Wrapping Up 2014-15, Preparing for 2015-16, Thanks, & Summer Wishes

Students helped put away materials and set up rooms for the coming school year. Many thanks for this, students.

It has been a pleasure working with you wonderful young people. I sincerely appreciate your effort and expertise, creativity and collaboration, debate and discussion. I learned much from you and look forward to doing so next school year.

Have a safe, rewarding, and restful summer!

Eucharist & Awards Ceremony

Class did not meet due to special end-of-the-year events. Our seventh graders won numerous awards, for which we heartily congratulate them!

Research Presentations + Governors of Texas & the Solid South

Today our students:

• Completed their Research Presentations
• Examined & discussed a list of Governors of Texas, noting how after Reconstruction until the late 1970s, every governor of Texas was a Democrat. Since 1995, every governor has been a Republican.
• Compared the Texas governorships with lists of governors of other southern states, including Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida.

Assignments: None

Decades Presentations + Research Essay Review

Students today:

• Made presentations on the Modern Texas decades in which they chose to specialize - Good job, guys!
• Got back their graded Research Essays, on which they did quite well

Assignment for Tuesday, 5/26: Research Presentation (if you did not to do it on Thursday, 5/21) - Note that this has been moved up one day.

Enjoy your three-day Memorial Day weekend!

Research Essay + Research Presentation

How was your experience different?

Students:

• Wrote their Research Project Essays
• Made or listened to a Research Project Presentation

Assignments
For Friday - My Decades Presentations

• Walk us through Texas during your two decades.
• Use whatever presentation media you have chosen: website you created, PowerPoint, online app(s), trifold, etc.
• Be sure to show us how Texas changed during the decade:
• How Texas was at the beginning of each decade
• How Texas was at the end of each decade
• The major events & developments that brought about the various changes during each decade

For Tuesday, 5/26 - Research Presentation if you did not to do it on Thursday, 5/21

Quiz over Ch. 24-26 Summaries + Research Essay Planning

The post title pretty much says it all: students took the quiz and spent the rest of the period planning out their Research Essay, to be written in class tomorrow.

Assignments

For Thursday
1. Research Essay - Come prepared to write your 45-minute Research Essay in class.

• You can write it from memory for a possible grade of 110.
• Or you may use a 20-word prompt and still make a grade of 100.
• On a student's suggestion, you may use a 10-word prompt for a possible grade of 105.

2. Research Presentation - if you choose to do it on Thursday

For Friday - My Decades Presentations

• Walk us through Texas during your two decades.
• Use whatever presentation media you have chosen: website you created, PowerPoint, online app(s), trifold, etc.
• Be sure to show us how Texas changed during the decade:
• How Texas was at the beginning of each decade
• How Texas was at the end of each decade
• The major events & developments that brought about the various changes during each decade

For Wednesday, 5/27 - Research Presentation should you decide not to do it on Thursday, 5/21

Research Project + Decades Assignment + Quiz Prep

Today students:

• Continued working on their Research Project
• Worked on Steps 10 & 11
• Organized their notes
• Began planning their Research Essay
• Worked on the Decades Assignment
• Studied for the Quiz over Ch. 24-26 Summaries

Assignments

For Wednesday -
1. Quiz over Ch. 24-25-26 Summaries - The Quiz will take no more than 20 minutes.
2. Research Notes Due - Steps 10 & 11 -

• You will be given time in class on Tuesday to work on the Research Notes for Steps 10 & 11. You will then finish taking the notes at home.
• By Tuesday night, if you don't have enough information to write a 45-minute Research Essay, do a Google search for (My Topic) in Texas (or something like that) and then take more notes from appropriate sources. 
• Be sure you gather and organize enough information to write a thorough, 45-minute essay in class on Thursday.

3. You will be given time in class on Wednesday to organize and plan your essay.

• Read over and organize your notes before you arrive in class. 
• This will help you plan your essay.

For Thursday

1. Research Essay - Come prepared to write your 45-minute Research Essay in class.
2. Research Presentation - if you choose to do it on Thursday

For Friday - My Decades Presentations

• Walk us through Texas during your two decades.
• Use whatever presentation media you have chosen: website you created, PowerPoint, online app(s), trifold, etc.
• Be sure to show us how Texas changed during the decade:
• How Texas was at the beginning of each decade
• How Texas was at the end of each decade
• The major events & developments that brought about the various changes during each decade

Review Modern Texas + Research Project + Decades Assignment

Today our students:

• Reviewed the Modern Texas column of the Chart: Time Periods of Texas History
• Worked on Steps 8 & 9 of the Research Project
• Worked on the Modern Texas: My Decades assignment

Assignments

For Tuesday - Research Notes Due-Steps 8 & 9

For Wednesday -
1. Quiz over Ch. 24-25-26 Summaries - The Quiz will take no more than 20 minutes.
2. Research Notes Due - Steps 10 & 11 -

• You will be given time in class on Tuesday to work on the Research Notes for Steps 10 & 11. You will then finish taking the notes at home.
• By Tuesday night, if you don't have enough information to write a 45-minute Research Essay, do a Google search for (My Topic) in Texas (or something like that) and then take more notes from appropriate sources. 
• Be sure you gather and organize enough information to write a thorough, 45-minute essay in class on Thursday.

3. You will be given time in class on Wednesday to organize and plan your essay.

• Read over and organize your notes before you arrive in class. 
• This will help you plan your essay.

For Thursday

1. Research Essay - Come prepared to write your 45-minute Research Essay in class.
2. Research Presentation - if you choose to do it on Thursday

For Friday - My Decades Presentations

• Walk us through Texas during your two decades.
• Use whatever presentation media you have chosen: website you created, PowerPoint, online app(s), trifold, etc.
• Be sure to show us how Texas changed during the decade:
• How Texas was at the beginning of each decade
• How Texas was at the end of each decade
• The major events & developments that brought about the various changes during each decade

Research Project Planning + Decade-by-Decade, cont'd + Galveston. . .Storm Discussion

Today our students:

• Discussed and finalized plans for the Research Project
• Explored online sites (Wix, Weebly, etc.) for possible Project Presentations
• Augmented their Decade-by-Decade timelines with information from the appropriate textbook chapters
• Were asked to be considering the following for each of their decades:
• What were the 2 or 3 most important events during each decad?
• How did Texas change during the decade?: 
• How was it at the beginning of the decade?
• How was it at the end of the decade?
• What happened to cause the change(s)?
• Held a possibly concluding discussion of Galveston's Summer of the Storm - Discussion notes here.

Assignments

For Tuesday - Finish Steps 8 & 9 of the Research Project

For Wednesday - Quiz over Ch. 24-25-26 Summaries

For Thursday

1. You will write your 45-minute Research Project Essay in class.
2. If you choose, you will do your Research Project Presentation after the Essay.

For Wednesday, 5/28 - If you prefer to do your Presentation on this day, you may.

Decade-by-Decade + Online Timelines + Unit 8 Summaries

Today our students:

• Began their study of "Modern" Texas 1950-The Present
• Chose two decades between 1950 & the present to focus on
• Tried various online timeline sites and made a timeline of their two decades
• Read two of the Unit 8 Chapter Summaries

Assignments for Friday

1. Research Notes for Steps 6 & 7 are due.
2. 1-Pager from Fehrenbach's Lone Star should be posted at your blog.

Chapel + Quiz over Ch. 22/23 Summaries + Silent Reading

Students today:

• Attended Wednesday Chapel
• Took the Quiz over the Ch. 22 & 23 Summaries (Great Depression, New Deal, & World War II)
• Began silently reading Chapters 22 & 23 in the textbook

Assignments

For Thursday

1. Finish reading Ch. 22 & 23 in your textbook
2. Finish reading Galveston's Summer of the Storm & come prepared to discuss it.
3. Be thinking how we might do a decade-by-decade study of "Modern Texas" (1950-Present)

For Friday

1. Research Notes for Steps 6 & 7 are due.
2. 1-Pager from Fehrenbach's Lone Star should be posted on your blog.

For Thursday, 5/21/15 -

1. You will write your 45-minute, in-class essay summarizing what you learned about Research Project topic. 
2. If you want to do your presentation on Thursday, you can present after the Essay.

For Wednesday, 5/27/15 - If you don't do your presentation on Thursday, 5/21, you will do the presentation for your Research Project in class on Wednesday.

Discussion of GSotS Ch. 8 + Brief Research Project Reports + Business Cycle 1914-1945

Today students:

• Participated in the Intruder Drill
• Discussed Ch. 8 of Galveston's Summer of the Storm
• Gave brief oral reports on their research so far
• Looked at but didn't have time to get started on a Graph of the Business Cycle 1914-1945

Assignments

For Wednesday

1. Quiz over Ch. 22 & 23 Summaries
2. Fill out your column of the Graph of the Business Cycle - Progressive Era-World War II
3. Read and come prepared to discuss Ch. 9 of GSotS.

For Friday

1. 1-Pager - Post on your blog.
2. Research Project Notes on Steps 6 & 7

Roaring Twenties: Symbols of the 1920s & the Current Decade

Today students:

• Took advantage of the rescheduling of the Ch. 22/23 Quiz to focus on the 1920s
• Speculated as to what might be symbols of the current decade (See right-hand column of this table.)
• Read a play called Symbols of the 1920s
• Collaborated on the 1920s column of the table, jotting symbols mentioned in the play
• Watched short videos of flagpole sitting & scenes of the 1920s

Assignments

For Tuesday: Read Chapter 8 of GSotS & come prepared to discuss it.

For Wednesday: Quiz over Ch. 22/23 Summaries: GD/ND & WW II

Research Project + Ch. 22/23 Summaries + Oil Map Analysis + Galveston's Summer of the Storm

Today our students:

• Worked on the next step of their Research Project
• Read, discussed, and analyzed the Chapter 22 & 23 Summaries (Great Depression, New Deal, & World War II) - Quiz next week
• Analyzed maps of Texas Petroleum Discoveries, 1901-1929
• Discussed (or read) Ch. 7 of Galveston's Summer of the Storm (Students who had not done the reading prior to class did it during class.)

Assignments

For Monday: Read Ch. 8 of GSotS & come prepared to discuss it.

For Tuesday Wednesday: Quiz over Ch. 22 & 23 Summaries (Date changed.)

Finished Quiz + Read Ch. 21 + Research Project + Discussed Ch. 5 of GSotS + Petroleum in Texas 1902-29

Today our students:

• Finished yesterday's Quiz over Ch. 20/21 Summaries
• Read Ch. 21 on WW I & the Roaring 20s
• Worked on their Research Project
• Discussed Ch. 5 of Galveston's Summer of the Storm
• Analyzed a Map of Major Petroleum Discoveries in Texas, 1901-1929
• 
  

Assignments - for Friday

1. Finish reading Ch. 21 in your textbook.
2. Be ready to have your Research Project notes graded through Step 5.
3. Write your weekly 1-Pager from Fehrenbach and post it to your blog.
4. Read Ch. 6 of Galveston's Summer of the Storm and be prepared to discuss it.

Quiz - Ch. 20/21 Summaries + Reading Ch. 20 & GSotS

Once again, our students knew so much about the chapters over which they were being quizzed that taking the Quiz was all most of them had time to complete.

Assignments

For Thursday
1. Read Ch. 6 of GSotS

• Come prepared to discuss. 
• Notice the important historical references in the chapter.

2. Read Ch. 20 in your textbook to learn more details about the Progressive Era.

• Mentally compare the account of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 with what we are learning in GSotS.
• Pay close attention to Spindletop and how this first huge owl gusher began the transformation of Texas and the United States.
• Notice the details about the Progressive Era reforms.and the  discriminatory treatment of African Americans and Mexican Americans

For Friday - Complete Steps 4 & 5 for the Research Project.

Research Project - Galveston's Summer of the Storm

Click here to see an enlarged view of the collapsed school building.

Our students today:

• Worked on their Research Project
• Tried to get caught up on any missing assignments
• Discussed Chapter 3 of Galveston's Summer of the Storm (GSotS)

Assignments for Wednesday

1. Quiz-Ch. 20 & 21 Summaries: Progressive Era, World War I, Roaring 20s
2. Read and come prepared to discuss Ch. 4 GSotS

Assignment for Friday: Complete Steps 4 & 5 of the Research Project.

Progressive Era Presidents + Ch. 21 Summary + GalHurr Discussion #2

Today we:

• Viewed and discussed the Crash Course video on the Progressive Presidents

• Read & discussed the Ch. 21 Summary on World War I & the Roaring 20s in Texas
• Discussed Ch. 2 of Galveston's Summer of the Storm and made a list of historical references we have encountered thus far

Assignment for Tuesday

1. Rewatch the Crash Course video on the Progressive Presidents
2. Quiz over Ch. 20 & 21 Summaries: Progressive Era, World War I, & Roaring 20s
3. Read and come prepared to discuss Ch. 3 in GSofS

Research + Ch. 1 Discussion-Galveston + Progressivism + Crash Course Vid

Students:

• Continued gathering information on their Research Project topics
• Worked with the iSpeech App (due to the teacher's being almost unable to speak due to a bad cough)
• Discussed the main character as seen in Ch. 1 of GSotS (Galveston's Summer of the Storm)
• Wrote down what they understood by "progressivism" based on what we'd read and viewed so far
• Finished the Crash Course vid on The Progressive Era
• Began the Crash Course vid on the Progressive Presidents, but got stuck on TR (which was fine: Rough Rider who loved motto "Speak softly and carry a big stick" & is often depicted in his uniform and carrying a big stick)

Assignments

For Monday

1. Read Ch. 2 of GSotS & come prepared to ask questions and discuss.
2. Rewatch the Crash Course vid on The Progressive Era and finish filling out the GooDoc table we began.

For Tuesday - Quiz over Ch. 20 & 21 Summaries: Progressive Era, WW I, & Roaring 20s

Research Project + Pre-Reading for Galveston's Summer of the Storm + Galveston Hurricane of 1900 + Crash Course Vid on Progressive Era

Students today:

• Worked on their Research Project on a 20th/21st-Century topic of their choice
• Wrote ideas and stories about storms and hurricanes in anticipation of reading Julie Lake's Galveston's Summer of the Storm; click here to see the GooDoc of what we came up with
• Read a HOTO article on the Galveston Hurricane of 1900
• Viewed most of a Crash Course video on The Progressive Era

Assignments

For Friday

1. Read Chapter 1 of Galveston's Summer of the Storm; come prepared to discuss it and apply what we learned from HOTO about the 1900 hurricane
2. Finish Steps 1-4 on the Step-by-Step Research Procedure for your 20th-Century Research Project.
3. Read and write your 1-Pager from Fehrenbach's Lone Star and post it at your blog.

For Tuesday: Quiz over Ch. 20 & 21 Chapter Summaries

Flags + Chapel + Research Project + Unit 7 Chapter Summaries + Timeline of 20th/21st Centuries

Students today:

• Held our daily flag ceremony
• Attended chapel
• Announced their Research Project topics
• Displayed the pictures they had collected on their topics
• Took research notes from the first couple of sources on the Step-by-Step Procedure GooDoc
• Began our study of the years 1900-1950
• Examined the handout of the Unit 7 Chapter Summaries and read the one for Chapter 20: A New Century (Progressive Era 1900-1920)
• Examined a simple Timeline of the 20th & 21st Centuries

Assignments
For Friday

1. Complete the first 4 steps of the Step-by-Step Procedure
2. Be sure to SHARE your Step-by-Step GooDoc with me. 
3. Please give me permission to edit it so I can write suggestions on it.

For Tuesday: Quiz over Ch. 20 & 21 Summaries - Many thanks to dear old young 12345 for already making a Quizlet!

Research Project + Twain's Jumping Frog

Today students:

• Received preliminary instructions for a Research Project over Texas History, 1900-2015
• Paged through Chapters 20-27 in the textbook to get an overview look at Texas history from 1900-2003 and to examine pictures and topics that might interest them for the research project
• Examined "A Step-by-Step Procedure for Research in Texas History"
• It was pointed out that they will begin their research with a source containing visual representations of their topic. 
• They will then go to a source with a small amount of information on their topic and then proceed to sources with increasingly detailed information.
• Discussed (finally!) Mark Twain's short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Notes on some of what was said can be found here.

Assignments for Wednesday:

1. Finish paging through Ch. 20-27 in your textbook.
2. Choose your topic.
3. Begin Step 1 of "A Step-by-Step Procedure" by collecting pictures, maps, and diagrams of your topic. 

Quiz over Ch. 18 & 19 (Gilded Age)

Students today:

Knew so much about the Gilded Age that they spent most or all of the period demonstrating their knowledge on the quiz over Chapters 18 & 19 (Ranching & Farming/Politics & Progress).

Assignments for Tuesday:
1. Read Ch. 18 & 19 in the textbook.
2. Review Twain's ". . . Jumping Frog . . ." and come prepared to discuss it.

Gilded Age Railroad Growth + Read Ch. 19 Summary + Temple, TX Founded in 1881 + Twain's "Jumping Frog"

Students today:

• Analyzed and compared railroad growth in the USA & Texas during the Gilded Age

• Read, discussed, and analyzed the Ch. 19 Summary: Politics & Progress
• Wrote their own version of "Temple, Texas," as it might appear in the Handbook of Texas Online (HOTO) & compared their versions with the HOTO version
• Very briefly discussed Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"--to be continued on Monday

Assignment for Monday:
1. Quiz over the Ch. 18 & 19 Summaries

• Learn the worded information, maps and pictures.
• Many thanks to Mr. 12345 for the excellent Quizlet below, the Ch. 18 Picture Study Guide, and Ch. 19 Picture Study Guide.

2. Be ready to continue our discussion of Twain's ". . . Jumping Frog . . .."

Frontier Lines + Turner's Frontier Thesis + "Man with the Big Hat" + Mini-Debate + Mark Twain

Students today:

• Analyzed a 5-map sequence showing the movement of the frontier in American history

• Learned basic arguments in Frederick Jackson Turner's 1893 "Frontier Thesis"

• Analyzed the Frummox song, "Man with the Big Hat"

• Listened to Frummox sing the song (via recording, not in person)

• Held a mini-debate based on the last line of the song, in which the man with the big hat states that if it wasn't (sic) for the life the cowboys led there wouldn't be no (sic) West. The question students debated was: Who was more important in the settlement of the Great Plains of Texas: the soldiers or the cowboys?

Assignments

For Friday

1. Read Mark Twain's short story (clicky clicky), "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."
2. Write five discussion questions over the story and post them on your blog.
3. Come prepared to discuss the story.

For Monday: Quiz over Ch. 18 & Ch. 19 Summaries

Earth Day & Arbor Day

Students attended chapel and participated in the Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration.

Cattle Trails Analysis + Cattle Drive Organization + Google Hangout w/ Vacationing Student + Ch. 18 Summary

Today our students did the following learning activities:

• Looked at their Map Analysis: Cattle Trails, begun on Friday
• Added to it by speculating as to How a Cattle Trail Drive Was Organized
• Used Google Hangouts to interact and collaborate with Student 12345, who was vacationing with his family in the Southeast
• Read and discussed a blogpost on cattle drives at the Cactus Rose blog
• Read and briefly discussed the Ch. 18 Summary: Ranching & Farming

Assignment for Monday, 4/27: Quiz over Ch. 18 & 19 Summaries (including maps, pictures, diagram)

Peaceable Kingdom

Students enjoyed the Peaceable Kingdom field trip.

Gilded Age, cont'd - Began Ch. 18 on Ranching & Farming + Cowboys Survey + Cattle Trails + Ch. 18 Summary

Today our wonderful students:

• Began our study of "the Cowboy Era," (although the first cowboys - vaqueros - were during the Spanish Period)
• Responded to a student's question, What Makes a Person a Cowboy?
• Listened to The Smother Brothers' reductionist version of how to be a cowboy (begins c. 2:40)

• Responded to a Survey - Are You a Cowboy?
• Did some Map Analysis-Cattle Trails
• Discussed whether the cowboy should the iconic symbol of Texans

Assignments: None

Stanford Achievement Tests-Day 3