The American Dream, Day 1 - Class Recap

The ball of yarn that we used in class today for the Class Unity Activity! Thanks for participating in this!

Dear class,

I enjoyed getting to know you all a bit better today! We had a productive time with the yarn activity and discussing what happened in the United States over the summer.

Learning Targets Addressed: 

Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Soundtrack: "Comin' From Where I'm From" by Anthony Hamilton. Because today, we talked about where we are from and how we got to be at Westview, via our family background. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 8/30/18:
News Brief/Blog Recap - Jalen
Looper and Newer
Class Unity Activity
The Summer

Homework: Read the blog and post a comment (if you have not already). The next news brief is assigned to: Julian.

News Brief/Blog Recap: Today's news brief was brought in by Jalen, who selected an article about this story: WSJ.com - Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty, Says Trump Told Him to Pay Off Women. We discussed this for a bit and then moved on. The news brief is pretty easy, I hope!

I also asked about the first few days of classes and if anyone was up to anything particularly fun or interesting. I like checking in and giving the opportunity to see what students are up to!

Julian was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

I also showed this website and the blog post from last class, so students could see the level of detail with each post.

Looper and Newer: We did not have time to get to this last class, so I wanted to make sure we had time to do it today. Since about 70% of the class are "loopers" that I had with Mr. Puterbaugh last year, I wanted the "newer" students to be able to hear some advice and meet some of the students that already know us well. Here were the questions for guidance that I asked:

What should the newer students know about Mr. Fritz and Mr. Puterbaugh?

What are some keys to success in our classes?

What were some major assignments that you remember from last year? How did they go for you?

Thanks for being up for this, everyone!

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. It was nice to enjoy being outside the classroom for a bit, too!

The Summer: At the end of the class, I asked students to get into groups and then asked what happened in the United States over the summer, as we made a class list of big events. Next time, we will finish this up and keep talking about current events!

We finished with that. Please be ready to discuss next class. See you next Tuesday!

Introduction Day - Class Recap

The start of a year long journey together! This is the road to Monument Valley, on the Arizona/Utah border, during the summer of 2014.

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:

"And although it seems heaven-sent
We ain't ready to see a black president."

Check out the full lyrics here.

AGENDA 8/28/18:
Introductions/Attendance
Syllabus/Grades
Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz
The Blog
Create Ground Rules
News Briefs

Homework: Share syllabus and website with parents. Bring binder. Check the blog and post a comment! Next news brief: Jalen.

Introductions/Attendance: At the start of class, I introduced myself and how the agenda on the whiteboard works. I am absolutely delighted to be your teacher at Westview this year!

I took attendance and tried to ask everyone how they wanted me to address them. I did look up any student preferred names/nicknames in StudentVUE before, so let me know if you would prefer to go by something else. It will take me some time, but eventually, I will know everyone's names, I promise!

Syllabus/Grades: I know that this is not the most exciting content in class. I wanted to make sure to go over some of the real key points to the syllabus (like where I am, how to contact me, how your grade is decided, and the need to bring a binder to class). Here is an electronic copy of the syllabus and rubrics:

Google Drive: Westview American Studies Syllabus

Global Studies: Westview American Studies Grading Rubrics

If you or your parents have any questions about any of this, please let me know!

Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz: After the syllabus talk 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: As part of the syllabus, I introduced this website: the class blog! This is seriously so important for your success in this class. If you are staying up to date on here, reviewing what happened in class to get ready for the next meeting, and asking questions if you need help, I guarantee that you will be more successful than if you do not. Make sure to leave a comment at least once (the easiest homework assignment of all time for most students, I believe), so I know you are able to!

Create Ground Rules: Ahh, yes. Your class was great with this usually awkward process! The rules that you came up with and agreed to as an entire class are:

• Respect one another
• Be Prepared
• Persevere
• Be responsible
• Try to have fun

I will be working to make sure everyone, including myself, is following the ground rules! Thank you for participating in this exercise. I will post these in the room and on the top right of the blog.

News Briefs: This is the current event style assignment that everyone will do at least once. Basically, all I want is for someone (I will assign it) to bring in a print out (or email me) of an current news article (within the last two weeks) that is a story about something inside the United States (since this is a American Studies class). We will talk for about 5-10 minutes at the start of class about whatever article this is - just as a way to help make class relevant and interesting to you and what is going on every day in the country.

Jalen kindly volunteered to do the first news brief. :-)

Thank you for reading! See you next class! Post a comment to do your homework!

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 blog for my American Studies class at Westview for the 2018-19 school year! 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 the course syllabus that I passed out in class:

Google Drive - American Studies 10 Course Syllabus

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! :-)