Good news about the US history final!

There will not be a traditional final exam in US History this year!

Instead, you will be creating a Facebook page for a significant person from history.  Beginning on Monday, you will be making a paper mock up of a page in social media for the person whose name you drew at the end of class today. The full list of names is linked up here. That list will be important to you later!

For the page, you need to have a number of items, so you should start to gather some information over the weekend. A sample of a Facebook page is linked up here and was shared with you. (Because, let's face it, Facebook is for your parents, so you might not be all that familiar with it...) For this project, however, you only need to have the first two pages for your person: The Wall, and Info.  You do not need pictures other than the one bio picture to post on the Wall.  The complete list of requirements for the page is linked up here, as is a description of the rest of the final.

We will be working on making these pages in class on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  On the day of the exam, you will come into class and make friend requests based on who you believe your person would be friends with.  You will then have to provide a written rationale for your choices. After you do that, you will need to decide which of the requests you got your person will accept, and then write a rationale for your choices. So you will need to look into those other people on the list to be sure you know who these people are so you can make good choices.

The class will then look at the patterns of acceptance and rejection to see what emerges.

And that will be your final!

Reconstruction Homework

For homework, take a look at this video: http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction,

And read the Overview on Reconstruction from DigitalHistory: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=8&smtID=1

Compare this information to your plan.

Write: What is similar to what your group thought should be done and what was actually done?

Tomorrow, May 6th

Tomorrow we are making a return to the digital!

So please be sure you have your iPad with you, charged up and ready to go!

We will be having a workshop on digital organization with Ms. Scheffer, so it is vital that you be able to participate in that!

Test on Tuesday

You will have a test on the Civil War on Tuesday!

As we've been reviewing in class the last several days, you should continue to use the review guide you made by creating the categories web as a means to process the information.  You should also take a look at your past two tests to see if there are types of questions that you need to focus your efforts on, or if there is a section of the test that you have struggled with in the past so you can direct your efforts in a better way!

The test format will be the same as the last two: 30 multiple choice questions, 7 of 10 Identifications (with significance) and 5 of 6 short answer questions.

Homework over the weekend

This weekend you will be working with the Gettysburg Address, which we talked about in class today.  Please choose one of the following three options:

1) Memorize the Address and recite it for the class on Monday;

2) Re-write the Gettysburg Address in your own words.  It may not be longer than 272 words, it may not repeat phrases Lincoln used.  It may be in text speak, or as a series of tweets if you like, or it may be a speech of your own that says the same things Lincoln said;

3) Translate the Gettysburg Address into a language you speak that is not English.  If you like, you may try your language at school to do this, or if you have a second language, you may do that.  You may not do a machine translation (i.e.: put it in Google Translate and click "Serbian."  It must be a language you speak.)  You need to provide a side-by-side translation, and we will ask you to read it aloud to the class on Monday;

A fresh copy of the address is linked up above!

Have a good weekend!

Homework for April 8

Tonight, write a reflection on the test you just got back.  In that reflection, include the following:
1) How did you do relative to your last test? (what was the improvement? did you do better or worse on the different sections of the tests?)
2) Why do you think these results are different/the same?
3) What will you do the same/differently to prepare for the next test?

You may handwrite your reflection, or you may type it in a Google Doc and share it with both Mr. Whitten and Ms. DelLlano.

Homework for the weekend of March 20th

For the weekend, finish the activity we started in class today.  Cut up the pictures of the presidents on the page and then rank the presidents from this time period by re-organizing them on a new sheet of paper. Then write up your explanation of why you chose to rank them 1 (low) to 6 (high) to hand in on Monday.  The President sheet is linked up here in case you lost it.

Quiz tomorrow

Tomorrow we have a quiz!  It will be open note, and there will be 5 terms/names to identify, you will write answers for 4 of the 5.  Be sure to bring your notebooks back to class!

Mexican American War

For tonight, read the following selections from Digitalhistory.uh.edu:
The Mexican War
The Face of Battle

Homework for the weekend--Don't Mess With Texas!

Over the weekend read in digitalhistory.uh.edu two sections:
The Texas Revolution
The Texas Question in American Politics

We will be talking about this in class on Monday with the aid of film maker Ken Burns' project The West.

Homework for March 5--Wagon Train!

For tonight, do the reading in the activity from today's class.  It is in Classroom and linked up here.  You should read the selections and answer the questions and share your answers back with us.  Tomorrow in class you will finish the maps you started today.

Test! Test!

On Tuesday, you will have a test.  The test will cover the Era of Good Feelings, through the Presidency of Martin Van Buren and the advent of reforms in 19th Century America. It will draw on information you learned in our study of Jefferson's Presidency and the War of 1812, so you should review notes on those two sections as well!

The test will consist of multiple choice questions, identifications (for which you must give the significance) and short answer questions.  The latter two sections will have choice (so you will answer 7 of 10, or 4 of 5).

In class, you received a review sheet via google classroom, and you created a series of review questions from the Crash Course video series.  The questions are shared with you via google doc, and are linked up here as well. Please make a copy of the document for your own use before you begin to answer the questions!

We strongly encourage you to use this weekend to watch those Crash Course videos, review your notes, find areas of concern or where you don't know as much about the material, so you can ask questions during the class on Monday.  We will be playing a review game in class, and you will have a chance to ask questions!

Homework for February 25

For tonight, take a look at the document "George Washington, Slaveholder" shared with you in Google Classroom and linked up here.  Look at the lithograph (Don't know what a lithograph is? You should look that up!) and answer the two questions.  Share your answers back through Google Classroom.

Homework for tonight: Jackson and the Bank

Watch the video about Jackson and the Bank.  You may want to take some notes as you go to make sure you remember it!

Jackson and Nullification

For tonight, watch the YouTube video of the Explain Everything that describes, in short, what went on between Jackson and the state of South Carolina.

Homework for the first weekend in February

You were given a copy of the Prologue to the book American Lion, by Jon Meacham in class today.  Over the weekend, read the prologue and complete the sheet that was shared with you in you Classroom folder, and is linked up here.  We'll be talking about Jackson's presidency in class on Monday.

Homework for January 30

In class today you started to write an answer to the question: "What forces led Americans to declare war on Britain in 1812?" based on the documents you've been working with in class over the last several days.  For homework tonight, finish up whatever you have left to write and be ready to hand it in on Monday.

Homework to keep you warm in a blizzard

For tonight (Monday) read about the War of 1812 in Digital History.  The reading is linked up here.

Resources from class to help you study for the MidTerm

We had a number of presentations in class for this part of the year.  If you would like to view any or all of them, you can go to slideshare.net.  My username is twhittenburlington, or you can just search Todd Whitten, and you can see all of the presentations we've done so far this year.  Happy studying!

Actual Mid Term

The first part of the Mid Term is actually done at home on your own.  In your Google Classroom folder, you will find a writing prompt.  It is linked up here in case you have difficulty accessing the file.  Make a copy of the file before you start to write!

The document contains all the instructions you need to complete the writing assignment.  The assignment must be typed, and must be shared with me before Wednesday morning at 9am.  This assignment will count as 30% of your overall mid term grade.

You may use notes, the book and any resource you like to help you answer the prompt.  You may not use another human being as a resource; however, you may communicate with either Ms. DelLlano or myself should you need help--we will be checking email sporadically over the long weekend, and regularly once we are back in school.

Good luck!

More Mid-Terms! (still no answers...)

In class, we've created review sheets for Unit One (yesterday) and Unit Two (today).  You should be going through those sheets (in your Google Drive) and adding in information about the various topics.

You should also be mindful that they are not necessarily complete!  You should be going through your notes on your own, as well as the textbook, to be sure that the review sheet that you create is as complete as you can make it!

So in Unit One, we talked about demographics of the colonies, religions of the colonies, food and clothing of the colonies, as well as the colonies themselves and their geography and origins.

In Unit Two we answered three main questions: Was the Revolutionary War inevitable; How did the colonists win; and What were the consequences for America?  You should be sure that you can answer these questions with details--names, events, places!

Remember, multiple choice questions are going to check your memory, definitions and significance check your memory and your thinking, the Constitution section will test your memory and ability to apply that information, and the letter you write will have you synthesize all of your information.  There are several thinking skills involved with this exam, so don't focus on only one way of studying!

Mid-Terms! Everything you need to know...except the answers!

Welcome to Mid-Terms.  We will be reviewing this week, so here's some information you can reference as we go along.

The Mid-Term exam will last one hour and thirty minutes.
The Mid-Term exam will happen on Wednesday, January 21st in our classroom and start at 9:15am.
The Mid-Term exam will be comprehensive, and cover everything we've talked about in class from the first day up through Monday, January 12.
If you miss the Mid-Term due to illness, you need to contact me ASAP to arrange a make-up.  Make-up exams must happen by the end of the week, unless something extraordinary has happened. (like, alien abduction extraordinary...)

The exam itself will contain two parts, one of which you will complete at home, and the other of which you will take in class.

Part One: Email from America. Imagine America were a student who was away from home.  What would America have to say about the first part of her history?  Write an email home as though you were America talking about the four units we've covered. Is America happy? Sad? Enjoying these events or not? Wishing things were better? Satisfied with her progress? Your email must have four paragraphs (one for each of our units) and an introduction.  Your email (being an email) must be typed and double spaced. Handwritten work will not be accepted. This must be handed in prior to taking the Mid-Term on January 21st.  It may be shared electronically or handed in on paper.

Part Two: In classroom test.  Your test on the 21st will consist of the following types of questions:
    Section 1: Multiple Choice
    Section 2: Defining Names/Terms/Events and giving their significance
    Section 3: Constitutional or Not? Read the sentence, circle Constitutional or Not Constitutional and explain your reasoning
    Section 4: Map 1  Locate each of the 13 Colonies correctly on a map
    Section 5: Map 2  Identify the items indicated on the numbered map.

General Study Tips
Sleep, eat and hydrate!  Your brain needs rest, food and water.  DO NOT SHORTCHANGE YOURSELF IN THESE CRITICAL AREAS!

Start to review now.  No one does well when they try to cram everything in at the last minute.  True for eating, true for studying!

Be active! Never just stare at a screen or pieces of paper and call it "Studying."  Your brain will bonk if you do.  Write, speak, move, act, sing...about the material.  Use colors, highlight, underline, re-write, question.  The more you actually can do with the material, the more you will be able to remember and apply it!

ASK QUESTIONS!  That's what I'm here for.  Email, stop by the room, tweet at me, ask questions during class.  If you don't know something, I can probably help you!

Our first review sheet was created in class today, and it is linked up here and you have copies in your Google Drive through Classroom. Fill it out!  It can help you...

We will be creating two more review sheets in class this week, so stay tuned for updates!

Homework for 1/8-Election of Jefferson

For tonight, look at how the textbook describes the election of Thomas Jefferson in the section: The Revolution of 1800. (It is in the textbook section called the Early National Period, in the sub-section The Federalist Era.)

As you read, answer the questions that are in your Google Drive (shared through Classroom.) The questions, in case you can't access the document, are:

1. How was Jefferson described by his opponents?

2. How was Adams described by his opponents?

3. What happens that allows Jefferson to win the election?

4. Why is this section entitled "The Revolution of 1800?"

Homework for January 6 Team Hamilton vs. Team Jefferson

In class we are looking at the ideas of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.  You've created posters to represent the ideas of each man in terms of: how they view human beings; what the best type of government is; how they view the Constitution; their political party and its ideas; and their view of the ideal economy.

For tonight, fill out the chart for the man your group was focused on, and bring that chart to class with you tomorrow!