We took the Chapter 6 Quiz today then spent some DocBlock time analyzing and discussing excerpts from Thomas Paine's Common Sense, evaluating how its argument could be used as historical evidence for each of the historian's interpretations discussed yesterday. We also took some time to deconstruct textbook accounts of the battle on Lexington Green and compare these to primary source accounts. I modeled the type of historical analysis historians engage in as they evaluate documents then you had a chance to practice that skill within your groups.
Tonight you need to write a rough draft Introductory paragraph for the essay prompt we have been examining. I will annotate your thesis statements so that you can make revisions tomorrow. Chapter 7 is due Friday! H
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We walked through our first scored discussion today during class. This first discussion was admittedly over two very dense academic texts, but the twofold goal was to walk you through the process we will use for full scored discussions with extra support and coaching while also exposing you to two differing interpretations of the nature of the American Revolution. Over the next few days as we explore the Revolution, we will be asking you to connect these experiences and understandings to the arguments presented by both Bailyn and Nash. Your first "live" discussion will be in the next unit in two weeks time. We will post the readings and directions at least a week ahead of that so you will have time to read, analyze, and collaborate before the in class portion of the discussion.
Homework tonight: Finish up chapter 6 for tomorrow and post your ROUGH DRAFT thesis statements on the discussion board for your class by midnight tonight! http://www.ghhsapush.com/discussion-boards.html -H We discussed the effects of the French and Indian War today, focusing on the personal level of history which is often lost in the big picture textbook presentation of events. We then talked about thesis statements for historical writing and how the expectations vary from other types of writing. I also shared the essay question below for which you need to have a rough draft written by Wednesday.
At the end of class I assigned each table group to one of two documents. You can find the documents IN ONE FILE under period 3, "Historians debate the Revolution." Half of the class will read the first author, Bernard Bailyn, and the other half will scroll past the Bailyn article to read the selection by Gary B. Nash. You then need to complete the pre-writing assignment linked from "Directions" in the same spot in Period 3 as the documents link. This is due tomorrow and we will be spending the majority of class in discussion over these differing points of view! H Essay Prompt: To what extent and in what ways did European powers develop different patterns of colonization in N. America? Support your answer with specific and relevant historical information from the period 1607 to 1754. We continued our discussion and analysis of Colonial American society today with an exploration of the Great Awakening and it's effects on society. We then tore apart some maps and data to help understand the diversity of colonial society in terms of religion, cultural makeup, and economic activities. We ended with a brief introduction to historical writing as it is differentiated from other types of writing you have learned in other classes.
This weekend you need to finish up your textbook notes for Chapter 5 and you may want to spend a little time reviewing the maps of the 13 English colonies as well in case there is a quiz on that sometime. To help in that endeavor, under Period 2 of the website, you can find a blank colonies map and some directions for completing it as a study tool. Have a great weekend! H Today we started off with a quiz over Chapter 4, followed by an analysis of Colonial American life through the lens of the Salem Witch hysteria. We used this exercise to make explicit links to how historians to do the work of history and how you will be crafting historical argument in this class, including the recognition of counter arguments.
For homework this evening, you need to read the Jonathan Edwards selection "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" posted under period two. The questions which accompany this reading are also posted in period two, right next to the reading selection. H After a brief discussion over last night's homework reading, we did a DocBlock (HAPP analysis) on the selections The Middle Passage, out first secondary source selection for DocBlock. Because it is the first, we discussed the shift you need to make in the Historical Context portion when faced with a secondary source.
The remainder of class was giver over to your first extended analysis of multiple historical documents with the goal of collecting data and information which can be used to answer essential historical questions. The focus of today's activity was runaway slave advertisements from 1743-1770. Tonight, you need to use the information you collected and your recollections of the debriefing questions we discussed in class to craft a ONE to TWO paragraph response to the following question: In what ways and to what degree did runaway slaves impact the social structure of Colonial America? Don't forget, Chapter 4 is also due tomorrow! H On this last day of January, we engaged in a discussion heavy set of activities. We first talked about the Netherlands Monument in New York as an example of historical myth ensconced in the public sphere and discussed some of the roles both the monument and the historical myth which it portrays play in the context of American society and politics.
We next debriefed your take on the reading selection from last night about Indian slavery in South Carolina as an example of the endeavor to create a more complete picture of the past in order to more fully understand the motivations and decisions of historical actors. We brought these two skill sets together in the next part of class by analyzing and sharing our take on three different images on America during colonial times in lit circles. The texts tackled myths about America's history and attempted to replace the myth with a more nuanced and detailed picture of the past. We ended the day by bringing all of these strands together to inform our DocBlock (HAPP analysis) focusing on a letter written by Richard Frethorne, an indentured servant in Virginia, written in 1623. Frethorne was 12 years old at the time and records show that he died sometime within a year of writing the letter. Tonight, you need to complete your DocBlock over the Frethorne letter if you didn't finish in class. You also need to read the Maroon Communities selection under Period 2, or linked below. Also, don't forget that Chapter 4 is due Thursday! H Today we had our first document intensive day after we discussed and debriefed Chapter 3. We talked in detail about your analysis of the De Las Casas document from this weekend then worked together on the analysis of a document by Richard Hakluyt promoting the colonization of North American by the English.
We followed these exercises by applying the analysis skills to passenger lists from two different ships heading across the Atlantic from England to the American Colonies. We ended the day by pulling the data and text analysis together in one exercise using primary sources and data from Jamestown to answer an essential historical question. Anything you didn't finish from the DocBlock on Hakylut or the Jamestown exercise needs to be finished to homework. Also you need to read the Slavery in South Carolina document found under Period 2 and be prepared to discuss it tomorrow. I have also linked the homework activities below for your convenience. :) H Today we discussed the Columbian Exchange and the consequences thereof.
We learned about the encomiendas system and the racial hierarchies that existed as a part of the castas and mestizo cultures. We spent a good amount of time analyzing conflicting accounts of the meeting between Moctezuma and Cortez, and introduced our HAPP analysis skills. FOR HOMEWORK if you didn't already, please complete a HAPP analysis on the Las Casas document under DocBlock for period 1. Your notes for Ch. 3 are also due Monday :) •Historical Context •What is happening specific to the document and within the larger historical context that could influence this document •Audience •Whom is the author addressing, and how will that impact what is being written? •Point of View •Who was the person, and what was their opinion? •Perspective •What is the purpose of creating this document? Note for each, you should answer the question and explain that answers significance to our understanding of the document. Today we took a few minutes to debrief the most significant takeaway from the Silas Deane reading from the summer assignment: that History does not equal "the past" but instead is an activity, a process by which we explore and attempt to bring order to and make sense of the past. This means that there will inevitably be multiple different understandings of and perspectives on the past. This does not negate that there are unchangeable, objective facts, but how historians select and assemble those facts in the creation of a plausible story about the past leads to differing histories.
We used this understanding as a springboard to jump into reexamining our knowledge about pre-Columbian American societies. We started first by comparing snapshots of two societies in 1532 then compared representations of Native Americans from the 2005 movie The New World to accounts and images of Native American societies left by those who actually encountered them as well as a modern historical work's summary of current historical consensus on the Powhatan. The last activity for the day was to show you the format we will be requiring for all textbook notes. It is a modified Cornell notes format and must be hand written. These will be the expectations from Chapter 3 forward. I have attached an image below of how to set up your paper for notes. Don't forget that Chapter 2 notes are due tomorrow! H |
Class BlogOn this blog we will share each day's activities and post reminders about assignments and upcoming assessments. Archives
August 2017
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