Hi All,
I'm uploading a link to the study guide I passed out in class here. Alhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifso, students in 4th and 5th periods http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifworked on answers to the study guide. Those can be found here, although I cannot vouch for their accuracy. congratulations to Notorious T.H.U.G.S. for winning American History Baseball!
Hi All,
Below are the instructions and the link to your sources for your WWII sketch assignments.
In this exercise you will create a 3-5 minute sketch describing U.S. involvement leading up to World War II. Your sketch must incorporate the following:
1. You must use at least 4 quotes from 4 different sources you were provided (you may, of course, use more than 4 sources)
2. Using evidence from your sources, your sketch must represent multiple http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifperspectives about the war
3. Your sketch should take a stand on whether it was appropriate for the U.S. to enter the war
4. Your sketch should use evidence to support your stand
Sketches will be worth a total of 40 points. A Maximum of 5 bonus points can be earned for going the extra mile (demonstrating a mastery of more than the 3 required quotes, getting into and staying in character, incorporating a wide variety of evidence etc.). You will need to submit a typed script in order to receive credit for this assignment. be sure all members of your cast have copies of the script to read off of...and be sure to rehearse your sketch in advance!
Link: World War II Primary Sources
Hi everyone and welcome back to LMSA after our holiday break! We have a lot going on over the next few weeks and I wanted to keep you updated. This blog entry will cover the following issues:
I. U.S. History Student Teacher
II. End of Immigration-Migration Unit/Final Exam
III. History Fair Update
I. Welcome Katie Hollerbach
Katie Hollerbach will be student teaching my 1st and 4th period U.S. History classes in February and March. Katie has already spent the better part of the fall observing history classes at LMSA and has been helping me plan and carry out lessons since November.
Katie originally hails from Michigan and she earned her undergraduate degree from Wake Forest College. She is presently in graduate school at Northwestern University and will be working with Joe Bradley and I to complete her student teaching. Katie is a creative, enthusiastic, and effective teacher and will continue to challenge students intellectually in the classroom. She and I will work closely to craft lessons and activities, as well as assess student work. I hope you will all join me in welcoming her to our classroom and encouraging her as she grows as a teacher!
II. End of Immigration-Migration Unit and Final Exam
It's about that time where the all nighters, cramming and quests for extra credit begin--that's right, finals are approaching! Since returning from break U.S. History students have become immigrants to Ellis Island and this week will become African Americans heading north during the Great Migration. Next week students will begin reviewing for their Immigration/Migration Final Exam, which is worth 10% of their semester grade. A review session will be offered after school on Tuesday, January 18 from 3:15-4:30.
III. History Fair Updates
Students may be begging you to help them purchase exhibit boards or other supplies for our History Fair which takes place on February 16th. Over the next two weeks students will be researching and beginning to assemble their projects. The projects are exceptionally challenging and require considerable work. They can also get expensive. Before heading out to spend tons of money on projects, please encourage students to see what is available at school. For project boards, consider using the coupons from Michael's before making a purchase. Additionally, many students are working in groups and it may be wise to pool money and resources together to defray higher costs. I will always do what I can to find discounts and free stuff--so check with me early and often for your History Fair needs!
All the best,
Mr. Pond
Dear Students and Parents,
Welcome to our U.S. History blog for 2011! This site will be a forum for class updates, discussions, and student showcases for all things Honors U.S. History.
I wanted to provide some updates on what students have been doing class, what they will be doing in the future, and how you can engage students in history! So, here’s the first installment:
1. Our Immigration/Migration Theme
2. History Fair
3. History Fair “unofficial” field trip
1. Immigration/Migration
For much of this quarter we have studied the historical theme “Immigration and Migration” in which students investigate the question “is movement across borders a human right?” To begin answering this question we have already examined the voluntary migrations of Europeans to the American colonies, the forced migration of slaves from Africa during the Middle Passage, the forced removal of Native Americans during the Trail of Tears, and America’s westward expansion into Mexico and the Pacific.
In the coming months we will explore old and new immigration, the Great Migration, the Great Depression and the debates over modern day immigration. I encourage you to start a dialogue with your child about our class work, home work and discussions—and if you feel so inspired to comment or answer our essential question—create a free blogger account and post comments on our blog!
2. History Fair
Students in Honors U.S. History will be competing in our annual History Fair competition. Winners of the school fair will have the opportunity to compete for prizes and bragging rights against local and regional schools. Students choose their own topics in one of five formats: exhibits, documentaries, performances, essays, or websites and then perform independent research to create their project. Here’s a schedule for History Fair:
December:
January:
February:
· Rough draft of projects due 2/3-4
· LMSA History Fair on 2/16
· Winners advancing to regionals announced 2/17-18
March:
· March 5th regionals held at the Illinois Institute of Technology
3. History Fair Field Trip
Students in our classes will have the opportunity to gain free admission to the Chicago History Museum to conduct research for History Fair. Because we are not in session, this is an “unofficial” field trip and students have to have their own transportation to and from the museum. The museum is located at 1601 N. Clark Street—just north of Downtown. We will meet at 10 A.M. and stay approximately 2-3 hours. Students can fulfill a portion of their History Fair requirements by visiting the museum and can earn some extra credit as well!
I hope you find this website useful and feel free to contact me at mpond@mrpond.org with any comments or concerns. Stay tuned for more updates and Happy Holidays!
Mr. Pond
Hi all:
Welcome to our U.S. History blog! Here you will find regular postings by me about news, homework, projects--anything and everything to keep you in the loop!
I also hope this blog will be a play for us to share stories and experiences, as well as a place for students to showcase their work.
A little about me:
This is my fourth year at Lindblom and it is one of my favorite places on Earth! This year I will be teaching 3 sections of U.S. History--so this blog might get a little crowded at times--but that's ok since we have plenty of room on the Internet.
I am married to my beautiful wife and we have a little boy named Henry who is going to be 16 months old. We love to travel and in fact just returned from a family trip to Yellowstone National Park. I'll try to post pictures later this month.
A little about the course:
This will be a thematic class that will use Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States 1492-Present as the primary text. It will be supplemented by several additional readings as well as digital and visual media.
Our first theme will be "Government & Leadership." We will study government while trying to answer our essential question: what is good government and how do we know when it is effective?
Students will have several Constitution quizzes and a Constitution test in the form of a project (more on that to come).
In the meantime--feel free to post any general questions or comments you may have. I'm looking forward to a great year with all of you!
Obama and Medvedez sign START Treaty in Prague
In the article "Senators voice doubts on nuke treaty with Russia," Arizona Republicans John McCain and John Kyl voice their concerns over the START Treaty recently signed by President Obama and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev. Both senators are concerned that the treaty may weaken the U.S.' ability to defend itself from hostile nations or terrorists.
I for one, disagree. I think Jon Stewart said it best on yesterday's Daily Show when he proclaimed "so the U.S. and Russia have now reduced their nuclear stockpiles to only just over 1,500 for each country. That's only enough to blow up the entire world 7-12 times!" Frankly, the START Treaty is just that...a start...as it was when it was first signed in 1991. The real goal should be the elimination of nuclear weapons altogether, but the chances of that occuring in this climate of partisanship are unlikely.In this blog:
1. Three Days left!!!!
2. Zinn
3. P.S. my baby loves Zinn!
1. Hi all--well, there's only three...er, make that two class days left in the trimester now. Many students made significant strides...some are stuck in place...and some...well, let's just say there's always room for improvement. Grades are fairly accurate in the online gradebook now, but I do have two assignments still to be graded. Also, and most importantly: students have their 5 page essay on the question: When, if ever, is it appropriate for people to rebel against authority. Students must use 3 protests/rebellions from their recipes to support their thesis. The essay is worth 100 points and is due Monday (no unexcused exceptions). Students have the rubric for how they will be scored and will use part of class time on Thursday to work on the papers. Students may also email me or stop by my room ANYTIME I do not have classes to ask for help.
If students complete their essays early, they can take advantage of an extra credit opportunity to revise their recipes for rebellion into a nicely presented cookbook. This cookbook will add 10 points to their final score (or, if you prefer, if a student scores and 80 on their essay, it really becomes a 90).
Also, students have a 20 point homework assignment on protest art due Thursday. Students worked on this in class over the past 2 days, so those who were on task should have little to do. The art pieces and assignment are posted on my website: www.mrpond.org
2. After weighing comments from parents and students, I'm going to make some changes next trimester to better support students reading from the Zinn text. The struggle with Zinn (and perhaps reading in general) was especially evident in an OPEN-BOOK quiz that I gave last week (making it open book was my gift to students for a recently ultra-positive class) in which 1/2 of all students score a 60% or lower (the quiz consisted of 5 short answer questions).
Essentially, the open-book did not help because too many students didn't read the chapter and thus spent too much time searching the book for answers (and not enough time writing them). For my part, I will try to be better about getting parents daily assignments in advance--but I also need your help in asking students about their assignments to keep them on task.
3. Lastly, my son Henry seems to love Howard Zinn--as evidenced by this picture! See, it's so easy a baby can do it! ;o)
