Assignments 2007-2008
Oct.1: We will finish Chapter 3 oral presentations.
Oct. 2: Chapter 3 Quiz - "Society and Culture in Provincial America" Quiz will be 25 multipe choice questions. After quiz, notes for Chapter 3 will be checked. For homework, begin reading and taking notes on Chapter 4 - "The Empire in Transition" - pages 90-101.
Oct. 3: In class, we will discuss how the Americans began loosening ties with Great Britain. However, as late as 1750, few Americans objected to their membership in the British Empire. Homework - read and take notes on pages 101-109.
Oct.4: Coverage of Stamp Act crisis, Townshend Acts, Boston Massacre, Committee of Correspondence.
Oct. 5: Primary Document classwork - Writings of Cotton Mather
Oct. 26: Over the weekend, please finish reading Chapter 5 "The American Revolution" for our textbook.
Oct. 29: We will create review sheets in anticipation of chapter test on Wednesday.
Oct. 30: Benjamin Franklin A&E Biography video.
Nov. 5: Review for Chapter 5 quiz. Quiz will cover pages 131-145 and will consist of 20 multiple choice questions.
Nov. 6: Chapter 5 Quiz. Students who finish early may begin reading the first ten pages of Chapter 6.
Nov. 7: Intro. lecture on Chapter 6 - "The Constitution and the New Republic" Homeowork assignment TBA.
Nov. 8: Review of the structure of the U.S. Constitution, and introduction of the Bill of Rights.
Nov. 14: Practice essay for 1st-trimester exam. Extra credit "Federalist Papers" assignment available (50 points)
Nov. 15: 2nd practice essay for exam.
Nov. 30: Students should complete their reading of Chapter 6 ("The Constitution and the New Republic") from the textbook and have their notes ready for inspection on Monday. We wrap up the chapter on Tuesday and have a chapter quiz on Wednesday.
Dec. 14: During break you are required to complete your reading of Chapter 7 and show me your reading notes when we return from break, if you have not already done so. Have a great holiday break!
Jan. 4: Welcome back! Hope you had a restful holiday break. This past week, our class covered the Jefferson presidency, the Louisiana Purchase, the Marshall Court, the War of 1812 and other significant aspcts of Chapter 7.
Jan. 7: We will wrap up lectures on Chapter 7. Please make sure you read closely read ALL of Chapter 7 and have reading notes.
Jan. 8: Quiz on Ch. 7 from the Jefferson administration to the end of the chapter, the War of 1812. The quiz will be composed of 10 multiple choice questions and an essay on a broad theme of the chapter. HOMEWORK: Skim Chapter 8 and identify in your notes the main themes of the chapter. Read the first ten pages of Chapter 9.
Jan. 9: We will begin Chapter 8. We will run through this chapter quickly so that we can get to Chapter 9 - American and Jacksonian Democracy.
Jan. 23: We are starting Chapter 10. I will lecture today about the beginnings of America's first wave of industrialism. Chapter 10 vocabulary sheets are due Tuesday. Chapter 10 notes are due Monday. Those of you who have not yet shown me Chapter 9 notes: Tomorrow (Jan. 24) is the absolute deadline. We will likely be finished with Chapter 10 on Friday and begin Chapter 11 on Monday.
Week of Jan. 28-Feb.1: Monday and Tuesday, we will have lecture on Chapter 11. Wednesday and Thursday will be devoted to discussing Chapter 12. On Friday, the class will have a Chapter 11 & 12 test.
Feb. 4: Review of cancidates via new articles for Super Tuesday primaries. Students will review a point each for every they write down which participates in Super Tuesday. Begin Chapter 13 lecture - "The Impending Crisis"
Feb. 5: PBS video on the Alamo. Students are required to take notes for class discussion after video.
Feb. 6: Discussion on Super Tuesday results. Continuation of Ch. 13 Lecture: Manifest Destiny and Mexican War.
Feb. 7: Chapter 13 Lecture: Kansas-Nebraska controversy, "Bleeding Kansas", Dred Scott decision. Handout and discussion on John Brown.
Feb. 8: The failure of James Buchanan's presidency, the election of Abraham Lincoln. Note Check on Chapter 13. Part I of Ken Burns' "The Civil War" Vol.1
Week of February 11, 2008
Feb. 11: Finish "The Civil War." Class discussion on the video including causes of the Civil War, the election of Abraham Lincoln, the firing on Fort Sumter, secession by southern states, the making of the northern and southern armies, the Battle of Manassas. Homework: Begin reading Chapter 14, pages 356-370
Feb. 12: In-class project on major battles of the Civil War. Class will be broken up into 6 small groups. Each group will be assigned a major Civil War battle. Students will have 10 minutes to create a brief presentation on the battle answering "who, what, where, when & why" from the textbook. Each group will report out their findings. Students will be required to take notes on ALL of the battles. Distribution of Ch. 14 Vocabulary sheets, due Feb. 19
Feb. 13: The Gettysburg Address. Teacher will read document aloud, then ask for students' primary reactions to the document. Then students will receive a worksheet asking specific questions about the address. The worksheet is due at the end of class. If it is not completed students will have to finish it for homework. Finish reading Chapter 14. Pages 371-389.
Feb. 14: Being watching Ken Burns' "The Civil War" Vol. 2
Feb. 15 & 18: School is closed. Enoy your break!
Feb. 19: ATTENTION JUNIORS: Please do not forget that TOPICS are due for RESEARCH PAPERS. This is the first part of the timeline of assignments we discussed in class and which are detailed on the research paper sheet I distributed in class. On Tuesday, when you return to school, all you need to do is come to class with a piece of paper that has your name on it and your research topic. For this, you will earn 10 points!!! PLEASE DO NOT FORGET. YOU WILL RECEIVE A ZERO IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TOPIC.
Feb. 25: Civil War test.
Feb. 26: Continuation of Reconstruction lecture. Research project sources are due (10 points)
Feb. 27: Primary Sources analysis: "Forty Acres and a Mule" and "An Unreconstructed Southerner" (1868)
Feb 28: Lecture and discussion on Ulyssess S. Grant. Lecture Title: "How Could Such a Great General Make Such a Poor President?"
March 3 & 4: Reconstruction: American Experience Video. Students are required to take notes of video, which will be checked by teacher. The assignment is worth 30 points. Homework: Read Chapter 16 and take detailed notes.
March 5 & 6: Lectures on Chapter 16: "The Conquest of the Far West" Primary documents: The Dawes Act & excerpt from Frederick Jackson Turner's The Frontier in American History.
March 7: Note check on Chapter 16 and Chapter 16 quiz.
March 8 & 9: Read Chapter 17 and take notes.
March 10: - Video on "Homestead Strike" Distribute Chapter 17 Vocab. list.
March 11: Lecture on Chapter 17.
March 12: Quiz on Ch. 17.
March 13: Vocab list due. Lecture on Chapter 18, along with primary documents on life in urban American at the close of the 19th century.
MARCH 13: REMINDER - Your THESIS STATEMENT and 15 NOTE CARDS ARE DUE TOMORROW. This assignment is worth 10 points and brings you one step closer to completing your research paper.
March 17: 2nd lecture on populism. Lecture covers the movement's effects on the later and larger movement of Progressivism.
April 1: Peer editing of term paper. This assignment is worth 10 points.
April 2: WWI introductory lecture, featuring discussion of the election of Woodrow Wilson, his domestic policies and the "strained neutrality" leading up to our entry into the war. Students should read Chapter 23 from textbook.
April 3: WWI video "The Century" hosted by Peter Jennings. Video is 45 minutes. Students are required to write down 50 facts from the video.
April 4: Class discussion of video, followed by wrap up of the aftermath of the war in America.
April 7: WWI Quiz.
April 8: Junior research papers due.
April 9,10,11: The Great Depression and The New Deal. Lecture. In-class worksheets.
April 14-18: introductory lecture(s) on World War II. Part One of Ken Burns' documentary The War.
April 19-21: Three-day weekend. Please read Chapters 27 & 28. Take notes for Chapter 28 only. Notes will be checked on Wednesday, April 23.
April 23: WWII lecture/Q&A/discussion on Bataan Death March, domestic mobilization for war in U.S., armed services recruitment and training and the U.S. invasion of North Africa. Handout on my grandfather's tour of duty in WWII, along with trinkets he brought back from Europe.
April 24&25: Ken Burns' video The War, parts two and three, covering American losses at Tarawa in the Pacific, the European battle of Monte Cassino in Italy, the botched landing in Anzio by U.S. forces.
April 28: Review sheet and discussion on Burns' film. Sheet is due at end of class.
April 29: Lecture on D-Day.
April 30: Lecture on the Battle of the Bulge, Okinawa, Peleliu & Iowa Jima.
May 1: Lecture on FDR's death, biography (handout) of Truman, compare and constrast exercise on Truman's leadership abilities versus FDR's. Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (PowerPoint, if machine is available).
May 2: WWII vocabulary sheet.
May 5: Wrap up WWII (lecture).
May 6: Cold War, Harry Truman, the Marshall Plan.
May 7: McCarthyism.
May 8: 1950s culture, Eisenhower.
May 9: Election of 1960. Kennedy's "New Frontier" legislation plan.
