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.

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!

TL Quiz-1861-Present + Debate Planning + Debate: Indians + Discuss Canyons

Today our students:

• Took the Timeline Quiz over U. S. History 1861-Present
• Got with their teammate and planned strategy for the Debate: Were the white men and buffalo soldiers right in invading West Texas and defeating the Indians, slaughtering the buffalo, and placing the Indians on reservations? 
• Debated - Both sides made excellent arguments and backed them with sound reasoning and evidence.
• Briefly discussed the third reading in Gary Paulsen's Canyons, particularly the question as to whether the picture on one of the book covers accurately depicts how Brennan discovered the skull.

Assignment for Friday: Read the rest of Canyons by Friday. It is probably a good idea to keep up with the schedule given you several days ago, just to make sure you don't have too heavy a reading load on Thursday night.

• Students will be taking the Stanford Achievement Tests the next three days, and will be using classroom time after finishing each section of the test to read the rest of the book by this coming Friday, 4/17/15.. 
• We will have the Grand Discussion of it this coming Friday.

TL of African American History + Brief Summary of Gilded Age + Examples of "Gilded" + Paulsen's Canyons

Today students:

• Examined and analyzed a Timeline of African-American History
• Read and discussed A Brief Summary of the Gilded Age
• Began working on a GooDoc giving examples of how the Gilded Age was "gilded"

Assignments

For Thursday

1. Fill out the GooDoc on "Gilded" - I've shared it with you, so please check your Gmail.
2. Read pp. 3-27 in Gary Paulsen's historical novel, Canyons.

• Be prepared to discuss it tomorrow. 
• Be thinking especially how to relate the story to what we are studying in Chapter 17: Cultures in Conflict (the final defeat of the Indians of Texas)

For Friday: Quiz over Chapter 17 Summary

For Monday: Quiz over Timeline of U. S. History 1861-Present

• You only need to be able to write the names of the time periods in their correct locations.
• You may do the dates, symbols, and other information for EXTRA CREDIT.

Solid South + Review TxHist through Reconstruction + Preview TxHist GA to Present + Overview U.S. History 1861-Present

Today our students:

• Examined maps showing "the Solid South" - solid for the Democratic Party for most of the years after Reconstruction until the 1960s, increasingly solid for the Republican Party since the 1960s
• Reviewed Texas history through Reconstruction, using CHART: Time Periods of Texas History
• Previewed what we will be studying the rest of the school year: Gilded Age, Early 20th Century, Modern Texas (using the same CHART)
• Got an Overview look at U. S. history from 1861-the Present, using this Timeline
• Did some oral drill over the Timeline 1861-the Present

Assignments:

For Wednesday: None

For Monday, 4/13 - Quiz over Timeline 1861-Present - You only need to write the names of the time periods in their correct locations. Dates & Symbols & other Info are for Extra Credit.

Pennies for Pasta - Brief Summary of Reconstruction - Reconstruction Timeline

Today students:

• Learned about the Pennies for Pasta Project
• Read, analyzed, and discussed A Brief Summary of Reconstruction
• Briefly viewed A Timeline of Reconstruction (still under construction at the time)

Assignments

For Tuesday: One-Pager from Fehrenbach's Lone Star - Post at your blog.

For Thursday: Quiz over the following:

• A Brief Summary of Reconstruction
• Timeline of Reconstruction
• Ch. 16 Summary: Reconstruction (in Texas)
• Chart: The 3 Reconstruction Plans

Scope & Sequence - Began Study of Republic of Texas: Transitions - 2 Maps - Chart/Timeline - Chart of Problems & Policies - Ch. 12 & 13 Summaries - Q's for a Slave - To Be a Slave

Back in the saddle, students today:

• Were shown a Possible Scope and Sequence for the remainder of the 2014-2015 School Year
• Were given a List of Possible Learning Activities (with links) for our one-week unit on The Republic of Texas
• Examined the Continuum of Respect students filled out last Friday and over the weekend
• Examined a simple diagram showing the steps by which Texas transitioned as follows: PART OF A STATE IN MEXICO-->TEXAS REVOLUTION-->NATION (REPUBLIC OF TEXAS)
• Compared and contrasted 2 maps showing the Republic of Texas - noticed how the second map gives a more nuanced view of the Republic
• Examined a Chart/Timeline of the Presidents of the Republic of Texas
• Assigned Debate Teams for next Monday's debate over the question: Who was the better President of the Republic of Texas: Sam Houston or Mirabeau B. Lamar?
• Glanced at a Chart of Problems & Policies of Presidents Houston & Lamar during the Republic of Texas
• Read and discussed the two Chapter Summaries (12 & 13) on the Republic of Texas (Ch. 13 also deals in part with the Early Statehood Period.) - were assigned a Quiz over these summaries for Tuesday, 3/3
• Compiled lists of Questions I Would Ask a Slave 
• Received a copy and the Reading Schedule for the award-winning book, To Be a Slave 

Assignments

For Friday - To Be a Slave - See Reading Schedule above

For Monday - Debate: Houston vs. Lamar

For Tuesday - Quiz over Ch. 12 & 13 Summaries

Texas Revolution: Analysis of Audio Inquiry PPT - Timeline Chart of TxRev - Maps of TxRev - 1835 & 1836

Today our Seventh Graders:

• Analyzed the Audio Inquiry PowerPoint of the Texas Revolution, noticing that in 1835 the Texans won all their battles and in 1836 lost all of them except the last (San Jacinto)
• Read and analyzed a Timeline Chart of the Texas Revolution, noticing in more detail the same pattern seen in the PowerPoint
• Received revised information about upcoming quizzes over the Timeline Chart (See Assignments below.)
• Color coded  and numbered chronologically two maps on the Texas Revolution, one for 1835 & one for 1836

Assignments

For Tuesday - Quiz over 1835 portion of Timeline Chart & 1835 Map of Texas Revolution

For Thursday - Quiz over 1836 portion of Timeline Chart & 1836 Map of Texas Revolution

For Friday - Animal Farm Essay due (Note the changed date.)

San Antonio Field Trip Discussion - Discussion of Graphs of Population Growth 1821-1845 - Timeline of Mexican Period

Students continued their study of the Mexican Period by doing the following:

• Discussed some of their preferences for tomorrow's field trip to San Antonio
• Shared their analyses of the graph showing Population Growth in Texas, 1821-1845
• Read and annotated a Timeline of the Mexican Period, 1821-1936

Assignments
For Thursday--Read and examine as much of the following as you can in preparation for the field trip to San Antonio:

Brochures of Missions
Mission San Jose Website
The Alamo Website
The Spanish Governor's Palace Website
Short Movies on the Spanish Missions in Texas
Institute of Texan Cultures
San Antonio Museum of Art

For Friday--Quiz over Chapter 7 Summary: Age of Empresarios

Timeline of Spanish Period - Sell Myself Project - Chart of European Explorers - Discussion of "A Modest Proposal"

Today students:

• Examined not one but two Timelines of the Spanish Period
• Analyzed a map showing 3 possible routes of Cabeza de Vaca's travels across Texas
• Helped develop ideas for the Sell Myself Project, in which they sell themselves as most worthy to be sent on a Royal Expedition
• Read the Chart: Ch. 4: Early Explorers to get ideas they could use in the project
• Discussed Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" - See a few of their insights here.

Assignment for Friday - Continue working on the Sell Myself Project - It will be due Friday, 11/21/14.

9/11 Commemoration - "The Lottery," cont'd (Old Man Warner - Durbin Analysis - Discussion) - Timeline of Texas History

Today we:

Commemorated the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks on New York City & the Pentagon

Continued with Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"

• Role Played Old Man Warner's defense of the Lottery against the "Young Fools" (Read loose, incomplete transcript here at 9/11/14 point.)
• Watched & discussed USC Professor James Durbin's video analysis of "The Lottery"
• Analyzed logical fallacies involved in "The Lottery"
• post hoc ergo propter hoc = after this, therefore because of this
• Chronological Snobbery Fallacy
• Argument from Tradition Fallacy

Analyzed a Timeline of Texas History

• What do you notice?
• Write 2 important events, people, or developments from the CHART: Time Periods of Texas History onto their appropriate places on the Timeline of Texas History

Assignment - Due Friday
Finish writing 2 important events, as above

Overview of Texas History, cont'd

Click to enlarge. (This should work with all pics inserted into blog.)

Today, students:

• Raised questions about anything they didn't understand on the "CHART: Time Periods of Texas History."
• Learned of some of the abbreviations I often use:
• c. or ca. = around, approximately
• e.g. = for example
• etc. = and so forth
• i.e., = in order words
• Noted how color coding can ease & expedite the learning process
• Identified their 3 favorite time periods on the Chart and circled specific topics they would like to learn more about
• Studied the yellow section of the chart for a quiz on Monday
• Did some teacher-based review to check their learning.
• Devised and asked one another questions about the chart
• Devised mnemonic devices to help them remember the time periods and details

Assignment: Quiz Monday - CHART: Time Periods of Texas History

• Learn all of the information in the yellow section of the chart
• You don't have to recite the dates for this quiz but do be able to recognize which time period each set of dates identifies (e.g., 1519-1821 = Spanish Period; 1861-1865 = Civil War, 1865-1900 = Gilded Age. . .etc.)

Timelines - Bull Boards - Chart on Time Periods

Overview of Texas History, cont'd

• Students took their slips of events from Texas history and placed them on a timeline in the classroom. They then discussed orally several analytical questions, including why the timeline maker stopped Texas history around the year 1900.

• We went downstairs to the bulletin board, "Let's Don't Mess with Texas" and worked the simple chronological order problem based on the same timeline they'd just used in the room.

• They also looked over the bulletin board, asked a few analytical questions (including why the map of Texas and state seal were turned upside down), and wrote and taped additional captions onto pictures of their choice. A sampling:

CHART: Time Periods of Texas History

Students:

• Read together and briefly discussed the yellow portion of the chart; this section gives a brief summary of each major time period of Texas history.
• Read silently the rest of the chart, including text and pictures.
• Made one check mark beside each item they had put in their personal list two days ago and two checks beside any other items that had appeared in classmates' lists

Assignment: Students should read back over the entire chart by tomorrow, in preparation for various learning activities.