Interpretive Questions to guide our discussion.  You completed a note-taking sheet during class - here is a link to it for your reference.

For the weekend you will be reading these portions of Henry David Thoreau's Walden:

• p. 1-13 of "Economy"
• "Where I Lived, What I Lived For"
• "Solitude"

Your journal response is open-ended, but in some way should include a clarification of Thoreau's ideas as well as your personal reactions to / thoughts about them.

Happy homecoming weekend!

Emerson's Divinity School Address

Today we worked with Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Divinity School Address."  You identified quotations from the text that addressed these ideas:

• The relationship between and individual and God
• The role and nature of religion and the church
• The role of preachers and the clergy

In groups of four you created dialogues in your notebook, taking on the voice of someone who agrees with Emerson's ideas, someone who disagrees, and someone with questions or needs clarification.  We discussed his criticisms of the church and his call for a new way for people to see themselves and their place in the world.

As we shifted to Emerson's essay on "Self-Reliance," you each received a quotation from it. After writing down some initial thoughts about it in your notebook you had time to start the reading due Friday.  In your journal response, please use your own thoughts to identify and discuss:

• An idea(s) from Emerson's essay you personally agree with
• An idea(s) from Emerson's essay you personally disagree with
• Questions you have about his ideas / aspects you need clarified

Advice from George Washington and introduction to Ralph Waldo Emerson's Ideas

Today in class we began by reading and annotating George Washington's Farewell Address (AR 71). We then did a short in-class piece of writing about the warnings and advice he offers within the address.  This writing was turned in.  After the break we had a brief discussion on how George Washington might offer advice in 2014, considering what he said about foreign relations and political parties.  We closed the discussion by looking at what he said about the role of religion in government which led to a series of notebook responses about religion.  These included: What is religion?  How is would you define it?  What role does religion play for you personally (private response)?  What are the challenges or conflicts that are related to notions of religion?
We closed by starting our look at Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Divinity School Address" (Self-Reliance and Other Essays 103).
The first question posed was; what type of imagery exists in his first paragraph?
Then notice the turn to philosophical questions in the 2nd paragraph; What am I? What is?
Next, consider what "virtue" means in the 3rd paragraph and how that could be more beautiful than the images that he had listed in the 1st paragraph.
Then, we  read paragraphs 4, 5, and 6 on our own and had a short discussion.
Finish reading the essay for hw.  Journal should focus on pages 113-115 and respond to this: What is Emerson asserting in these pages and what do you think about those ideas?

Today in Class

We discussed Articles IV-VII of the Constitution.  We then worked on interpreting and analyzing some of the key clauses of the Constitution as a whole.  We used the "show, mean, matter" approach to do so.  Every student was given a separate clause and then asked to:

• Identify and cite the appropriate section.(show)
• Write what the clause's literal meaning was (mean)
• Analyze why that clause was important (matter).

We also passed out the BILL OF RIGHTS WORKSHEET and ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION WORKSHEET that is homework for tonight.

We also passed out the REVIEW GUIDE for Friday's Constitution test along with a SUMMARY OF CHECKS AND BALANCES.

Today in class

We began by looking at a clip from the Daily Show and exploring what Constitutional issues were raised in the report.  We then spent time discussing Articles II and III of the Constitution.  Please continue to keep up with the worksheet and our study of the nuts and bolts of the document.

Thinking about the Constitution

Today we created an American Studies version of the Preamble by doing an exploded imagery activity.  We would like to save a copy of the version that we created so in order to do that, please click on this LINK and then add what you wrote to this document under the phrase that you chose to start your piece.  Please put your name or initials next to what you add.
We followed up with a dynamic discussion about the values that exist in the Preamble and how those are playing out today.

During the second part of class we went over Article One.

In our discussion we also mentioned President Barack Obama's speech at the United Nations this week. Here is a link to it.

Federalist v. Anti-Federalist Ideas

Today in class we heard summaries of the mini-debates from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.  We then watched the next section (from about 21 minutes to about 33 minutes) of the film Liberty (LINK).  From there, we moved to the computer labs were we spent time working on Parts I and III of the document titled American Ideals and Interpretive Questions that is in your American Studies Lit-Hist folder.  Students were responsible for turning in this work at the end of the period.
Homework for Friday is to begin our look at the Constitution itself.  To do so, you will begin work on the Constitution Worksheet.  For Friday, you should complete the questions about Article I (If you are celebrating the holiday, we encourage you to complete those tonight).  In the coursepack, there are two links that will be very helpful for you, the Interactive Constitution as well as a transcript of the entire Constitution itself.  Please print out the transcript of the Constitution to annotate and use in class.

Sept. 22-The Road to the Constitution

We started to class today by reviewing the Declaration of Independence.  We then explored the contrasting views of our founding fathers discussed in Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States and David McCullough's Bold Men in Ruffled Shirts (Both readings are in the coursepack).  We then watched a section of the film Liberty and took notes about the context surrounding the years leading to the Constitutional Convention.  To watch it online go to this LINK. Start when it introduces Alexander Hamilton (about 7 minutes in) and end when the delegates meet in Philadelphia and Patrick Henry says "I smell a rat".(about 21 minutes in).  Use this NOTETAKING GUIDE as you watch.  Finally, we began to consider the debates that existed about the Constitution which we will continue to look at tomorrow.  Make sure that you check the assignment sheet for tonight's homework.

Sep 19 - A call to arms and The Declaration of Independence

We started today by returning to the discussion of "liberty" we started on Wednesday. In addition to writings from Adams, Otis, Jefferson, and Hamilton, we read voices representing Native Americans, Slaves, and Women. What are the different perspectives on "liberty" raised by these voices?

We moved to a look at the writings by Paine and Henry you read for today. Each person selected a quotation from one of these documents, and then we read these aloud in a circle. There was great energy to these readings, including a thrown book!

For the second part of class we heard the Declaration of Independence. In pairs you worked on these questions (click for a copy of the prompts).

9/17-American Liberty

Today we took a deeper look American ideas about liberty. We began with some writing in our notebooks by responding to the following prompts:
1) What are your first thoughts or definitions that you have about liberty?
2) Describe a time when you have benefited from or enjoyed having a certain sense or type of liberty?
3) Describe a time when your liberty was restricted?  By whom? For what? Was it a reasonable restriction?

In our groups we then discussed our responses and reactions to the readings from the American Reader that we prepared for today.
Finally, in new groups, we shared our thinking about American ideas of liberty by filling out this chart (which is also posted in the Unit Two tab above).

9/16-How to Read a Document

Today in class we shifted our focus from "What does it mean to be an American?" to "What do Americans believe?".  To do so, we began to consider where American ideas/beliefs came from? What are their roots or foundations?  To answer this question, we began to examine documents, first looking at the Mayflower Compact which is in your American Reader, and then completing a worksheet while reading an excerpt from John Winthrop's Model of Christian Charity.  The worksheet is posted (along with the new calendar) in the Unit Two tab above.  Additionally, there are tips about how to read a document (a skill that we will be practicing a lot) in the link on the right hand side of this page.

Sep 12 - Conclusions about The Great Gatsby; 9/11

We started class today with a look at 9/11 since we did not meet yesterday.  We told the story of being in American Studies on that day 13 years ago and watching the TV coverage live with our class, including seeing the second plane hit and the towers fall.

We then shared some of the writing we asked your parents to do at the Open House last night. Since you do not have personal memories of that day, but were alive during it, we thought it would be powerful to collect the oral histories of those who remember that day, including where they were, what they experienced, and what it means to them.  We will type those up and post them on the blog. We closed by asking you to reflect in your journal about what 9/11 means to you, as well as what it means to live in a post-9/11 world.

Our transition to The Great Gatsby asked you to make some personal conclusions about Jay Gatsby and one other character you select, including a moment in the book that shaped your opinion.  In groups you shared those reflections. As a whole class we looked at several key moments in the final chapter, including the appearance of Gatsby's father and the final page.

We concluding by assigning the essay to you and showing you an example. Both of these can be found under the "Unit 1" tab above.

Sep. 8 - Symbolism and chapter 5

Today in class we shared some of the presentations you created on Friday. Each one combined quotations from the novel with images to give a sense of the potential role of that group of symbols in the book up to this point.  You can find all of the presentations under the "Unit 1" tab.

In your groups you discussed this handout about chapter 5.

We shared some of your observations and interpretations about Gatsby and Daisy's relationships. We had questions about how equal of a relationship this is - do they feel the same way about each other?  We looked at the moment when Gatsby shows Daisy his collection of custom shirts and considered several interpretations of it - is she sobbing because she loves Gatsby so much? Because she is trapped in a relationship with Tom? Because these are beautiful shirts?

We also looked at Nick's thought at the end of the chapter, referring to the "colossal vitality of his illusion" (95). What does this suggest about Gatsby's sense of Daisy, or the potential for their future?

We'll see!

Sep. 5th - Symbols in The Great Gatsby

• During the first part of class today we began with a quiz (if you were absent, it's in the testing center). 
• For the second part of class today you will continue to work with your group, focusing on your assigned set of symbols:

1. Cars & clothes
2. Social life & parties
3. Time & seasons
4. Colors – silver and gold
5. Color – white; green
6. The past and the present
7. Eyes
8. The city
9. Jobs & careers

Now, you will create a way to creatively show your findings:

• Where do these symbols appear in the first four chapters of the book?
• Who uses them - are they spoken of or referred to by specific characters?
• In what context do they appear?
• What potential meanings do they convey?

Using quotations from the novel as the basis of your presentation, you can use any presentation program you like (powerpoint, Prezi, etc.) for your work. Add images or other text or anything you'd like! Try to finish with about ten minutes left in the period so we can share / view these. Share your presentation via Google with your group members and us. The easiest way to share it with us is to just drop it into your American Studies folder on your drive.

Sep. 3rd - The Great Gatsby and the 1920's

• Watched the video to provide context for our reading of the Great Gatsby.  The video is linked below.  We used the linked note-taking sheet to take notes during the film.
• Video: "Boom to Bust"
• Notetaking: Boom to Bust Notetaking
• In journals we responded to this question: How does what you saw in the film shed light on what you have been reading in the novel? We finished the period by sharing our observations.
• Took a quiz on Chapters 1 & 2.  Makeup quizzes are in the testing center (note, if quiz is not in the Kramer folder, check the Rigler folder and vice versus).
• In our discussion groups, shared our observations and thoughts about the development of the characters, Nick and Tom.

"What does it mean to be an American?" paragraph assignment

Today in the computer lab you will be writing a paragraph continuing our look at the essays we read at the end of last week.  Here are the directions (you can also find them in this document):

Last week you read three different essays, each of which answered the question of what it means to be an American. You shared your ideas about them in small groups and wrote a journal entry about them. For today, you will write a paragraph connecting two of the essays you read.  You will compare / contrast their ideas to help create a thesis statement - an assertion - about the point they are making and why. Your paragraph will then include support from each essay - a quotation - which you will explain and analyze.

Part of the purpose of this essay is for us to have the opportunity to see your writing at the start of the year. We are specifically looking at these components:

• Your thesis / assertion
• Is it clear? Is it specific?
• Does it have both a position and a reason (so what / why / because)?
• e.g. While both Mr. Kramer and Mr. Rigler believe being an American is part of a person’s everyday existence, Mr. Kramer asserts it comes from a person’s actions while Mr. Rigler claims it is imposed on a person by their government.
• Your use of evidence
• Do you use it properly in a sentence?
• Do you explain its meaning?
• Do you link it back to your thesis / assertion?
• Your focus
• Does your paragraph stay focused on addressing the question of what it means to be an American?
• Your grammar and usage
• Are there challenges with the mechanics of your writing?

Like all of your written work for this class, you will submit your final paragraph to turnitin.com.  In order to do so, you must go to turnitin.com and register for the class.  Here are the instructions to do so-Turnitin.com sign up instructions. You must be signed in to google with your school email account to access the instructions.  If you do not yet have a school email account, please let us know.

"What is an American?" essays

Tonight you will read two essays from the online course pack.

Based on the number you receive in class today, you will read the corresponding essays below.  You must be signed in to google with your school account to access the readings.  You should print out both essays and then make sure that you are reading actively as you go-identifying and annotating key, important quotations.  Then, when you are finished, write a thoughtful and thorough journal response to both essays.  Additionally, for tomorrow, please print out this essay by Howard Zinn and bring it to class as well.

1. Boorstin and Ali
2. Baldwin and  Reagan
3. Billington and Kushner
4. Kingsolver and Gregorian

Welcome and First HW

Greetings American Studies Scholars,
Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year.  We look forward to joining you on a productive and intellectually challenging journey.  The first step in this process and your first homework for this class is:

1. Bring in an artifact that represents something important about you or things that are important to you.  In your notebook write a response that describes what you brought and why you brought it.
2. Bring in a song that represents something about America (it does not necessarily need to use the word "America").  In your notebook write a response that states what song you chose, identifies the key lyrics, and describes what the song is saying about America.

Additionally, you will need to bring a notebook, pen, and binder everyday.  Further, looking ahead, the first books that you will need for this class are The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The American Reader.

Good luck!

Mr. Kramer and Mr. Rigler