Christmas Eve? No, ESSAY Eve!!!! December 22, 2016

Hi everyone,
Today in class, you had time to finish your essays.  If it will not be done by the time you leave class, you have a brief form to fill out detailing your plans.  If you will not get your essay in today, please remember that you will not be able to revise your essay after you get your first grade.  So please be sure to do your best possible work the first time if this is the case for you!

Shootout at the Last Chance Corral: Dec. 21, 2016

Hi everyone,
In case you need it, here are the chapter sections for your info.

Chapter 6, Sec 1

Chapter 6, Sec 2

Chapter 6, Sec 3

How to Cite Sources -Pre-Rev Essay

Hi everyone,
For this essay, you do not need to create a Works Cited.  However, you do need to tell me where you got your information.  So you will be using parenthetical citations. Here is what this will look like:

For a DBQ document - Name it in the sentence and add (Doc X) at the end.  It will look like this:

• For example, "The Value of American Trade" chart shows that in 1765,... (Doc A).
• As Janet Schaw wrote in 1775, "blah blah blah," (Doc F).

For the textbook - put the name of the lead author (Garcia) and the page number after the quote. It will look like this:

• After the Stamp Act was passed, "blah blah blah" (Garcia 61). [Note: THIS ONLY WORKS FOR A DIRECT QUOTE.]

For an outside source - Put a simplified version of the website after the quote in parentheses, or name it in the lead-up to the quote. It will look like this:

• In the colonies, "the colonial assembly was the lowest in a three-part structure of government" (Reference.com).  
• As stated in LiveScience.com, the Enlightenment was "blah blah blah".

How do I lead into a direct quote or specific source?
Here are some sentence starters:

• For example,...
• As ______ shows,...
• As [name of speaker] said,"blah blah blah"...
• For instance,...
• As [something] proposed,... (ex: As the Tea Act of 1773 proposed,...)
• In [year], [name of speaker] said, "blah blah blah".

Grading for Essay

Hi everyone,
Please note that hard copies of the rubric for this essay have been available since last Friday.  However, if you missed it, here is the rubric.

One Week to Go Til Ho, Ho, Ho: December 19-23, 2016

Hello everyone,

This is the ONE and ONLY homework post for this week, because we are doing ONE and ONLY one thing all week - working on our essays!

Your essay MUST be SUBMITTED through Google Classroom by the end of class on Thursday.  Even if it is not complete, you must submit it so I can grade what you have done.

• Any essays not finished AND submitted by that time will be recorded as "X" for all three summative grades.
• You can submit your essay after that, but I will grade your essay last and you will NOT be eligible to revise your work.
• Your essay must be typed and must be submitted by Google Classroom.

Reminders:

MLA format means:

• Header at upper left - your name, my name, US History per XX, date
• Double spaced
• 1" margins
• 12 point font (Arial, Times New Roman, Cambria, other simple fonts, black and white only)

You do not need a Works Cited.  I will post instructions on parenthetical citations tomorrow.

HOMEWORK:  Please see the suggested timeline below:

Monday - Draft topic sentences, complete paragraph organizers (if needed) or begin body paragraphs.

Tuesday - If you did paragraph organizers, begin writing your paragraphs.  If you began drafting body paragraphs, finish the three body paragraphs.

Wednesday - FIELD TRIP - review body paragraphs.  Make sure each one has at least ONE reference to a piece of evidence and/or a specific quote, and detailed facts.  

Thursday - draft conclusion paragraph, review spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and formatting.  Check citations for correct format.  Submit!

RESOURCES: If you still don't understand the link between taxes and the rebellion, here is an article that will explain it to you more clearly.

If you want some help structuring your paragraphs, here is a graphic organizer that will make sure you have all the pieces you need.  Be sure to make a copy for yourself so you can type into it!

If you are referencing the French and Indian War in your essay, here is a copy of the article you read earlier this quarter about that war.  If you are not sure what the Proclamation of 1763 did, here is a short explanation.

Final Steps to War: December 15, 2016

Hi everyone,
Because I am so nice, I am going to give you a handout outlining the final steps on the way to the conflict between the colonists and England.  If you are interested in looking at a resource for more information, try this:

https://www.amrevmuseum.org/timeline/

The descriptions are brief, but it has some good details!

Today in class, we spent time drafting an intro paragraph. As Mr. Zakian has told you, you need to write a "broad to specific" introduction. However, in an historical essay, you also have to set context for your reader.  If you followed the intro builder I gave you, you should have left class today with a completed intro paragraph.  Once I get your thesis approved, you will be done with your first paragraph!

I asked you to make sure you got your DBQ packet done if it wasn't done already!  You should check your packet against the answer key to be sure you are on the right track.

HOMEWORK:
Ideal: Start your evidence organizer
Not ideal, but acceptable: Revise or draft a thesis statement for Mrs. Siecke to review
Danger zone: Finish your DBQ packet so you can check the answer key tomorrow

Evidence organizer - Enlightenment ideals

Evidence organizer - Underlying causes

Evidence organizer - Major events

A Revolting Essay! December 14, 2016

Hi everyone,
Today in class, you took a check-in quiz on the Ch 6 Sec 2 reading.  It is a formative assessment, and you got to use your notes, so hooray for being caught up and ready for class!!

After that, you got some work time. Aside from some check-ins, at this point, you will be working at your own pace.  However, I want to make sure you are making progress, so I will be checking in with you at certain points.
Here is a suggested timeline for your essay:

• Weds: Finish DBQ packet (classwork; finish for homework)
• Weds homework: Choose essay option you wish to try (pending Mrs. Siecke's approval); Draft thesis statement for approval 
• Thursday: Practice drafting introduction for historical essay; check your DBQ packet answers
• Thursday homework: Start evidence organizer
• Friday: Finish evidence organizer, draft topic sentences for review
• Monday - Wednesday: Draft essay in class 

Please note: If you keep up with the suggested timeline, you can take the weekend off if you have a lot to do or just want a break. If you fall behind, you will want to complete anything not done for homework.

HOMEWORK:  If your DBQ packet is not done, you should finish it.  Please write a draft thesis statement to submit for approval.

We Declare It: December 13, 2016

Hi everyone,
Today in class, we wrapped up our work with the Declaration of Independence.  You had a chance to do some active listening to a video read-aloud of the Declaration.  I hope you think about what it means to say that "all men are created equal," and that we all have the"inalienable rights" to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These are lofty goals for any country to try to uphold!

We also spent some time starting to discuss the ESSAY coming up. I gave you a packet of primary and secondary source materials that you will use for evidence to support your major points in your essay.  The packet also includes the essay prompts for you to consider.  Everyone gets one packet of information "free" - if you lose the one you were given in class, you will need to print off a new copy for yourself.  I have linked it below.

DBQ Packet - Causes of the Revolution

I reviewed what we will be doing in class for the rest of the month, until break.  Here is the breakdown:

Wednesday - Ch 6, Sec 2 check-in; DBQ work time
Thursday - Review grading rubric; group or individual work on introduction
Friday - Review thesis and topic sentences; choose the correct organizer/s for your needs/choice of prompt

Monday and Tuesday - work time with Chrome Books
Wednesday - FIELD TRIP; limited time in school
Thursday - final wrap-up; last chance to turn in essay and have it be "on time"

Britain vs. Colonists, Round 2: December 12, 2016

Hi everyone, and happy First Day of School Affected By Snow for 2016-17!

I hope you all made it in safely today!

Today in class, I reviewed how we are going to cover the remaining events leading up to the Revolutionary War.  There are a lot of famous events coming up, such as the Boston Massacre and the midnight ride of Paul Revere.  However, I do not want to spend a lot of time in class going over each important event step by step.  I want to spend that time helping you prepare for and draft your essay on the causes of the Revolution.  So the watchword for this week is, YOYO. This stands for "You're On Your Own" - in this case, you are on your own to do some reading and other work around the events between 1763 and 1776, and we will use class time to analyze primary sources; identify the skills you currently are developing in English class, and how those relate to a social studies essay; and draft critical elements of that essay (thesis statements, topic sentences, etc.).

HOMEWORK: Your homework for tonight and tomorrow night is to read and take notes on Ch. 6, Sec. 2.  You can use one of THREE methods for note-taking:  Textmapping, teacher-generated outline, or note-taking method of your choice.  The only method you CANNOT use is just to make a bullet list of what you think is important in the reading.  You need to have some kind of structure.

Directions for reading and note-taking

Ch 6, Sec 2 reading

Teacher-generated outline (for those who choose)

If you would like to take notes, but don't know what format you'd like to use, here are some links to different ideas:

Formal Outline Notes setup

Another example of formal outline notes, with variations

How to Take Two-Column Notes

If you are interested in Cornell Notes, it is a more detailed version of two-column notes:

Britain vs Colonists, Round 1: December 8, 2016

Hi everyone,
Today in class, you finished text mapping Ch 6, Sec. 1. Tonight, your homework is similar to the work you did with Mr. Zakian finding quotes in text.  Use your completed text map to fill out the Post-Reading handout.  It is linked below if you missed it.

Post-Reading Assignment

Taking It To the Streets: December 6, 2016

Hi everyone,
I am not in school today, and I am very sorry about that!  I will be very glad to see all of you tomorrow!

In class today, you have a prereading activity, a reading, and short assignment to complete. For homework, finish anything you did not get done in class.  The focus of this activity is on the actions of the Sons of Liberty.  How did this group of colonists protest against British actions?  Were their protests justifiable?  Would you be willing to do what they did to protest circumstances they thought were unfair?  I hope you think deeply about these issues!

HOMEWORK:  If you need any of the documents from class today, I have linked them below.

Pre-reading activity

General reading - this is the version most of you got in class today

Post reading analysis

Storm Day - BRAINstorm, That Is! December 5, 2016

Hi everyone,
Today in class, you were taxed like the colonists were in the 1760's and 1770's. I have to say, most of you did not take it well AT ALL!!

For tonight, please brainstorm what you know about the causes of the Revolutionary War.  Work on this for 15 minutes.  You will know you have worked for 15 minutes because you are going to log your time in and out.

This is a great opportunity for you to create your own graphic organizer!  You can organize it any way you like.  Some examples are:

• W's organizer - set up columns for who, what, when, where, why how
• Divide the paper into sections (quarters or thirds).  Label each section with a category - people, places, events, miscellaneous
• Write a narrative description of what you know - could be what you learned from activities you did in school, what you remember from a field trip to the Freedom Trail; what you know from visiting the American Independence Museum in 5th grade, etc.

Wrap It Up: December 2, 2016

Hi everyone,
Today in class, we did some work to bring our discussion of the French and Indian War to a close.  If you were not here in class today, please make sure you have the reading assignment done.

MAKEUP WORK FOR PEOPLE ABSENT TODAY:
Please watch BOTH videos below to help you with the homework.  Send me an email stating that you watched them both.

HOMEWORK:  TEXTBOOK OF THE FUTURE.
If you have not finished the reading you were assigned, you need to get that done first.  Then you need to do the following:

1,000 years from now, there will be a lot more US history to share.  Textbooks will need to condense their text to include just the most critical information.  As a textbook author, you have three sentences with which to explain why the French and Indian War was a critical event in US history.  You don't need to explain causes and such, unless that is part of the reason why it is important!

The French and Indian War: DECEMBER 1, 2016

Hello everyone,
Today in class, we finished up our study of primary and secondary sources around the inciting incident that led to the American Revolution.  We took some time to review what we learned and make sure you had the right interpretation of some of the trickier items.

HOMEWORK:  You have a reading to complete!  Make sure to FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS printed at the top of the reading.

Here is a new copy of the reading if you need it.