Forced Choice, Day 1 - Class Recap

Fireworks over Niagara Falls, in 2009. Turning in your historical investigation today is worthy of some fireworks!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to your weekend - a weekend blissfully free of work on your historical investigation, I hope! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
SS.HS.RE.ALT.04: I can use evidence from my research to effectively address the research topic.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.04: I can evaluate information and explanations within a given context and develop a relevant conclusion.
SS.HS.RE.ALT.02: I can access relevant information from multiple and varied sources.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.05: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: “We Like To Party!” by Vengaboys. Selected for today because, again, you should feel like having a party with your historical investigation done! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/28/14:
News Brief
Share Time
Forced Choice

Homework: Have a great weekend! Read the blog! Next news brief: Stacey.

News Brief: Today's article was brought in by Isidro, who selected this story: FOXNews.com - Alabama girl, 4, dies after being attacked by dogs, police say. We talked a bit about the legal implications of this story, and whether or not the owners of the dogs might be held accountable. A sad way to start out the day, for sure.

Share Time: Next, I split up the class into about groups of 3, and had students just check in with each other for a few minutes about how the historical investigation went, the research question and answer, and just generally how things are.

Forced Choice: The rest of class was spent doing a forced choice debate, which I always enjoy. These were the questions I asked students to answer with a Yes or No, with no in between. We talked about the first four - we won't do all of the rest next class, but we will probably do some, then write a reflection.

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
2. The Second Amendment (A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.) means that everyone in the US has the right to have any weapons that they want.
3. Same-sex marriage should be allowed everywhere.
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
6. It bothers me that the National Security Administration/federal government can see whatever we do online.
7. The government of a country should have the power to make decisions that the majority of the people in it do not support.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. People in power are always corrupt in some way.
10. Democracy is always the best form of government for anywhere in the world.

Thank you for your active participation here! I also really appreciate the respect and open minds displayed. I hope that you enjoyed this activity as much as I do. Next class, we will talk a little bit more about this, then really get into the Civil Rights unit. Have a wonderful weekend!

Historical Investigation, Day 6 - Class Recap

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter! At the start of next class, your historical investigation is due. I hope everyone is on track to turn it in on time and hit all the learning targets we have been working on! Picture taken at Cape Kiwanda on the Oregon Coast in 2009.

Hi everyone,

I hope you are reading this with the confidence that your historical investigation research project is done, or almost done! The entire final draft of the project, along with the rubric, is due next class (Friday). Here's the recap:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
SS.HS.RE.ALT.04: I can use evidence from my research to effectively address the research topic.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.04: I can evaluate information and explanations within a given context and develop a relevant conclusion.
SS.HS.RE.ALT.02: I can access relevant information from multiple and varied sources.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.05: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: “Help Yourself” by Sad Brad Smith. Selected because today's peer review day was in the hopes that you would help yourself by getting feedback on your historical investigation. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/26/14: 
News Brief
Peer Review
Independent Work Time

Homework: Historical Investigation due next class! Read the blog! Next news brief is assigned to Isidro.

News Brief: Today's news brief was helpfully brought in by Cassey, because I forgot to assign it last class. She chose this story: CNN.com - California couple strikes gold after finding $10 million in rare coins. Wow! That would be a pretty fun discovery if you were walking around where you live! Thanks, Cassey.

Peer Review: The entire rest of the class was devoted to peer review and work on the historical investigation. If you missed class, or want to see the form again, here it is to download:

Google Drive - Historical Investigation Peer Review Sheet

If you would like to see the overview of the entire project again, here it is:

Google Drive - American Studies Historical Investigation Research Project Overview

If you are interested in exactly how you will be graded, please see the learning target rubrics here (the formatting is off - there are extra copies in class):

Google Drive - Historical Investigation Rubrics

If you are looking for details about any specific element of the assignment, links are here on the blog, or just comment and I will post whatever you need. I am here to help, but ultimately, it is up to you to make sure that the project is done and ready to turn in next class!

Independent Work Time: After peer review, there was time in class to keep working on the project. I made sure, once again, to talk to every student in class about how it was going and offer a pass to the computer lab or library if needed.

See you next class - please bring your entire revised Historical Investigation printed and ready to turn in, with the grading rubric on top! Thank you!

Historical Investigation, Day 5 - Class Recap

Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. This is where the US Constitution was debated and signed! Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for another day of hard work! Hopefully, you are feeling confident at having a product to bring next class for some peer review. This means you should really try to have a rough draft of everything, ready to go! Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets Addressed:

SS.HS.RE.ALT.04: I can use evidence from my research to effectively address the research topic.

SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.

SS.HS.CR.ALT.04: I can evaluate information and explanations within a given context and develop a relevant conclusion.

SS.HS.RE.ALT.02: I can access relevant information from multiple and varied sources.

SS.HS.CR.ALT.05: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: “Two Days in February” by Goo Goo Dolls. Selected because there are now two days (in February) left of class before your historical investigation is due! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/24/14:

News Brief

Parts D and E

Computer Lab S210 

Homework: Historical Investigation due this Friday! Bring everything, printed, for peer review next class. Read the blog!

News Brief: Nina had the news brief today and chose this article to talk about: NBCBayArea.com - Girl Scout Does Brisk Business Selling Cookies Outside San Francisco Pot Club. An amusing start to the day - thanks Nina! I forgot to assign the next news brief, which would be Isidro, but I will just see if I can talk to anyone from class tomorrow or before the day to do it - unless I have any volunteers? :-)

Parts D and E: The last two sections to go over for the historical investigation! Here are two documents that might help with explaining how to do this:

Google Drive: Historical Investigation Parts D and E, Explained

Google Drive: Ms. DeFrance-Gilman's Part D Analysis Example

Basically, Part D is your own thoughts about how the evidence you summarized and presented in Part B helps answer your research question. This should be one page or more. Part E is the conclusion to the paper, which should be a paragraph, including a thesis statement.

Computer Lab: For the rest of class, we went to the computer lab again and worked. This is the last time we will do this as a class for this project. I was more than happy to write passes to the library or computer lab for your study hall. I also would love to provide assistance or support through comments on the blog, emails, or before or after school! Please let me know how I can help you be successful on this!

Come next class with everything you have, printed and ready to be looked at for a peer review, please. This is an important step in the process. Thanks! See you next class!

Historical Investigation, Day 4 - Class Recap

The Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan, New York City. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Another "short" week done! I don't know about you, but it seems like we have packed quite a lot into the two weeks I have been your teacher. Next class, please come with Parts A, B, C, and F of the Historical Investigation done, so we can work on Parts D and E in class. On to the recap:

Learning Targets Addressed:
SS.HS.RE.ALT.04: I can use evidence from my research to effectively address the research topic.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.04: I can evaluate information and explanations within a given context and develop a relevant conclusion.
SS.HS.RE.ALT.02: I can access relevant information from multiple and varied sources.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.05: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga & Colby O’Donis. Selected because of the MORP assembly today! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/20/14:
News Brief
HI Targets/Rubrics
Computer Lab N210

Homework: Historical Investigation due next Friday! Bring Parts A, B, C, and F next class! Read the blog! Next news brief: Nina.

News Brief: Riley had the news brief today and chose this article to talk about: CNN.com - Police ID 2 Americans found dead on Maersk Alabama -- 'Captain Phillips' ship. I mentioned that Somalia has been a place where Americans have had issues in the past - we have no idea how the two in this story died, yet, but it is a region we have had lots of difficulty with. Thanks, Riley!

HI Targets/Rubrics: After the news brief, I went over the learning targets for the historical investigation again, and explained how you could best get a score of Highly Proficient/4 on them. Here they are again - I will pass out a sheet with them next class. The formatting is off online - the copy in class will be better.

Google Drive - Historical Investigation Grading Rubrics 

Each element of the historical investigation contributes to one or more of the learning targets, so please be sure you know how you are addressing them!

Computer Lab N210: For the rest of class, we went to the computer lab to continue working on the historical investigation. I checked in with everyone about how it was going and I wanted to be sure that students were on track to finish Parts A, B, C, and F for next week. Please let me know if you need help! Work hard this weekend, please!

Historical Investigation, Day 3 - Class Recap

The statue of George Washington outside Federal Hall, in New York City. Washington was inaugurated here and this is where the first US capitol was. Yesterday, we had school off because of Presidents Day, which recognizes Washington's birthday.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for checking in with the blog today! Lots of important information here, especially about Part C of your Historical Investigation. Keep reading!

Learning Targets Addressed:
SS.HS.RE.ALT.04: I can use evidence from my research to effectively address the research topic.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.04: I can evaluate information and explanations within a given context and develop a relevant conclusion.
SS.HS.RE.ALT.02: I can access relevant information from multiple and varied sources.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.05: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. Selected because it was mentioned as a band someone liked, because of the amount of rain forecast for today, and because I enjoyed reading about your dreams in the letters you wrote to me! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/18/14:
News Brief
Class Unity Activity
OPVL Guidance
Historical Investigation Work

Homework:  Keep working on your historical investigation (due next Friday)! Check the blog and post a comment if you have not already done so! Riley has the next news brief.

News Brief: Nolan had the news brief today, and selected this story: CBS.com - Body found in wheel well of South African Airways plane. We talked a bit about this, as well as the recent hijacking of an Ethiopian Airlines 767 over the weekend. Thanks, Nolan!

Class Unity Activity: I always love this, for many reasons. One, because I love hearing about how everyone came to be in our classroom. Two, because of how the yarn connects us all. Three, because it helps the class (and me) learn names and a little about each other! Thank you for participating in this. It can get lengthy, I know, but I value it so much more than just lecturing for that time.

OPVL Guidance: Here come the links! After the yarn activity, I talked about Part C of your historical investigation, which is about an analysis of two of your sources, using the Origin, Purpose, Value, and Limitation criteria. This is what was passed out in class:

Google Drive - Explanation of What OPVL is With Sample Paragraph

Google Drive - OPVL Part 2: Examples Given Different Media

I went over this packet of further examples, to try and drive home the point about how to analyze your evidence using OPVL:

Google Drive - Examples of OPVL Analysis, Starting With The Declaration of Independence

Hopefully, this really helped with understanding what I will be looking for in Part C of your Historical Investigation. You are just doing this for TWO of your sources used in Part B. This could probably be done effectively in about a page, double spaced (so half a page for each source).

Historical Investigation Work: The rest of class was devoted to working on Part C and checking in with me about how everything is going. Next class, we will go to the computer lab again to keep working on it. On Monday, I will talk about your analysis and conclusion sections. Wednesday will be for peer review and edits, then next Friday will be the turn in day. Sounds like a plan? Please let me know if you are confused or in need of any help with this! See you next class!

Historical Investigation, Day 2 - Class Recap

The Washington Monument, as seen from across the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC in 2010. We have no school on Monday, because it is Presidents Day, which originally was meant to observe President George Washington's birthday.

Hi everyone,

It does seem like I will be posting the recaps on A Days a little bit later in the evening, just due to how much I have going on. They will still be up way before next class (in your case, Tuesday) though! Thanks for your hard work today. Here's what we did:

Learning Targets Addressed (Remember, due to proficiency standards, this is how you will be graded):
SS.HS.RE.ALT.04: I can use evidence from my research to effectively address the research topic.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.

SS.HS.CR.ALT.04: I can evaluate information and explanations within a given context and develop a relevant conclusion. 

SS.HS.RE.ALT.02: I can access relevant information from multiple and varied sources. 

SS.HS.CR.ALT.05: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: “Rockin’ In The Free World” by Neil Young. I chose this song for today because we are studying the US, which is typically seen as part of the "free world" and because you have Monday off for Presidents Day, so you will be free to enjoy a long weekend. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/13/14:
News Brief
Grading
Historical Investigation Overview
Computer Lab Time – S220

Homework: Check the blog and post a comment! Keep working on your historical investigation! Ask about your family history – how did you get here? Next news brief: Nolan.

---

News Brief: Nana brought in an article about South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and her stance on guns: Yahoo.com - S.C. Gov. Haley backs carrying firearms without permits, training. I talked a little bit about this, especially in regards to what Republicans and Democrats typically want to have happen in the US. Thanks, Nana! 

Grading: Next, I talked about proficiency grading and why it is so important to get off to a good start with the historical investigation. It counts for so many learning targets! If you are interested in knowing how you are going to be graded this semester (I sure hope you are), you can see every learning target and rubric for grading proficiency here:

Google Drive - American Studies 10 LTs and Rubrics 

That is the entire class, right there. We probably will not be able to hit every learning target, because the assumption is that you worked on a few of these last semester. In any case, look at the LTs that relate to the historical investigation (above) and compare it with how you will be graded by the rubric. That could help you with how your paper should be written.

Historical Investigation Overview: Speaking of the historical investigation, I went through and explained it with the authoritative voice of someone who is actually going to be grading it. For whatever reason, it seemed like a few students were under the impression that the investigation could be focused on a world history topic. Unfortunately, it cannot. Since this is American Studies, your historical investigation must be related to the United States. Here is the main assignment handout again:

Google Drive - Historical Investigation Overview

Next class, I will talk about Part C, the OPVL section. Please bring two sources of evidence to class, so you can get a good start. Hopefully, you are getting to be close to finished with Parts A, B, and F (the bibliography), with just C, D (your analysis), and E (the conclusion) to go. A reminder: I am going to wait just a little bit longer before assigning an actual due date here. It will probably be the week after next.

Computer Lab Time: The rest of the class was spent in S220, where I think almost everyone was productive. It was good to check in and see where you were at with everything. I am here to help! Let me know if you have any more questions I can help with.

That's all for now! Have a great weekend and I will see you on Tuesday!

Historical Investigation, Day 1 - Class Recap

The White House in Washington, D.C., 2011.

Hello everyone,

Thank you for doing your homework and visiting the blog! As I said in class, I think this is a really helpful resource for students, staff, and parents to be able to follow along with what is happening. After every class, I will write up a recap and post it. Most of the time, your only homework will be to read over the blog and be prepared for what is coming next in class. With that, let's get started!

Soundtrack: "Changes" by 2Pac. I always choose this song to start off a new class with, because I like the idea of our room being somewhat different from your other experiences in high school. This song also has all sorts of lyrics that relate to American Studies, like the line "instead of a War on Poverty, they got a War on Drugs, so the police can bother me." Check out the full lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/11/14:
Introductions/Attendance
Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz
The Blog
Create Ground Rules
News Briefs/Historical Investigation Work

Homework: Check the blog and post a comment! Keep working on your historical investigation! The first news brief is assigned to Nana.

Introductions/Attendance: At the start of class, I introduced myself and apologized for being two weeks late in arriving to start the semester. Had I known that I would have had a class, I certainly never would have booked the vacation I was on! With all of that said and done, I am absolutely delighted to be at Westview for the rest of this school year.

I took attendance and tried to ask everyone how they wanted me to address them. It will take me some time, but eventually, I will know everyone's names, I promise!

Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz: After attendance was done, I passed out a letter that I wrote to the class, explaining all about who I am and what sort of expectations I have. Hopefully, most of it was interesting information! I like passing these out and signing them all individually. To me, it represents that I really am interested in everyone in my class.

After reading the letter aloud, I asked everyone to write back to me in a similar sort of fashion. I gave a bunch of possible questions to answer as prompts and about 30 minutes or so to complete the assignment. I LOVE reading these and writing back to everyone! Thank you for your effort - I can't wait to learn a little bit more about who you are!

The Blog: Next, I introduced this website. If you are here, you have the web address down correctly! I also demonstrated how to post a comment, which is homework. This should take about one minute. Quite possibly the easiest homework assignment of all time. Please remember to keep checking back, especially if you were confused about something in class, or missed a day!

Create Ground Rules: Ahh, yes. The awkward process. You did not do too badly with this! The rules that you came up with and agreed to as an entire class are:

1. Respect
2. Be responsible
3. Promote a safe environment
4. Try your best
5. Embrace diversity in willing to work with everyone

I will be working to make sure everyone, including myself, is following the ground rules! Thank you for participating in this exercise.

News Briefs/Historical Investigation Work: To end class, I talked about the "news brief" concept, with is basically a current event that will start each class. If you are assigned to do the news brief, all you have to do is find a story that has recently (say, within the last week) happened in the United States. A good resource for this could be CNN.com. After you have found the article, either print it or comment/email me the link, then be ready to just talk about what is in the story in class. No writing, no presenting, no standing (unless you want) - just know what the article is about, because I will ask you questions. Hopefully, this will be a good way to look at what is currently happening in the US and relate it to what has happened in the past.

Finally, I came around and chatted with a few students about where they are in regards to the historical investigation project. Much more to come on that in the coming days, but I did want to just get a general sense of where you were. Next class, we will get back to working on it!

Thank you for reading! See you next class!

Welcome to the Blog!

The United States Capitol in Washington DC. I took this picture while visiting during Spring Break of 2010.

Hello all,

Welcome to the Period 1 blog for my American Studies class at Westview in 2014! Before I begin with posting updates, let me give you a little introduction to this website.

First off, comments can be made on any post by anyone, and they can be anonymous (though I would really prefer that you leave your name - by selecting "Name/URL" on the right, underneath the comment box - so that I can follow up with you in person). Please try to use good spelling and grammar in your comments! I have to approve the comments before they are posted, so don't worry if you don't see your comment right away.

Secondly, because I will be putting up the class agenda and homework, as well as any interesting links (after class has met), I will attempt to give you ways to download the relevant files and documents you may have missed in class or would be interested in seeing again for your homework (or just because). For instance, here is a handout that helps with Part B of the Historical Investigation:

Google Drive: Historical Investigation Part B Handout

Finally, to contact me personally (other than leaving a comment - which I may or may not see immediately), please e-mail me at luke_fritz@beaverton.k12.or.us - this can always be found by clicking on "View My Complete Profile" on the right, where my picture is, then clicking on "Email" on the left sidebar. I will get back to you ASAP! Again, please use grammatically correct language and spelling, to the best of your ability. It really is appreciated and will go a long way for you in the future!

I know it might be a lot to take in, but hopefully we will all get used to it! I envision this blog as a place where you will be able to come to converse with your classmates and me, as well as get all the latest assignments, updates from class, and further information.

If you have any questions or comments, please never hesitate to let me know!

Welcome again - thanks for visiting. Please bookmark this site and come back soon! :-)