Multiple Choice Question of the Week

I'm going to try and post one question a week on the blog so that you get continual practice.  I've set it up so that you can select an answer and then see everyone else's answer, too.  At the end of the week I'll post the correct answer and put up a new question.  Check out this weeks question to the left...

Multiple Choice Test Taking Strategies...

...this will be a topic we will be talking about in the upcoming weeks.  But for now - I've learned of a really fun strategy for improving your ability to navigate multiple choice questions - Sudoku -- you know, those little gridded number puzzles!

Multiple choice tests require logical thinking and are often a process of elimination - get rid of the wrong answers to reveal the right ones.  It's Sudoku!  So, grab yourself a book of them, find yourself a website, or scroll down to the bottom of this blog where I posted a Sudoko gadget for your convenience.  Try at least one a week, more if you can! 

There is plenty of time between now and May 2013 to get ready, but multiple choice is 50% of the AP Exam - currently 80 questions in 55 minutes.  We're going to practice, practice, practice to eliminate intimidation - and Sudoku is one of the first pages in the gamebook! 

Oral Family History Projects

DUE:  Not until the month of March -- the first presentation will begin Week 26 and we will have one or two presentations each week until we are finished.

REQUIREMENTS:  Since it is an 'oral' project there must be an 'oral' component -you must get in front of the class and share.  Even if your project can stand alone on it's own, you must introduce it at the beginning or provide some sort of summary at the end.  The only other requirement is that your project is in someway connected to your family history within the time frame of this class (1400s to 1920s).

I mentioned this project to you in the first weeks of class when we went over the syllabus together because I wanted it to be in the back of your mind all year.  I brought it up again a couple of weeks ago because I know that many of us will be getting together with family over the holidays.  It is a good time to ask questions, get family to tell stories and begin forming a plan for your project.

I'm going to leave the format of this totally up to you.  You are welcome to use technology - slide shows, digital photos, mp3's, movies, etc.  Feel free to ask me questions, but I want to leave a lot of room for interpretation - room for your creativity!

What are Primary Sources?

One of the things we talked about in today's online class was primary source materials - these aren't always 'documents' like the copy of the Missouri Compromise that I handed out in class on Tuesday. Historians use primary sources materials (including documents) to study and to write about history.  When we read history we are one step removed from the process - we are reading what someone else is reporting/interpreting from their study and work with primary materials.  Much of the history that we read is even farther removed from that - like our text book.  Bennett did not write our text using his own studies of primary sources - he used other historian's works to write our book.  He selected certain points of view of history in order to write his own point of view --- we are at least twice removed from primary sources! AND if you are relying on ME to interpret Bennett for YOU, you are even further removed!! 

It is good for you as a history student to have access to primary sources and to practice the work of historians by using those sources to form your own view of history.  One of the greatest sources for primary source materials we have is the Library of Congress and they have some parts of their collections available digitally so we can access them whenever we want.  Check out their website HERE...I'll be posting a permanent link in our sidebar soon.

I'd like you to watch the following video which is a short introduction to the LOC and their collection.  As you watch, think about how limited our list of primary sources was!

History Channel - Library of Congress - Visitor Experience from Viewpoint Creative on Vimeo.

Friday Class

Dear Friday Class,

Please respond to this post letting me know whether or not you will be able to join class this week at 3:00.  We do not have any Opportunities to discuss, but I would like to give you some instruction on the writing of opportunities, I would like to finish going over our last economics handout, and I would like to have a lesson about working with historical documents.

Thanks,

Mrs. Benton

Assignments Over Thanksgiving Break

Remember this painting of William Penn's Treaty with the Indians by Benjamin West?

As always we move forward without neglecting to look back!  As you enjoy your holiday spend at least a moment reflecting on the Pilgrims and Puritans and their influence on the begining of our nation! 

I announced during class that I will not be assigning any opportunities this week, but that doesn't mean NO, homework.  Middleschool students who are keeping journals - you may choose to journal this week or not.  Here is a summary of what you do need to do before we meet again:

Text Book Reading:  
pp 220-247
(We begin Chapter 7 and our study of Andrew Jackson -- I'd like you to really learn as much as you can from the text becuase in the New Year we will be visiting the Andrew Jackson Museum in Waxhaw!)

Missouri Compromise Assignment:
Finish your maps and your worksheets and file them in Chapter 6 in your notebooks.  Also make sure that you have a summary of the Constitutional Slavery Compromises alongside these pages.  HERE is the link to the interactive map we used in class.  You will need both this map and the actual text of the Missouri Compromise (see previous post) to complete this assignment.  We will use this information again - we will build upon it when we look at the tarriffs during Jackson's presidency.  We will refer back to these worksheets leading up to our study of the the Civil War so make sure you have completed it!  It is not ok to 'guess' or estimate answers to these questions even if you think or know you are right.  Use the data on the map - it is information from historical documents and it's your first practice at using historical documents to answer questions.  As a note to help you answer the density question --- density compares the population per land area.  Division is used to calculate how many people there were per square mile.  This is already calculated for you and located at the bottom of each table, but I just wanted you to know what this number means and where it came from. 

Notebook Work: 
Use this time to reorganize and re-establish order in your notebooks.  File things where they go.  Some of your notebooks are becoming dangerous - spilling out their contents into the crate when I check them.  Also many of you are not completing notebook assignments... 
Chapter Timeline & List of Important People
This was designed as a tool to help you organize and think about your reading.  It was also designed to help you create a study guide for yourselves.  I will be making a post about each of these notebook assignments over the holidays to give you some tips and advice.  Do not neglect this notebook work - it is a part of your grade, but it will also help you be prepared for class!
Vocabulary
I apologize that we have not recently been able to fit this into our class time.  It is a valuable habit that I would like to help you develop and I'll try and reestablish this routine in the coming weeks.

Autobiography:
Those of you who are reading the autobiography use this time to either follow or catch up on your reading plans.  We will meet to talk about your readings, but it may not be until after the holidays, I'll keep you updated.

PSH:
pp 53-55 William Lloyd Garrison
I also encourage you to read the next piece which is a selection from Washington Irving's periodical in which he establishes the Gotham as a fictionalized NY!

Economics:
Make sure that you are caught up in your Penny Candy readings.  If all works out we will have a guest speaker on Economics in a few weeks.  Look over and review the handouts you've been given, and if you can, I encourage you to read the essay posted a couple of weeks ago 'I, Pencil'.

Projects:
Recitation
Use this time wisely to work on your recitations.  Finish memorizing and work on your presentation using the tips that Mrs. Calder shared with us last week.  Please refer to the recommendations and encouragements that Mrs. Newton shared with you in class today.  I had a chance to review them and they are very helpful -- Nick your's fell out of your notebook, I'll try and email you a summary soon!
Oral Family History
I'll be making a separate post detailing this project - it's due much later, but use this time of families getting together to ask for stories.  Basically, your project is just to present to the class (various formats are acceptable) something regarding your family history from the time period of this class (1400s - 1920).

The Missouri Compromise

Class tomorrow will focus on The Missouri Compromise.  You will need to bring to class:

Colored Pencils
A copy of a transcript of The Missouri Compromise which you can print from HERE.
A copy of the blank map from HERE.

I hope you are all prepared to leave the classroom one by one to go to the sanctuary with Mrs. Calder and practice your recitations.  We will begin this as soon as the class activity is introduced.  It doesn't have to be perfect, but the more prepared you are the more she can assist you!

If any of you arrive to the classroom before me - please make sure we have a white board - we will need it tomorrow.