Road to Revolution -
Were the colonists justified in declaring independence?
Monday,Tuesday, and Wednesday, 9 - 11 November 2015
I reviewed with students the question they were writing their essays on: Were the colonists justified in declaring their independence? We all agreed we knew three reasons why they had reason to declare independence. Then we looked at the graphic organizer they would use to plan their essay. The graphic organizer is attached above. we talked about a logical order for the causes being either the chronological order that the three causes they chose occurred in or in order from least to most important. Having thought about the three causes that they would like to write about and the order they would do them, students then received back their document test and their document planning sheet, so that they could find documents that supported those causes. we reemphasize that the Declaration could not be used as a support as we couldn't use the Declaration to justify declaring independence. We also said that Locke's right of rebellion just said all people have the right to rebel if their government is abusing their rights, but our question is was the British government abusing the rights? Students then worked on their graphic organizer planning their essay and asked me questions while they worked. Finally students wrote their essay from their graphic organizer and highlighted it for structure, turning it in with their graphic organizer when they were done.
HW - Students should continue to think about the essay they are planning, as they have the ability to reexamine their cards/slides to build what they will say to develop the three causes they are writing about and think about a strong concluding thought on the idea of revolution in general.
Find Past Weeks Work Described Below
Monday and Wednesday, 2 and 4 November 2015
To review material, a student in each class volunteered to let the class present to their slideshows. Student volunteers reviewed the Rights of Englishmen, Colonial Self-Government, and Rights developed by Colonists. Students were encouraged to study the topics in order and in groups as we did today, as 6 groups of four are much easier to remember that 26 individual topics.Students practiced document reading, as they will have to read documents on the test, by reading and answering questions about certain portions of the Declaration of Independence. Students were encouraged to bring their knowledge to the document but be sure to answer questions using the documents words to show that their knowledge allowed them to find answers in the document. When the students were done with their document reading, they each created a Sentence-Phrase-Word display the captured the the essence of the document. Parent signature slips were collected indicating that students had informed their parents of the completion of the project and the need to begin presenting over the weekend in order to prepare for the test on Thursday. Parents should have the checklist and set of notes to complete.
Homework - Students only need to review for the test on Thursday by presenting to their parents and having the checklist completed and in class on Thursday to be turned in.
Thursday and Friday, 5 and 6 November 2015
Students will hand in their parent checklist completed while presenting to their parents. This will be graded and entered into the gradebook Thursday night.
Students will then begin their document test, reading and answering questions that their study of the causes of the Revolution through their presentations have prepared them for. There are 12 documents and approximately 2 questions per document.Whatever they complete on Thursday they should review on Friday before continuing. they are reminded that though they bring knowledge to the documents, they should answer the questions based on their reading of the document, whenever possible using the words of the document.
When they have completed the question on the documents and reviewed their answers, they will work to prepare for their essay by creating a chart, listing each document by name and deciding whether the document presents a reason the colonists were justified in rebelling. if they decide the document does offer a reason for rebellion they will then state the reason or reasons. When they have completed listing all the document, they are to star the three documents that they believe offer the three strongest reasons for rebellion, choosing these as the three they will use to support their essay on Monday, they will then number the three documents in the best order for the essay, maybe least to most important or in time (chronological) order.
Homework - Students may continue to review their slides or flashcards in order to finish the document on Friday or think about the essay they plan to write on Monday. Students will be writing the essay answering the question "Were the colonists justified in declaring independence?" We have discussed that they obviously did have reasons to do so, so students will just need to choose three reasons supported by the documents offered on the test in order to wrte their essay. I will be helping them write on Monday and Tuesday.
Long term due date - We finished all the topic today, Friday, October 30th, and students should begin presenting to their parents this Saturday or Sunday. Students have a parent letter explaining the presentation, a checklist to be completed by a parent during the presentation, and a complete set of notes, which are all also posted above. The students need to return the slip at the bottom of the letter to show that they have begun presenting on Monday, Nov. 2nd. The completed parent checklist is due Thursday, Nov. 5th on the day students begin their test on the material..
Long term work described -
Below find this week's daily work.
Monday - Friday, 25 - 30 October 2015
Monday
We discussed the Writs of assistance and the Closing of the new York Legislature and took notes for our topics. We viewed a video on the Boston "massacre" and then reviewed it, noting details of the actual occurrence. then we noted the differences between the actual occurrence and the details in Revere's engravings.
Homework - Students should finish their slides or doc/flashcards for today's two topic for a total of 20 cards. we will finish our topics this Thursday. the students can then present to parents and return their presentation grade by next Wednesday. the document test will be Wednesday and the essay answering the question "Were the colonies justified in declaring independence will be written next Thursday and Friday. Students should be prepared for a pop quiz and a pop check on their cards this week.
Tuesday
Yesterday we watched the video on the Boston massacre. We define word - "propaganda" - derogatory term
information, usually of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. We then rewatched video we watched yesterday and took notes on the differences. (Link
http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacre/videos/boston-massacre )
Students then looked at Revere's engraving on page 148 and their goal is to find all the inaccuracies created by Reverethey tried to beat the historians! They worked on their own, then shared with those sitting around them, then we made a class list. We then compare the class list to the historians’ list , as I passed out the historians’ list (with the fill-in-the-blank noted for this topic on back) and read the list together. We then read the section on the the "massacre" on pp. 148-149 and filled in the notes together.
Homework - Students should finish their slides or doc/flashcards for today's topic for a total of 21 cards. We will finish our topics this Thursday. The students can then present to parents and return their presentation grade by next Wednesday (November 4th). The document test will be Wednesday and the essay answering the question "Were the colonies justified in declaring independence will be written next Thursday and Friday in class. Students should be prepared for a pop quiz and a pop check on their cards this week.
Wednesday
We discussed the Sons of Liberty as an extremist or radical group on the continuum of opinions on whether the colonies should declare independence, defining and giving examples of the terms, extremist, radical, and continuum. We then discussed why New England was a breeding ground for this group, going over the characteristics of the region that would have supported the development of a group like this: town for ease of communication, town meeting for tradition of political discussion, reading (of newspapers), merchants/sailors/dock workers effected by the taxes and boycotts, smuggling as rebellion and writs of assistance enforced here most, tradition of rebellion among colonies breaking from Massachusetts and the Puritans believing they had a better way than the Church of England, and "City on a Hill" as a new government, too, etc. We then viewed a video on the Sons of Liberty, discussing the video's phrases of "Threatening, coercive power" and "raise the stakes on what it meant to side with the British," supplying examples of such activity, like the tarring and feather and hanging of tax collectors in effigy. We then read about, discussed, and completed notes on the Son's of Liberty's Boston Tea Party.
Homework - Students should finish their slides/Doc - flashcards for today's two topics for a total of 23. We will finish our topics this Friday. The students can then present to parents and return their presentation grade by next Thursday (November 5th). The document test will be Thursday and Friday (November 5th and 6th) and the essay answering the question "Were the colonies justified in declaring independence will be written the following Monday and Tuesday (November 9th and 10th) in class. Students should be prepared for a pop quiz and a pop check on their cards this week.
Thursday
Homework - Students should finish their slides/Doc - flashcards for today's topic for a total of 24. We will finish our topics this Friday. The students can then present to parents and return their presentation grade by next Thursday (November 5th). The document test will be Thursday and Friday (November 5th and 6th) and the essay answering the question "Were the colonies justified in declaring independence will be written the following Monday and Tuesday (November 9th and 10th) in class.
Friday
We completed out last two topics, Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence, looking at the people's need to be convinced to take the leap, thus needing Common Sense, and then the statement of separation, the Declaration. We read, discussed, watched video clips and completed the notes.
Homework - Students picked up a parent letter, a checklist for the parent to complete during the presentation, and a complete set of our notes, all of which are also posted above. Students should complete the last two topic slides/flashcards and begin presenting over the weekend. Students need to return the slip at the bottom of the parent letter to prove they have begun presenting. the final parent checklist is due Thursday, Nov 5th, the day students will start their test on the material.
Monday - Friday, 19 - 23 October 2015
Monday
We looked at some clips of political satire covering current political candidates for the Republican and democratic presidential nominations. I returned all Quizzes on the first ten topics of our Road to Revolution and reviewed the grades given for the card/slide check on Thursday, noting that all Google Docs must be made into flashcards in order to quiz oneself from the Doc and all Google slides must have one slide with the topic and image BEFORE another slide with the notes again so that one can quiz one's self from the presentation. those with Google Doc and no flashcards or Google slides in which the topic and image were on the same slide as the notes were not given full credit. Finally we reviewed the three types of economy today and discussed the fact that these were developed after the colonial period and then reviewed the idea of a mercantile economy, a colonial economy in which the colony's economy was controlled by the mother country. We then read about the Navigation laws passed by Britain around 1750 to but mercantilism into full practice.
Homework - Students should complete their flashcard/slides on the Navigation Acts. This should give them a total of 13 flashcards (or 26 slides). All topics and notes are as always posted above.
Tuesday
We watched a video and discussed the French and Indian War and Chief Pontiac's War ( A summary is posted above.) and the discussed the British reactions, drawing the line along the ridges of the Appalachians and telling colonists not to cross it (The Proclamation of 1763) and passing taxes directly from Parliament instead of collecting taxes through colonial legislatures. We then previewed th Sugar and Stamp Acts, which we will read abut, discuss, and take notes on tomorrow.
Homework - Students should have 13 flashcards (or 26 slides); all topics and notes are posted above.
Wednesday and Thursday
We read about viewed videos, and discussed the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, the Declaratory Act, and Townshend Acts, focusing on the governmental strategies of indirect and direct taxation and taxing only luxuries, the right to have taxes only coming from our representatives from the Magna Carta, and colonial protests.
Homework - Students should have 16 flashcards (or 32 slides); all topics and notes are posted above.
Friday
Students met with a partner or two partners and read about and discussed violations, establishing what right had been violated, where that right was established and how and why the British would have committed the violation. Once students had a chance to discuss a violation, we shared our ideas as a group before moving to the next violation. At the end of the hour, we worked on notes for the first two violations, the Proclamation of 1763 and the Quartering Act, and students will make slides or doc/flashcards for these two topic this weekend for a total of 18 topics completed so far.
Homework - Students should have 18 flashcards (or 36 slides); all topics and notes are posted above. We will be finishing all the topics by next Thursday and thus students should begin presenting to their parents next Friday. Presentation grades from parents will be due on Wednesday November 4th and we will begin our test on the 4th. Students should expect another pop card/slide check and pop quiz next week.
Tuesday - Friday, 13 - 16 October 2015
Tuesday
Student in 1st and 2nd hours received their tests back, and we went over the essay. Students in other hours sat with a partner and we reviewed all out topics so far from memory, partners first sharing the next card from memory and then a volunteer reporting it out on the Smartboard. We then completed out topics on colonial self-government and began our set of topics on new colonial belief with the belief in freedom of religion and separation of church and state. we now have a total of 9 topics. I told each student in each class whether I had received a Google Doc or Slide from him or her. Some needed to rename as their name did not fit the naming protocol; others had not shared anything with me. (Ex. or correct name "6 RtoR J.Smith" and share it with me at [email protected].) Students know that they will get a grade for have started the Doc or slide, a grade for having all topics done so far made into flashcards or a slide presentation and a pop quiz this week.
Homework - Complete flashcards or a slide presentation for all 9 topics so far. Notes and list of topics completed so far are posted above.
Wednesday
We addressed the topic of Freedom of the Press, watching a video and completing the notes, and previewed the Topic of Locke's Ideas about Government.
Homework - Complete flashcards or a slide presentation for all 10 topics so far. Notes and list of topics completed so far are posted above.
Thursday
Students practiced quizzing each other using our 10 flashcard for our topics so far while I checked in everyone's flashcards. We then discussed the Enlightenment and John Locke's theory of government. Students took these notes/
Homework - Students should be studying their cards in preparation for a quiz. Students can completes their card or slide for John Locke's Theory of Government. This should give them a total of 11 cards.
Friday
Students had a few minutes to look over the cards for those topics they have a harder time hanging onto and then took their quiz on our first ten topics. We then reviewed the governmental theories of John Locke and checked their ability to explain the cycle of dynasties. Students completed their notes for the John Locke topic card. We then began to look at the conflicts that began to arise, starting with the idea of the colonies existing solely to build the wealth of the mother country, the topic of mercantilism.
Homework - students should complete the cards for John Locke and mercantilism fr a total of 12 cards.
Monday - Friday, 5 - 9 October 2015
Monday's Homework - Get parent letter signed and pack it to return it. Start Google Doc or Google Slide with just a Road to Revolution "card," name it "Hour RtoR First Initial Last Name"(Ex. "6 RtoR J.Smith"), and share it with me, as per instructions loaded below, [email protected].
Tuesday Homework - Students watched an introductory video today, Liberty "Reluctant Revolutionaries," which is embedded above, and just need to make sure they have completed the homework posted for Monday, October 5th, yesterday.
Wednesday Homework
Students began their Road to Revolution study with the topics of the Magna Carta and the British Parliament, so they should complete these topics at home as either flashcards built on Google Doc or a Google Slide.They should then use their presentation or cards to study.
Thursday Homework
Students continued their Road to Revolution study with the topics of the The English Vivil War and glorious Revolution and the English Bill of Rights, so they should complete these topics at home as either flashcards built on Google Doc or a Google Slide. They should then use their presentation or cards to study.
Friday Homework
Students participated in a Four Corners Idea Exchange in which they discussed the relative importance of some of the rights of Englishmen we had discussed (right to taxes decided upon by representatives, right to private property, right to trial by jury). We went on to review the fact that colonists did also have the right to self-government (a legislature like Parliament from the very beginning, doing notes on our next three topics: The House of Burgesses, The Mayflower Compact, and The Puritan Government. Students should complete these three cards for Tuesday, for a total of 7 cards.
Long term work described -
- We are studying the causes of the Revolution, seeking to answer the question "Were the colonists justified in declaring revolution?"
- In class each day, we will read, discuss, and take notes on topics under each of these areas,
- Each night, students will use Google Images to find an image that fits the topics we have done that day.
- Then students will create a flashcard for each topic with a title and an image on the front and our notes on the back, using handwritten 3*5 cards or a table in Google Docs to create flashcards or creating a Goggle Slide Show, as modeled in class.
- students will study these cards each night as you create them.
- When we are done, students will present their cards to their mom and dad and have their mom and dad complete a checklist for a grade.. This will all prepare students well for the test, helping them read and interpret the documents easily and write the essay.
Below find this week's daily work.
Monday - Friday, 25 - 30 October 2015
Monday
We discussed the Writs of assistance and the Closing of the new York Legislature and took notes for our topics. We viewed a video on the Boston "massacre" and then reviewed it, noting details of the actual occurrence. then we noted the differences between the actual occurrence and the details in Revere's engravings.
Homework - Students should finish their slides or doc/flashcards for today's two topic for a total of 20 cards. we will finish our topics this Thursday. the students can then present to parents and return their presentation grade by next Wednesday. the document test will be Wednesday and the essay answering the question "Were the colonies justified in declaring independence will be written next Thursday and Friday. Students should be prepared for a pop quiz and a pop check on their cards this week.
Tuesday
Yesterday we watched the video on the Boston massacre. We define word - "propaganda" - derogatory term
information, usually of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. We then rewatched video we watched yesterday and took notes on the differences. (Link
http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacre/videos/boston-massacre )
Students then looked at Revere's engraving on page 148 and their goal is to find all the inaccuracies created by Reverethey tried to beat the historians! They worked on their own, then shared with those sitting around them, then we made a class list. We then compare the class list to the historians’ list , as I passed out the historians’ list (with the fill-in-the-blank noted for this topic on back) and read the list together. We then read the section on the the "massacre" on pp. 148-149 and filled in the notes together.
Homework - Students should finish their slides or doc/flashcards for today's topic for a total of 21 cards. We will finish our topics this Thursday. The students can then present to parents and return their presentation grade by next Wednesday (November 4th). The document test will be Wednesday and the essay answering the question "Were the colonies justified in declaring independence will be written next Thursday and Friday in class. Students should be prepared for a pop quiz and a pop check on their cards this week.
Wednesday
We discussed the Sons of Liberty as an extremist or radical group on the continuum of opinions on whether the colonies should declare independence, defining and giving examples of the terms, extremist, radical, and continuum. We then discussed why New England was a breeding ground for this group, going over the characteristics of the region that would have supported the development of a group like this: town for ease of communication, town meeting for tradition of political discussion, reading (of newspapers), merchants/sailors/dock workers effected by the taxes and boycotts, smuggling as rebellion and writs of assistance enforced here most, tradition of rebellion among colonies breaking from Massachusetts and the Puritans believing they had a better way than the Church of England, and "City on a Hill" as a new government, too, etc. We then viewed a video on the Sons of Liberty, discussing the video's phrases of "Threatening, coercive power" and "raise the stakes on what it meant to side with the British," supplying examples of such activity, like the tarring and feather and hanging of tax collectors in effigy. We then read about, discussed, and completed notes on the Son's of Liberty's Boston Tea Party.
Homework - Students should finish their slides/Doc - flashcards for today's two topics for a total of 23. We will finish our topics this Friday. The students can then present to parents and return their presentation grade by next Thursday (November 5th). The document test will be Thursday and Friday (November 5th and 6th) and the essay answering the question "Were the colonies justified in declaring independence will be written the following Monday and Tuesday (November 9th and 10th) in class. Students should be prepared for a pop quiz and a pop check on their cards this week.
Thursday
Homework - Students should finish their slides/Doc - flashcards for today's topic for a total of 24. We will finish our topics this Friday. The students can then present to parents and return their presentation grade by next Thursday (November 5th). The document test will be Thursday and Friday (November 5th and 6th) and the essay answering the question "Were the colonies justified in declaring independence will be written the following Monday and Tuesday (November 9th and 10th) in class.
Friday
We completed out last two topics, Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence, looking at the people's need to be convinced to take the leap, thus needing Common Sense, and then the statement of separation, the Declaration. We read, discussed, watched video clips and completed the notes.
Homework - Students picked up a parent letter, a checklist for the parent to complete during the presentation, and a complete set of our notes, all of which are also posted above. Students should complete the last two topic slides/flashcards and begin presenting over the weekend. Students need to return the slip at the bottom of the parent letter to prove they have begun presenting. the final parent checklist is due Thursday, Nov 5th, the day students will start their test on the material.
Monday - Friday, 19 - 23 October 2015
Monday
We looked at some clips of political satire covering current political candidates for the Republican and democratic presidential nominations. I returned all Quizzes on the first ten topics of our Road to Revolution and reviewed the grades given for the card/slide check on Thursday, noting that all Google Docs must be made into flashcards in order to quiz oneself from the Doc and all Google slides must have one slide with the topic and image BEFORE another slide with the notes again so that one can quiz one's self from the presentation. those with Google Doc and no flashcards or Google slides in which the topic and image were on the same slide as the notes were not given full credit. Finally we reviewed the three types of economy today and discussed the fact that these were developed after the colonial period and then reviewed the idea of a mercantile economy, a colonial economy in which the colony's economy was controlled by the mother country. We then read about the Navigation laws passed by Britain around 1750 to but mercantilism into full practice.
Homework - Students should complete their flashcard/slides on the Navigation Acts. This should give them a total of 13 flashcards (or 26 slides). All topics and notes are as always posted above.
Tuesday
We watched a video and discussed the French and Indian War and Chief Pontiac's War ( A summary is posted above.) and the discussed the British reactions, drawing the line along the ridges of the Appalachians and telling colonists not to cross it (The Proclamation of 1763) and passing taxes directly from Parliament instead of collecting taxes through colonial legislatures. We then previewed th Sugar and Stamp Acts, which we will read abut, discuss, and take notes on tomorrow.
Homework - Students should have 13 flashcards (or 26 slides); all topics and notes are posted above.
Wednesday and Thursday
We read about viewed videos, and discussed the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, the Declaratory Act, and Townshend Acts, focusing on the governmental strategies of indirect and direct taxation and taxing only luxuries, the right to have taxes only coming from our representatives from the Magna Carta, and colonial protests.
Homework - Students should have 16 flashcards (or 32 slides); all topics and notes are posted above.
Friday
Students met with a partner or two partners and read about and discussed violations, establishing what right had been violated, where that right was established and how and why the British would have committed the violation. Once students had a chance to discuss a violation, we shared our ideas as a group before moving to the next violation. At the end of the hour, we worked on notes for the first two violations, the Proclamation of 1763 and the Quartering Act, and students will make slides or doc/flashcards for these two topic this weekend for a total of 18 topics completed so far.
Homework - Students should have 18 flashcards (or 36 slides); all topics and notes are posted above. We will be finishing all the topics by next Thursday and thus students should begin presenting to their parents next Friday. Presentation grades from parents will be due on Wednesday November 4th and we will begin our test on the 4th. Students should expect another pop card/slide check and pop quiz next week.
Tuesday - Friday, 13 - 16 October 2015
Tuesday
Student in 1st and 2nd hours received their tests back, and we went over the essay. Students in other hours sat with a partner and we reviewed all out topics so far from memory, partners first sharing the next card from memory and then a volunteer reporting it out on the Smartboard. We then completed out topics on colonial self-government and began our set of topics on new colonial belief with the belief in freedom of religion and separation of church and state. we now have a total of 9 topics. I told each student in each class whether I had received a Google Doc or Slide from him or her. Some needed to rename as their name did not fit the naming protocol; others had not shared anything with me. (Ex. or correct name "6 RtoR J.Smith" and share it with me at [email protected].) Students know that they will get a grade for have started the Doc or slide, a grade for having all topics done so far made into flashcards or a slide presentation and a pop quiz this week.
Homework - Complete flashcards or a slide presentation for all 9 topics so far. Notes and list of topics completed so far are posted above.
Wednesday
We addressed the topic of Freedom of the Press, watching a video and completing the notes, and previewed the Topic of Locke's Ideas about Government.
Homework - Complete flashcards or a slide presentation for all 10 topics so far. Notes and list of topics completed so far are posted above.
Thursday
Students practiced quizzing each other using our 10 flashcard for our topics so far while I checked in everyone's flashcards. We then discussed the Enlightenment and John Locke's theory of government. Students took these notes/
Homework - Students should be studying their cards in preparation for a quiz. Students can completes their card or slide for John Locke's Theory of Government. This should give them a total of 11 cards.
Friday
Students had a few minutes to look over the cards for those topics they have a harder time hanging onto and then took their quiz on our first ten topics. We then reviewed the governmental theories of John Locke and checked their ability to explain the cycle of dynasties. Students completed their notes for the John Locke topic card. We then began to look at the conflicts that began to arise, starting with the idea of the colonies existing solely to build the wealth of the mother country, the topic of mercantilism.
Homework - students should complete the cards for John Locke and mercantilism fr a total of 12 cards.
Monday - Friday, 5 - 9 October 2015
Monday's Homework - Get parent letter signed and pack it to return it. Start Google Doc or Google Slide with just a Road to Revolution "card," name it "Hour RtoR First Initial Last Name"(Ex. "6 RtoR J.Smith"), and share it with me, as per instructions loaded below, [email protected].
Tuesday Homework - Students watched an introductory video today, Liberty "Reluctant Revolutionaries," which is embedded above, and just need to make sure they have completed the homework posted for Monday, October 5th, yesterday.
Wednesday Homework
Students began their Road to Revolution study with the topics of the Magna Carta and the British Parliament, so they should complete these topics at home as either flashcards built on Google Doc or a Google Slide.They should then use their presentation or cards to study.
Thursday Homework
Students continued their Road to Revolution study with the topics of the The English Vivil War and glorious Revolution and the English Bill of Rights, so they should complete these topics at home as either flashcards built on Google Doc or a Google Slide. They should then use their presentation or cards to study.
Friday Homework
Students participated in a Four Corners Idea Exchange in which they discussed the relative importance of some of the rights of Englishmen we had discussed (right to taxes decided upon by representatives, right to private property, right to trial by jury). We went on to review the fact that colonists did also have the right to self-government (a legislature like Parliament from the very beginning, doing notes on our next three topics: The House of Burgesses, The Mayflower Compact, and The Puritan Government. Students should complete these three cards for Tuesday, for a total of 7 cards.
Monday - Friday, 28 September - 1 October 2015 (See previous weeks posted below.)
Monday
Students worked in a group to design a logo for one of the three regions of the colonies based on their study of the regions over the weekend. They were not able to use notes. the logos cold have no words, only symbols and images, and needed to clearly represent the characteristics of the region we had studied. Groups presented their logo to the class at the end of the hour. A winner between the two groups for each region was chosen and the winning group received two points extra credit on the grade they received for the logo.
Homework - Students will play a game tomorrow against three others to see who can fill in the most characteristics on a blank chart of the region, as the chart moves from one player to the next in a group of four. this will serve as a review. Our test will be on Wednesday: students will be asked to label a blank map of the colonies, indicate which region 8 given colonies are in, indicate which region 6 different characteristics belong to, and write a short answer comparing the three regions based on one characteristic column from the chart to be announced on the day of the test.
Tuesday
Student participated in a chart challenge review game. Charts will be collected at the end of the hour and graded for ideas added, based on the median and mode number of ideas added by all students.
Homework - Test on regions tomorrow. Students will be asked to label the colonies on a blank map of the colonies, to name the region of six to eight given colonies, to name to region in which six to eight given characteristics are found, and to write a short answer describing the regions of the colonies in terms of a given characteristics (one of the five columns on our chart). Remember the completed chart is posted above.
Wednesday
Students took their Regions of the Colonies Test
No Homework - We will finish our chart and map together tomorrow.
Thursday
Finished review and discussion of all settlement and described characteristics of the Backcountry.
No Homework
Friday
Drew in Backcountry together and went over other physical features to label on map, Reviewed map grading sheet. Students had time to work on map and begin to view Liberty The reluctant Revolutionaries, focusing on the pride colonists had in being British.
Homework - Blacken physical labels in Sharpie and erase, color Backcountry a 4th regional color, color non-colonial land a non-focus color, like light brown, make key (titled, "key" of "legend," settlement dot, box of color for each of the four regions, box of color for non-colonial land), title "Regions of the Colonies,' and name in bottom corner. Grading Sheet loaded below.
Monday
Students worked in a group to design a logo for one of the three regions of the colonies based on their study of the regions over the weekend. They were not able to use notes. the logos cold have no words, only symbols and images, and needed to clearly represent the characteristics of the region we had studied. Groups presented their logo to the class at the end of the hour. A winner between the two groups for each region was chosen and the winning group received two points extra credit on the grade they received for the logo.
Homework - Students will play a game tomorrow against three others to see who can fill in the most characteristics on a blank chart of the region, as the chart moves from one player to the next in a group of four. this will serve as a review. Our test will be on Wednesday: students will be asked to label a blank map of the colonies, indicate which region 8 given colonies are in, indicate which region 6 different characteristics belong to, and write a short answer comparing the three regions based on one characteristic column from the chart to be announced on the day of the test.
Tuesday
Student participated in a chart challenge review game. Charts will be collected at the end of the hour and graded for ideas added, based on the median and mode number of ideas added by all students.
Homework - Test on regions tomorrow. Students will be asked to label the colonies on a blank map of the colonies, to name the region of six to eight given colonies, to name to region in which six to eight given characteristics are found, and to write a short answer describing the regions of the colonies in terms of a given characteristics (one of the five columns on our chart). Remember the completed chart is posted above.
Wednesday
Students took their Regions of the Colonies Test
No Homework - We will finish our chart and map together tomorrow.
Thursday
Finished review and discussion of all settlement and described characteristics of the Backcountry.
No Homework
Friday
Drew in Backcountry together and went over other physical features to label on map, Reviewed map grading sheet. Students had time to work on map and begin to view Liberty The reluctant Revolutionaries, focusing on the pride colonists had in being British.
Homework - Blacken physical labels in Sharpie and erase, color Backcountry a 4th regional color, color non-colonial land a non-focus color, like light brown, make key (titled, "key" of "legend," settlement dot, box of color for each of the four regions, box of color for non-colonial land), title "Regions of the Colonies,' and name in bottom corner. Grading Sheet loaded below.
Monday - Friday, 20 - 24 September 2015
Monday
In class today, we took a quick quiz to see whether students were making the effort to learn the material as we go. Students were asked to list one physical characteristics of New England, one economic activity, one characteristic of the people, and two of the colonies. We reviewed possible answers together after they were collected. We then checked out maps, looking particularly at the placement of the settlements and discussing the benefits of neatness in terms of study, keeping our labels horizontal and our labeling lines short. We then finished our notes on New England, reviewing people to remember the town system planned in the Puritan charter, and then adding notes on this town set-up to our charts under Where People Live.
Homework - Students should label the four colonies of the Middle Colonies in pencil, having thus completed the three settlements of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and both the New England and Middle Colony regions, again just in pencil.
Tuesday
we checked maps and blackened all our labels so far: Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and both the New England and Middle Colonies. We then looked at the maps of the two regions and discussed coloring them: not including Maine, striping the disputed region between new Hampshire and New York, and including Long Island with the Middle colonies. we then read about the Middle Colonies beginning our notes; See attached notes below for our notes so far.
Homework - Students are coloring the New England colonies all one color, and the Middle colonies all another color. They do not need to make a key yet. Color will be the only indication of region; we WILL NOT label the region on the map.
Wednesday
Completed notes on the Middle Colonies.
Homework - Students should be ready for a quiz on the Middle colonies tomorrow. Students can label and color the Southern colonies, as we will discuss them tomorrow.
Thursday
We took our "pop" quiz, which really had been announced on the Middle Colonies, as we are trying to emphasize that the students need to be learning the material as we go. We then reviewed many of the ideas on our chart about the New England and Middle regions with images that brought them to life. Finally we read about, discussed and took notes on the physical geography of the South.
Homework - Students should be continuing to review their chart, making sure they are getting a sense of the characteristics of each of the regions. They should be careful to not just read the chart, but flip the chart over and quiz themselves, checking that the ideas about of their understanding when they are not looking at the notes. Students can go ahead and label, black, and color the Southern colonies.
Friday
I handed back the quizzes on the Middle Colonies and we read about, discussed, and recorded the key ideas about the Southern colonies in our notes.
Homework - Students should study their charts in preparation for the review game on Monday and the Test on Tuesday.
Students do not need to study the settlement information but should know where each colony is on themap, what region each colony is in, and the characteristics of that region: physical geography, farming, economic activity, people, and where people live.
Monday
In class today, we took a quick quiz to see whether students were making the effort to learn the material as we go. Students were asked to list one physical characteristics of New England, one economic activity, one characteristic of the people, and two of the colonies. We reviewed possible answers together after they were collected. We then checked out maps, looking particularly at the placement of the settlements and discussing the benefits of neatness in terms of study, keeping our labels horizontal and our labeling lines short. We then finished our notes on New England, reviewing people to remember the town system planned in the Puritan charter, and then adding notes on this town set-up to our charts under Where People Live.
Homework - Students should label the four colonies of the Middle Colonies in pencil, having thus completed the three settlements of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and both the New England and Middle Colony regions, again just in pencil.
Tuesday
we checked maps and blackened all our labels so far: Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and both the New England and Middle Colonies. We then looked at the maps of the two regions and discussed coloring them: not including Maine, striping the disputed region between new Hampshire and New York, and including Long Island with the Middle colonies. we then read about the Middle Colonies beginning our notes; See attached notes below for our notes so far.
Homework - Students are coloring the New England colonies all one color, and the Middle colonies all another color. They do not need to make a key yet. Color will be the only indication of region; we WILL NOT label the region on the map.
Wednesday
Completed notes on the Middle Colonies.
Homework - Students should be ready for a quiz on the Middle colonies tomorrow. Students can label and color the Southern colonies, as we will discuss them tomorrow.
Thursday
We took our "pop" quiz, which really had been announced on the Middle Colonies, as we are trying to emphasize that the students need to be learning the material as we go. We then reviewed many of the ideas on our chart about the New England and Middle regions with images that brought them to life. Finally we read about, discussed and took notes on the physical geography of the South.
Homework - Students should be continuing to review their chart, making sure they are getting a sense of the characteristics of each of the regions. They should be careful to not just read the chart, but flip the chart over and quiz themselves, checking that the ideas about of their understanding when they are not looking at the notes. Students can go ahead and label, black, and color the Southern colonies.
Friday
I handed back the quizzes on the Middle Colonies and we read about, discussed, and recorded the key ideas about the Southern colonies in our notes.
Homework - Students should study their charts in preparation for the review game on Monday and the Test on Tuesday.
Students do not need to study the settlement information but should know where each colony is on themap, what region each colony is in, and the characteristics of that region: physical geography, farming, economic activity, people, and where people live.
Monday - Friday, 14 - 18 September 2015
Monday
I returned students' See Think Wonders on the maps of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth and went over areas that needed improvement, which are noted in the grading sheet attached below and were written on the board. Students then got in groups of three and, after we discussed expected behavior in groups, students worked with their two partners on a See Think Wonder of a diagram of the Jamestown colony, with the goal of addressing areas that needed improvement. The groups handed in their group work and their three individual assignments with it at the end of the hour. The work will be graded in this manner: the group work will be graded using the grading sheet and full credit will be given to the individual work if it is complete and handed in and the group work clearly showed improvement. Any absent student can find the image of Jamestown's fort below with the images of the maps of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth and can complete the See Think Wonder, using the sheet posted below, for this image. The grading sheet, again noting areas to focus on for the best possible See Think Wonder is posted below.
Homework - students should skim Chapter 3, which we will begin to read tomorrow, as a source of information about the beginning of each colony.
Tuesday
Students picked up the chart we will use to record our ideas on the regions of the colonies, and we discussed the columns, the characteristics that would distinguish one region from the others. We then began to read about the first settlements. We established that the British people did not believe the monarch was all powerful, they believed they had rights and their representatives had a say in decisions, so each settlement and colony was built on this idea, an idea unique in the world. Then we established that the goal of British colonies unlike French or Spanish was not to take a resource and leave but establish settlements and communities that would become an extension of England with families who would farm and have businesses that would trade with Britain. Britain would become rich from taxing this trade between the two. With these two ideas in mind we read about and noted on our chart the failure of Roanoke, which made Britain realize that it would take a lot of money and many years to establish such a settlement. We then read about the next attempt at Jamestown, 22 years later, funded by a group of investors who formed a company with enough finds to wait years for a profit and with a charter, the newly required permission from the King that proved a colony had money and a plan for success that would not fail in return for exclusive rights. We noted this on our charts. We will continue tomorrow.
Homework - No Homework
Wednesday
We finished our reading and added our ideas to our chart on Jamestown and Plymouth.
No Homework
Constitution Day, Thursday
In class we watched a video depicting a fictional dystopian America in which the rights in the Bill of Rights had been taken when a president was elected on a platform of fixing the economy by taking the rights of some away. This video was followed by a discussion of how the loss had occurred. The goal was to make students think about the power and value of the rights and their need to protect these rights. We will return to our study of the development of the colonial regions tomorrow.
No Homework
Friday
We read about (Ch 3 Sec 2) and almost completed our row of notes about the new England colonies, completing physical geography, farming, economic activity, people, and settlements, leaving only where people live to complete.
Homework - Students are to label in pencil the following on their blank map of the colonies: the three settlements we have studied, Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth; and the four colonies of the New England Region, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Absent students should of course complete the work we did in class, also, reading and completing their chart from the notes posted below.
Monday
I returned students' See Think Wonders on the maps of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth and went over areas that needed improvement, which are noted in the grading sheet attached below and were written on the board. Students then got in groups of three and, after we discussed expected behavior in groups, students worked with their two partners on a See Think Wonder of a diagram of the Jamestown colony, with the goal of addressing areas that needed improvement. The groups handed in their group work and their three individual assignments with it at the end of the hour. The work will be graded in this manner: the group work will be graded using the grading sheet and full credit will be given to the individual work if it is complete and handed in and the group work clearly showed improvement. Any absent student can find the image of Jamestown's fort below with the images of the maps of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth and can complete the See Think Wonder, using the sheet posted below, for this image. The grading sheet, again noting areas to focus on for the best possible See Think Wonder is posted below.
Homework - students should skim Chapter 3, which we will begin to read tomorrow, as a source of information about the beginning of each colony.
Tuesday
Students picked up the chart we will use to record our ideas on the regions of the colonies, and we discussed the columns, the characteristics that would distinguish one region from the others. We then began to read about the first settlements. We established that the British people did not believe the monarch was all powerful, they believed they had rights and their representatives had a say in decisions, so each settlement and colony was built on this idea, an idea unique in the world. Then we established that the goal of British colonies unlike French or Spanish was not to take a resource and leave but establish settlements and communities that would become an extension of England with families who would farm and have businesses that would trade with Britain. Britain would become rich from taxing this trade between the two. With these two ideas in mind we read about and noted on our chart the failure of Roanoke, which made Britain realize that it would take a lot of money and many years to establish such a settlement. We then read about the next attempt at Jamestown, 22 years later, funded by a group of investors who formed a company with enough finds to wait years for a profit and with a charter, the newly required permission from the King that proved a colony had money and a plan for success that would not fail in return for exclusive rights. We noted this on our charts. We will continue tomorrow.
Homework - No Homework
Wednesday
We finished our reading and added our ideas to our chart on Jamestown and Plymouth.
No Homework
Constitution Day, Thursday
In class we watched a video depicting a fictional dystopian America in which the rights in the Bill of Rights had been taken when a president was elected on a platform of fixing the economy by taking the rights of some away. This video was followed by a discussion of how the loss had occurred. The goal was to make students think about the power and value of the rights and their need to protect these rights. We will return to our study of the development of the colonial regions tomorrow.
No Homework
Friday
We read about (Ch 3 Sec 2) and almost completed our row of notes about the new England colonies, completing physical geography, farming, economic activity, people, and settlements, leaving only where people live to complete.
Homework - Students are to label in pencil the following on their blank map of the colonies: the three settlements we have studied, Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth; and the four colonies of the New England Region, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Absent students should of course complete the work we did in class, also, reading and completing their chart from the notes posted below.
Tuesday - Friday, 8 - 11 September 2015
Tuesday
In class, we will go over the course outline and do an activity to get to know one another and orient ourselves to topics we will address this year.
Homework - Students need to download the course outline, print it, have it signed by their parent and sign it themselves, and turn it in in class. If they cannot print it, they must have their parents email me to indicate that they have been to the website and seen the course outline but will not regularly have the ability to print materials at home this year. I am trying to make sure students and parents make use of the website. Materials in the future will be printed for students in class as well as loaded on the website for home access.
Wednesday
We took the pretest and students wrote me a note about something they thought i might want to or need to know.
Homework - Course Outline? See Tuesday above. Paper bag to cover book.
Thursday
After discussing the goals of visble thinging routines, we began a See Think Wonder (Deductive Reasoning) Activity looking at a map of Roanoke. We examined a map of Roanoke, the first settlement, making observations about things we saw on the map that might reveal of its settlers and drew some conclusions about what these things we noticed might reveal.
Homework - see Tuesday - Course outline will be collected tomorrow and we will have some time to wrap books.
Friday
Students worked to complete a See Think Wonder activity on maps of the first three settlements, relying on the thinking we had done together yesterday as a guide, either recording our thinking as a group or recording some of their own thoughts. This was collected at the end of the hour and is considered late of it was not handed in.
I collected course outlines.
Students who completed their See Think Wonder activity early began to wrap their book.
Homework - Students should wrap their textbook using the method displayed in the video below, if they have not already done so.
Tuesday
In class, we will go over the course outline and do an activity to get to know one another and orient ourselves to topics we will address this year.
Homework - Students need to download the course outline, print it, have it signed by their parent and sign it themselves, and turn it in in class. If they cannot print it, they must have their parents email me to indicate that they have been to the website and seen the course outline but will not regularly have the ability to print materials at home this year. I am trying to make sure students and parents make use of the website. Materials in the future will be printed for students in class as well as loaded on the website for home access.
Wednesday
We took the pretest and students wrote me a note about something they thought i might want to or need to know.
Homework - Course Outline? See Tuesday above. Paper bag to cover book.
Thursday
After discussing the goals of visble thinging routines, we began a See Think Wonder (Deductive Reasoning) Activity looking at a map of Roanoke. We examined a map of Roanoke, the first settlement, making observations about things we saw on the map that might reveal of its settlers and drew some conclusions about what these things we noticed might reveal.
Homework - see Tuesday - Course outline will be collected tomorrow and we will have some time to wrap books.
Friday
Students worked to complete a See Think Wonder activity on maps of the first three settlements, relying on the thinking we had done together yesterday as a guide, either recording our thinking as a group or recording some of their own thoughts. This was collected at the end of the hour and is considered late of it was not handed in.
I collected course outlines.
Students who completed their See Think Wonder activity early began to wrap their book.
Homework - Students should wrap their textbook using the method displayed in the video below, if they have not already done so.