Monday, September 30, 2019

Historiography, Day 5 - Class Recap


Many students in class selected Martin Luther King, Jr. as someone who they considered to be a "Great American" to research.

Dear class,

This week, we will be wrapping up our unit on the study of how history is told, by doing a little research of our own. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 1: I can self direct my learning.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "Circle of Life" from The Lion King. Selected for today because biographies are a portrait of someone's life. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/30/19:
News Brief - Ariel
Debrief Notable Americans
Comparative Biography
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Continue to work on the Comparative Biography – due Friday at start of class! The next news brief is assigned to: Reece.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Ariel, who selected an article about this story: NYTimes.com - Trump Was Repeatedly Warned That Ukraine Conspiracy Theory Was ‘Completely Debunked’. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Reece 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):

Debrief Notable Americans: The assignment for last class (this was also posted in Google Classroom) was to look at a few short biographies of notable Americans through history and to try and assess any biased words in them, whether or not they achieved the "American Dream," and whether or not this person is a "Great American" - students were able to define this however they wanted. Here are the biographies (try to select a range, not just the first three) and the assignment:



In class today, we talked about the notable Americans and had a conversation about the answers to the questions for each one. This activity transitioned us to...

Comparative Biography: The last part of the "notable Americans" worksheet asked for the name of someone you consider to be a "Great American" - students were allowed to define that however they wanted, however, the person had to be someone that was 1) real, and 2) multiple biographies existed of. With this person in mind, this is the assignment that I introduced today in class (also posted in Google Classroom):


We talked about the importance of finding good sources for this (Wikipedia is allowed for this assignment!) as well as how to cite your sources using EasyBib.com or another generator.

This assignment should end up being about 2-3 pages in length, as you look in depth at the biographies you find on your Great American.

Work Time/Names and States: The rest of class was devoted to work time on the comparative biography assignment, as next class will be as well. Please email me or comment with any questions, as this assignment will be due at the start of class on Friday!

Thanks, everyone - see you later this week! Here's the States quiz on Sporcle to help with studying states. I passed out a class roster with pictures for the names - there will be a quiz next week on these, so study up!
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Thursday, September 26, 2019

Historiography, Day 4 - Class Recap


One of the biographies that was an option to read today in class was about Charles Lindburgh, who flew this plane (now on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC) from New York to Paris in 1927.

Hello everyone,

Today, we continued our work with assessing how history is told, by investigating bias and what makes someone a "great" American. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 1: I can self direct my learning.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 4: I can evaluate information and explanations within a given context and develop a relevant conclusion.

Soundtrack: "Otherside" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Selected for today because of our discussion about bias and being "one sided" in interpretations of history. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/26/19:
News Brief - Sheinella
Finish Textbook Examination
Bias and Biographies
Great Americans

Homework: Read the blog. Finish the textbook examination if you did not in class! The next news brief is assigned to: Ariel.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Sheinella, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Trump mocks teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Ariel 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):

Finish Textbook Examination: This was an activity that we mostly finished last class, and the main goal of today was to analyze how the textbooks have looked at singular events in history, and how that might have changed over time. Here is the assignment that was due today in class (it is graded):


Hopefully this was an interesting activity for you to see! We debriefed this activity in class today and discussed what we saw in terms of how the events were described over the course of time.

If you are at home and wanting to look at the class textbook online, it is available on this website in chapters. If you did not finish this assignment and need to see the old textbooks on the cart, they will be in Ms. Ferris's room, N229, during Period 7 and 8 to access.

Bias and Biographies: Next, we continued to discuss historical perspective, as we defined the term bias. Here's the short PowerPoint that we went through:


Bias is unfairly preferring one person or group over another. This often takes the shape in history of people and events being portrayed in very positive or very negative ways, using language that does not present a "balanced" account of who the person was or what actually happened in the event.

Great Americans: The assignment for today (this is also posted in Google Classroom) was to look at a few short biographies of notable Americans through history and to try and assess any biased words in them, whether or not they achieved the "American Dream," and whether or not this person is a "Great American" - students were able to define this however they wanted. Here are the biographies (try to select a range, not just the first three) and the assignment:



The last part of the assignment asks students to write down someone they consider to be a "Great American" - we will be working with this selection next class, so please make sure it is someone that multiple biographies exist for.

If students finished this in class, I encouraged them to start getting familiar with all of the states in our country, which there will be a test on (probably in a few classes). To help, here's a Sporcle quiz.

Thanks, everyone! See you next week!
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Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Historiography, Day 3 - Class Recap


A passport is a book that also has historical facts in it! This is my favorite page from my older passport. Kiribati is a particularly difficult stamp to get!

Dear students,

I hope you enjoyed our work with looking at how the telling of history has changed through textbook examination! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 1: I can self direct my learning.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 4: I can evaluate information and explanations within a given context and develop a relevant conclusion.

Soundtrack: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. Selected for today because of the five year anniversary of the death of my dad, who loved this band. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/24/19:
News Brief - Ariel Michael
Finish "Lies"
Textbook Examination
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Finish the textbook examination if you did not in class! The next news brief is assigned to: Sheinella.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Michael (filling in for Ariel), who selected an article about this story: ESPN.com - Back to school: AB reenrolls at Central Michigan. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Sheinella 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):

Finish "Lies": Last class, we looked at historical perspective and some of the major "lies" people believe about American history. Today, we finished that look at 7 lies told and tried to understand why that would happen, before using that information to move on to a new assignment.

Textbook Examination: The main goal of today was to analyze how the textbooks have looked at singular events in history, and how that might have changed over time. Here is the assignment that will be due at the start of next class (it is graded - paper copies were available in class or it is also available to submit electronically on Google Classroom):


Hopefully this was an interesting activity for you to see! We also talked in class about the importance of citations when you are researching. I gave an example citation for the textbook as:

Author. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Format.

For the main class textbook, this would be:

Danzer, et. al. The Americans. McDougal Littell, 2005. Print.

If you are at home and wanting to look at the textbook online, it is available on this website in chapters.

Work Time: The rest of class was devoted to in class work time, looking at one of your 5 major events and seeing how textbooks have addressed it throughout time. This assignment was due at the end of class and will be graded for the Critical Thinking LT 4. Thanks, everyone! See you next class!
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Friday, September 20, 2019

Historiography, Day 2 - Class Recap


One of the "lies" that James Loewen discusses in his book "Lies My Teacher Told Me" is about Abraham Lincoln being portrayed as single minded in terms of saving the Union, instead of a deep thinker who wrestled with the idea of slavery and the treatment of people of color.

Hello everyone,

Another interesting class today on understanding history! Here's what we did today in class:

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: "Love the Way You Lie (Clean)" by Eminem and Rihanna. Selected for today because of the connection to "Lies My Teacher Told Me."

AGENDA 9/20/19:
News Brief - Michael
Important Events
History
The Biggest Lie

Homework: Read the blog. The next news brief is assigned to: Ariel.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Michael, who was absent from class, so I filled in and selected an article about this story: TheGuardian.com - Global climate strike: Greta Thunberg and school students lead climate crisis protest – live updates. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Ariel 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):


Important Events: Last class, we devoted the end of class for each student to try and identify what they felt the 5 most important events in United States history are. We came back to discussing these events in class today. Next class, we will look a little at what the text book has to say about these events, as we continue to have a critical eye on history. Here's the list Period 1 came up with:

 • Civil War (14).
• Great Depression (10).
• World War II (9).
• September 11th, 2001. (9)
• Revolutionary War (8).
• Civil Rights Movement (5).
• Louisiana Purchase (3).
• Moon Landing/Space Race/Apollo 11 (2).
• Jackson’s Indian Removal Act (1).
• JFK assassination (1).

• Columbine (1).

History: We discussed a question about who or what bears responsibility for the event described, using this excerpt from a book called "What Is History:"


Here's a real life example, regarding an autonomous driving car:


We had another conversation in class about who was to blame for this incident - again, using our interpretations of the facts, as historians do.

The Biggest Lie: Simply put, this is one of the most important books for social studies/history teachers: 


The book came out in 1995, but was recently revised and republished. In class, we read this interview with the author, James Loewen, about the biggest lie that is told in history classes:


As we read, the lie is that America is constantly getting better, all the time, and that there are not times when it is getting worse. We broke up into 7 smaller groups and read through the interview, then I asked the groups to do a little research on the "lies" from the book, which included:

1) Christopher Columbus
2) Woodrow Wilson
3) The first Thanksgiving
4) Betsy Ross
5) Helen Keller
6) John Brown
7) Abraham Lincoln

As a class, we wrote out what we found as the lies about these people/events and had a good discussion about why they are lied about (up to the First Thanksgiving group). For more on Thanksgiving, see here: NYTimes.com - Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong. We will come back to this next class! See you then!
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Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Historiography, Day 1 - Class Recap

Note: I was out of the building today at an all day 9th Grade Success meeting, so this is what I had the guest teacher, Ms. Van Nest go through with students. See you all on Friday!


Today in class, we discussed how important perspective is to understanding history. This is a photo taken at the "Four Corners" intersection between Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. Photo taken in 2007.

Dear class,

We began a new mini unit on historiography (the study of history) through the lens of American Studies. Here's what we did today in class:

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: "History" by One Direction. Selected because of our look at what history is today in class. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/18/19:
News Brief - Sharath
Gallery Walk
What is History?
Five Events

Homework: Read the blog. The next news brief is assigned to: Michael.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Sharath, who selected an article about a recent news story involving the United States.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Micahel was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we usually watch 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):

Gallery Walk: The American Dream poster assignment that we started last class was due today in class for students. As such, I wanted everyone to see what the rest of the class did, so we placed the posters on desks and walked around to see them. I also wanted students to notice if there were any common themes on the posters. I will take these and put them up around the room! If you did not complete the poster, please get it in to me as soon as possible, as it is a graded assignment.

What is History?: Next, we started our new unit on understanding history a bit more. To begin, this is the presentation that we began in class:


Basically, I want students to see that what we think are facts can actually change over time - we will be investigating this more over the coming classes.

 Five Events: To start thinking like historians, I asked the class to consider what they thought the five most important events in American history are and why. This is what class ended with today, as students used the textbook or Chromebooks to write what they thought. We will come back to these next class, on Friday! I'm looking forward to seeing you all then!
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Monday, September 16, 2019

The American Dream, Day 2 - Class Recap


A poster from some of my work before coming back to teach at Westview, helping 9th graders make the transition to high school.

Dear class,

It was a short week, as we continued thinking about the American Dream and creating work that might reflect it. Here's what we did today in class:

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: "American Teen" by Khalid. Selected for today because it came up as an example of a related song to the American Dream in one of my classes on Tuesday. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/16/19:
News Brief/Blog Recap - Emilia
Slogans
Dream Posters
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. The American Dream poster assignment is due at the start of next class! The next news brief is assigned to: Sharath.

News Brief/Blog Recap: Today's news brief was brought in by Emilia, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Saudi attacks send oil prices soaring. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend and if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Sharath 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.

Slogans: Last class, we ended by discussing what slogans for advertising the American Dream. Students were asked to come up with one as homework, and we shared a few in class. Here are some more examples (no, you cannot use any of these for your poster):


Hopefully these help a little in terms of thinking about slogans, if you had a difficult time with this.

Dream Poster: The main assignment for this introduction to the American Dream unit is creating a poster with your slogan/catchphrase, along with images, captions, and an explanation on the back. The full poster assignment is here:


We went through this carefully in class - my hope is that this is something fun and interesting for you to do, and that we can use the end products in creating a more colorful classroom for the rest of the year.

Work Time: The rest of class was devoted to work time on the American Dream posters, which will be due next class for grading. Please let me know if you have any questions!
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Thursday, September 12, 2019

The American Dream, Day 1 - Class Recap


At the New York Stock Exchange in 2009. Photo taken by my friend Ryan!

Hello everyone,

Today, we started up with class content for real, as we began thinking about what makes someone "American" and what the "American Dream" is. Here's what happened in class:

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: "Dream On" by Aerosmith. Selected for today because of our discussion of what the American Dream is and whether or not it exists. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/12/19:
News Brief/Blog Recap - Finn
9/11 and 12/7 Speeches
American Dream
Mother to Son

Homework: Read the blog. Create a slogan about the American Dream, ready to share next class. Bring art supplies if you want, as we will be creating posters next class! The next news brief is assigned to: Emilia.

News Brief/Blog Recap: Today's news brief was brought in by Finn, who selected an article about this story: YouTube.com - Hong Kong police storm metro system after protests - BBC News. We discussed this for a bit (especially as the Hong Kong protests have related to the United States) and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend and if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Emilia 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.

9/11 and 12/7 Speeches: This was connected to our lesson last class for September 11th, when I wanted students to look at speeches from President George W. Bush on 9/11/2001 and President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 12/8/1941, which led the United States into war after attacks. Here they are again (questions at the bottom):


 I really appreciated the text analysis and conversations here - thanks!

American Dream: To really start with content for the course this year, I wanted to begin by defining "American" and the idea of the "American Dream" in class. To go with this, here is the PowerPoint we went through together:


First, we defined "American" by ourselves, then worked in small groups to come up with combined definitions, then talked together as a class about what makes someone American.

I then asked everyone to try and define with the "American Dream" is in a free write. After the free write, I showed this video:



We have a fair amount of first generation American students in our classes, so I was particularly interested in these definitions!

Mother to Son: Next, we read a poem called "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. Here is the poem and the in class assignment that goes with it (it is also posted in Google Classroom if you missed class):


We discussed in class about the tone and dialect of the poem, as Mr. Puterbaugh noted some of the historical context to me when I shared it with him.

We ended by continuing to investigate the American Dream and thinking of slogans that we will use next class in your first graded assignment. Thank you for your work in class today!
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Tuesday, September 10, 2019

September 11th, 2001 - Class Recap


This is part of N591UA, which operated United Flight 93 on September 11th, 2001, and was hijacked for possible use against the White House. Instead, a passenger revolt forced down the plane into a field in Pennsylvania. A part of my 9/11 story is that I once flew on that exact same plane, from Portland to Chicago in 1996. Check out my FlightMemory map of lifetime flights.

Hi everyone,

It has been a pleasure getting to know you all and continue trying to learn your names as fast as possible. Today, we had a timely look at what happened on September 11th, 2001 and December 7th, 1941, as well as what happened over the summer. Here's what we did today in class:

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. Selected for today because we used the ball of yarn to connect to each other about where we were from. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/10/19:
News Brief - Raj
Class Unity Activity
September 11/December 7
The Summer

Homework: Read the blog. Ask your parents/guardians for their memories of September 11th, 2001. The next news brief is assigned to: Finn.

News Brief/Blog Recap: Today's news brief was brought in by Raj, who selected an article about this story: CNBC.com - Sony just did the one thing it couldn’t afford to do: Enrage Spider-Man fans. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend and if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Finn 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):

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!

September 11/December 7: To start this section, I asked students to do a free write for about 5 minutes on the following questions:

What do you know about September 11th and on December 7th? What have you heard about it?  What have you learned before, in class, or from parents?

After the free write time, we shared responses as a class and I told my story about September 11th. I was starting my Sophomore year at Wilson High School in Portland. It was definitely a day I will remember for the rest of my life. To drive home the point as to what the day was like, I showed this video in class, which was a timeline of the day:


From there, I moved on to discussing how September 11th, 2001 came about and some facts regarding the day.

We also talked in class about another incredibly important day in American history: December 7th, 1941, which is when the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was attacked by Japan, which caused the US to enter World War II officially. Here was the video I showed in class about the attack and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech the next day:


Next, we analyzed the two speeches from US presidents about these two days: President George W. Bush on 9/11 and President FDR on 12/7. Here are the speeches:


The questions we looked at were here:

Are there common themes running through these speeches? Be specific.

•  What was the reason for delivering each of these speeches?
•  What effect do you think each of these speeches had on the nation and/or the rest of the world?
•  What are the most important lines in each of these speeches?

Thanks for the discussion here!

We finished with that. Please be ready to discuss next class. See you next class!
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Friday, September 6, 2019

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 9/6/19:
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. Next news brief: Rajvir.

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:

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.

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 Others – Treat Them the Way You Want to Be Treated
• Be Responsible
• Participate to Your Best Ability
• Be Safe
• 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 a current news article (within the last two weeks) that is a story about something inside the United States (since this is an American Studies class). We will talk for about 5-10 minutes at the start of class about whatever article this is and whatever else is going on with students - just as a way to help make class relevant and interesting to you and what is going on every day in the country.

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

Thank you for reading! See you next class!
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