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

Rodeo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                              Squealer-Napoleon oinkfest

We had a rip-roarin', cowboys-soarin' (off-the-backs-of-buckin'-brahmerbulls) time at the Bell County Rodeo, Fair & Livestock Show. (Well, I wasn't at the Fair & Livestock part , but I'm told the students enjoyed some of the sights, sounds, and smells of them.)

Assignments

For Thursday - Quiz over 1836 Phase of the Texas Revolution (Thanks to Sr. 12345 for the excellent Quizlet embedded below and the Pic ID ppt here. I would mention, though, that the Goliad Massacre was not actually a battle; it was carried out after the Battle of Coleto Creek. Also,  Santa Anna almost captured Provisional President Burnet and Texian government officials on April 15. Burnet and the others did manage to escape! Finally, the major battle of San Jacinto was fought on April 21, 1836.)

For Friday - Animal Farm Essay due

For Tuesday - Hola, General! due (Notice that extra time is being given so you can incorporate information from the Alamo Tech dvd we're going to watch.)

Animal Farm: Diagram Analysis & Essay Brainstorm - Six Pics Inquiry Activity

Students:

• Shared their Diagram Analysis of Animal Farm--See their blogs here, here, and here to see their excellent analyses.
• Brainstormed possible topics for their Animal Farm Essay, due one week from today (Thursday, 2/12/15)--See ideas here...Remember, students, you may continue thinking up ideas...just let me and Mrs. Horner know what you decide on so we can be of assistance.
• Did an inquiry activity called Six Pics
• Six pictures came onto the screen, one at a time.
• Students wrote and shared their reactions to each picture.
• Their reactions to the first three pictures were recorded on a separate document.
• Students wrote their reactions to #s 4, 5, & 6 but we didn't have time to record them.
• So, students, click here and add what you wrote to #s 4, 5, & 6. You will need to change everything to 7-point font in order for it to fit. We might have to keep finessing this.

Assignments

1. For Friday--Six Pics--Copy and paste your reactions to pics 4, 5, 6, as described above.
2. For Thursday--Animal Farm Essay due

Various Zany Approaches to A Christmas Carol - Less Zany Approaches to Spanish Texas

Today students:

• Discussed some of their questions over Stave One of A Christmas Carol - View them here and here.
• Acted out key words describing Scrooge, particularly this passage: "Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice." Things got a little zany indeed, but no one complained.
• Examined the mystery of the origins of the word humbug
• Began writing A Christmas Carol about A Christmas Carol
• We brainstormed various Christmas carols.
• Students chose one and then began writing their own carol based on what happened in Stave One.
• They will keep adding stanzas as we read each Stave.
• Things got a little zany during this activity as well. Indeed.

• Read one another's Essay Ranking Spanish Explorers. They can be read here and here. (You will need to select the second one by hovering and clicking, as it seems to be written in black. It can be read, though!)
• Examined and analyzed two sets of maps showing the competition between European powers to build colonial empires in the Americas
• Began examining a rather complex Chronology of Spanish Texas to note how Spain's interest in settling Texas waned and waxed as French threats to Texas waned and waxed.

Assignment: A Christmas Carol

1. Read Stave Two.
2. Write discussion questions, post them at your blog, add picture(s).
3. Write Verse 2 of your Christmas Carol, based on what happens in Stave Two.
4. Vocabulary help for Stave Two can be found here.

Tolsto(r)y Followup - Explorers Essay - Ch. 5 Summary

Students returned from Thanksgiving and:

• Discussed several followup questions over Tolstoy's "How Much Land Does a Man Need?"
• Began writing an Essay Ranking the Spanish Explorers - See instructions here.
• They will be able to work on it in Grammar class with Mrs. Horner.
• The essay will be due Thursday.
• Began reading and discussing the Chapter 5 Summary: Missions and Settlements
• Students will take a Quiz over the Ch. 5 Summary on Wednesday.
• We finished the first paragraph, pausing to relate key terminology from the reading to things depicted in the maps and pictures to the right.
• We color-coded key terminology and then inserted arrows stretching from the words to the picture. Click here to get an idea of how this was done.
• We distinguished between missions & presidios.
• Did a sort of anticipatory discussion of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which we will read and discuss over the next week. One question raised and discussed was "Why does Dickens call his chapters "Staves"? Click here to see various formats available.

Assignments

For Wednesday - Quiz over Ch. 5 Summary: Missions and Settlements
For Thursday - Essay Ranking the Explorers

History of a Classmate, cont'd

Students today:

• Continued working on the History of a Classmate project
• Followed a template that helped them write an introductory paragraph & organize their essay into various sections. Click to see the Rough Draft Template: History of a Classmate.
• Learned the due date for the project has been changed to Monday, 9/22.

Assignment: Continue working on History of a Classmate Project.

Deductive/Inductive Logic - Thesis/Supporting Arguments/Evidence

Today we:

• Distinguished between deductive & inductive logic
• Noted that historians mainly use inductive logic - gathering evidence from primary source documents in order to state a thesis (main argument) backed by supporting arguments
• Worked on writing a thesis with supporting arguments & evidence by doing a simple thesis-writing exercise on "The Nicest Person I Know"

Assignment: Due Monday

• Finish filling out the table on "The Nicest Person I Know' - Either email it to me or link me to it.
• Finish writing the essay on "The Nicest Person I Know"
• Post your essay to your blog.
• Include a picture of the person if you can.