2021-2022 Later American Studies - Plans
*** Dates in the past are what we did those days. Dates in the future are what we have planned, and the plans may change. ***
FIRST SEMESTER
August 25 (half day)
We spent some time learning about Mr. Bulgrien so students know whom they're dealing with.
August 26
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
Read p.118-119.
August 27
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
August 30
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
After that we finished up the handout from Friday, worksheet 3.1.
August 31
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
September 01
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
September 02
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
September 03 - no school
September 06 - no school
FIRST SEMESTER
August 25 (half day)
We spent some time learning about Mr. Bulgrien so students know whom they're dealing with.
August 26
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
- Summarize the conditions that helped the US industrialize in the late 19th century by reading and discussing.
- Are people protesting recently blowing things out of proportion, or do they have legitimate concerns?
- Should we remove Confederate flags and statues because they are offensive, or do those things honor our history?
- How should we handle health concerns during a pandemic (masks, vaccine mandates, vaccine passports)?
- How should we handle Afghanistan?
- Understanding history gives us a way to understand these controversies.
- Without an understanding of history, you just have an opinion based on... your opinion.
Read p.118-119.
- Analyze the map on p.119.
- Discuss impact of inventions/technology.
- Have parents either sign the letter or (better yet) email me saying they saw the letter sent home about classroom policies.
- Join Google Classroom using the following code: xn6asnt
- Optional: Sign up for Remind (lateram)
August 27
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
- Summarize the conditions that helped the US industrialize in the late 19th century by reading and discussing.
- We discussed how one innovation inspires the next one.
- Laissez-faire and supply & demand: freedom, what we're typically used to.
- We don't have this entirely, though.
- minimum wage laws, requirements for employers to pay for health insurance, and other examples of government intervention in business (for good or for bad)
- Tariffs: taxes on imports in order to help local businesses.
- example:
- If something costs $2 here but $1 to get it from China, many of us would buy the Chinese one.
- But if there was a tariff on the Chinese product to make it also cost $2, then many people would want the American simply because it's made here. Others might then compare the quality of the products if they cost the same.
- example:
- We worked on it together but didn't quite finish.
- We'll finish it in class on Monday.
August 30
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
- Summarize the conditions that helped the US industrialize in the late 19th century by reading and discussing.
After that we finished up the handout from Friday, worksheet 3.1.
- Students were given time to work individually and then to discuss their responses with nearby classmates.
- After that we discussed any remaining questions or discrepancies.
August 31
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
- Identify how the spread of railroads changed the nation.
- We discussed the following:
- the logic of the transcontinental railroad "meeting up in the middle"
- railroads make it easier to buy and sell things from a distance
- We still use them today.
- the robber barons
- the more money that's involved in something makes it more likely there will be corruption
- the political cartoon on p.126
September 01
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
- Analyze the rise of large-scale businesses and their different forms of organization by completing the ch. 3 study guide (handed out in the near future).
- Why would the transcontinental railroad be so much cheaper than other options?
- Scroll down to the first map here to see the alternatives.
- What is "insider trading"? (Martha Stewart went to prison for doing that.)
- We discussed the following, including examples from today:
- Vertical Integration:
- McDonald's buying farms (beef) and bakeries (buns) in order to control parts of their business.
- Horizontal Integration:
- Different car companies (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac) combining into a holding company (General Motors).
- Trusts:
- A similar thing we see regularly is how different gas stations sell gas for the exact same price.
- Monopoly:
- Like in the board game, if you're able to control the only option for sale, you may be able to raise the price.
- If there are other companies that are selling the same item, then you have to lower the price to compete for the customer's money.
- Some really wealthy people who put these concepts into practice:
- Andrew Carnegie (steel manufacturing)
- John D. Rockefeller (oil refinery)
- J.P. Morgan (investment banker)
- Advertisement:
- The goal is the get customers to buy your product or service.
- Notice how advertising changed due to changes in our lifestyle and habits over the years:
- Driving cars? Advertisers build giant billboards so you can see them when driving by very fast.
- Listening to the radio? Commercials.
- Watching TV? Video commercials.
- Going online? Pop-up advertisements.
- and so on...
- Vertical Integration:
September 02
Learning Target: 6.1.1:
- Analyze the rise of large-scale businesses and their different forms of organization by completing the ch. 3 study guide (handed out in the near future).
- safety goggles, helmets, vests (reflective or bright colors), etc.
- minimum wage, overtime policies, holiday pay, sick pay, etc.
- workers coming together to form unions and bargaining for legal contracts
- Workers often were treated poorly (e.g. fired if they got inured on the job).
- Workers often formed unions to demand better working conditions.
- Sometimes arguments between employers and workers turned violent.
- The government even got involved (and usually on the side of the employers against the workers).
- Many of the work laws around today were created around this time (late 1880s):
- # of hours in a work week
- minimum wages
- equal pay for women
- child-labor laws
- We've seen how industrialization in the US was a result of the business leaders and also the employees who did most of the actual work.
- Things are pretty calm between employers and employees these days, and it's a result of what these people did in the last 150 years or so to make it this way.
September 03 - no school
September 06 - no school
September 07
Our test over ch. 03 will be on Thursday, September 09.
September 08
Our test over ch. 03 will be on tomorrow.
September 09
TEST: Ch. 3 - Industrialization
After the test, turn in study guide for Ch. 3.
September 10
Learning Target:
video #2: CBS Sunday Morning
Article: 9/11/2001 (read p. 1-2 today, will finish on Monday)
September 13
Learning Target:
September 14
TEST: Ch. 3 - Industrialization (about two thirds of the class was quarantined on the original test date).
Assignment:
September 15
Learning Target: 6.1.3
September 16
Learning Target: 6.1.3
September 17
Learning Target: 6.1.3
September 20
Learning Target: 6.1.1
September 21
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
September 22
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
September 23
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
September 24 (Homecoming)
This class is disrupted by the Homecoming assembly, so we don't have anything planned for today.
September 27
We spent time studying for the test over ch. 4, which is tomorrow.
September 28
TEST: Ch. 4 (Urban America)
September 29 (two-hour delay schedule due to Wellness Day)
We spent some time talking about what would go into a complete answer for the test's essay question, which was the last question on the chapter study guide:
September 30
Learning Target: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2
Our test over ch. 03 will be on Thursday, September 09.
- Here's the study guide.
- Take good notes on it. You will be allowed to use the study guide during the test for just this test.
- We do this to show students that taking good notes and studying those notes will help them do better on the tests.
September 08
Our test over ch. 03 will be on tomorrow.
- We worked on the third page of the study guide today.
- We took the time necessary discussing any questions students had.
- The point I want students to take away is how there was a so much resistance and violence to get things that we now take for granted.
- the Homestead Riot
- the Haymarket Riot
- the history of Labor Day - notice how the first parades were demonstrations in support of labor unions, thus the name "Labor Day"
September 09
TEST: Ch. 3 - Industrialization
After the test, turn in study guide for Ch. 3.
September 10
Learning Target:
- Discuss the infamous attacks on September 11 and how the attacks have affected American society by reading an article and writing 5 facts you didn’t know about September 11 (which we'll do next week).
video #2: CBS Sunday Morning
Article: 9/11/2001 (read p. 1-2 today, will finish on Monday)
- We discussed a few parts of it on p.1-2, such as the following:
- the planning that went into the attacks
- flight school
- coordinated to have many attacks happen simultaneously
- why they wanted to hijack planes that were traveling across the country
- how people assumed the first plane hitting the tower was an accident
- how airport security has changed to prevent such attacks
- the planning that went into the attacks
- Assignment: write 5 facts you didn't already know about 9/11 (due next week)
September 13
Learning Target:
- Discuss the infamous attacks on September 11 and how the attacks have affected American society by reading an article and writing 5 facts you didn’t know about September 11 (due tomorrow).
- We discussed a few parts of it involving the aftermath of 9/11, including the following:
- how the US invaded Afghanistan as a reaction to the attacks
- the Patriot Act
- whether it's an overreach (our government is spying on us)
- or whether it's a necessary precaution (our government is keeping us safe)
- Edward Snowden
- whether he is a hero, a whistleblower
- or whether he is a traitor
- More than half the class was absent when we took the test.
- We discussed what it takes to get full credit on the written part of the test.
- Students who already took the test will be able to retake it for up to full credit.
- Students who take it for the first time tomorrow will be able to schedule a redo (if desired) after school some time in the next week or so.
September 14
TEST: Ch. 3 - Industrialization (about two thirds of the class was quarantined on the original test date).
Assignment:
- Read Ch. 4, lesson 1: p.144-148
- Complete the reading guide.
September 15
Learning Target: 6.1.3
- Explain why immigrants came to the United States and how they impacted society by reading a chart, completing an online quiz, and investigating your own family history.
- Watch a video clip about Ellis Island.
- We talked about
- the culture shock for immigrants
- how (and why) they were sort of treated like animals:
- Many didn't speak English.
- may have been sick, so kept separated as much as possible
- how we can tell immigrant officials were worried about disease, crime, homelessness, etc.
- the attitudes of immigrants towards America
- and how millions of people still want to come here from all over the world
September 16
Learning Target: 6.1.3
- Explain how immigrants impacted society.
- population boom = new concerns: homelessness, overcrowding, etc.
- tenements (do an image search)
- building upwards (skyscrapers) when no room to build wide (no available land)
- mass transit (replaces horses, which make roads... messy and stinky)
- why crime and corruption are more prevalent in large populations
September 17
Learning Target: 6.1.3
- Explain how immigrants impacted society.
- Amending the Constitution (next week we'll read about segregation, but we watched this today in observance of Constitution Day)
- The Gilded Age
- individualism: We all know of some people who had humble beginnings but became rich and/or famous (e.g. LeBron James)
- social Darwinism: competition is good for society
- e.g. good companies survive, poorly run companies go out of business
- Andrew Carnegie and the Gospel of Wealth
- e.g. "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
- We worked on the parts we've read, so we didn't even finish the front of it yet.
September 20
Learning Target: 6.1.1
- Analyze the economic policies of government and industrial leaders by participating in class discussion.
- We talked some about how the emergence of many forms of entertainment and hobbies
- such as pro sports, amateur sports, music, theater, amusement parks, etc.
- proves that industrialization and urbanization led to enough prosperity for most that they had extra money after meeting their needs.
- You have some time on this, including the upcoming weekend, to allow for talking with family (especially grandparents).
September 21
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and limitations of Populist reform in the role of organizations, movements, and individuals in promoting change.
- We read about debates over how much the government should get involved in businesses and daily lives, and we still have this debate today.
- same for controversy and fears about the money supply and prices
- same for the notion of "populism"
- We also talked about how many people risked a lot to find gold in the gold rushes, including the Klondike gold rush in the 1890s and also the California gold rush of 1849, which most students didn't know was the inspiration for the name of the San Francisco '49ers.
September 22
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and realities of segregation.
- We compared this to other kinds of taxes, such as the sales tax, where each person pays the same rate no matter how much money the person has.
- We read this and worked on completing a 5-Things assignment, which we will discuss tomorrow.
September 23
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and realities of segregation.
- We used Wheel Decide to call on people to discuss the 5-Things assignment from yesterday.
- Some things that came up:
- It's hard for us to imagine segregation, but it wasn't that long ago:
- We did an image search for "separate but equal."
- Ruby Bridges -- famous picture
- She's still alive (only 67 as of right now).
- This is shocking. White students left the school, and only one teacher would teach her.
- Hillsdale College's football team in 1955-56 turned down the chance to play in a bowl game even though they had an undefeated season when they were told they would have to leave their four black teammates behind in order to play.
- It's hard for us to imagine segregation, but it wasn't that long ago:
- The test will be next week.
September 24 (Homecoming)
This class is disrupted by the Homecoming assembly, so we don't have anything planned for today.
September 27
We spent time studying for the test over ch. 4, which is tomorrow.
September 28
TEST: Ch. 4 (Urban America)
September 29 (two-hour delay schedule due to Wellness Day)
We spent some time talking about what would go into a complete answer for the test's essay question, which was the last question on the chapter study guide:
- Explain how Southern states were able to impose segregation and deny African Americans their voting rights after Reconstruction. Use two different African American community leaders to show the response to legalized segregation.
- segregation:
- Jim Crow laws allowed private companies (restaurants, hotels, buses, trains, etc.) to segregate people based on race.
- People claimed it was "separate but equal" even though it obviously wasn't equal.
- deny voting rights:
- poll tax of $2
- literacy tests
- "grandfather clause" allowed white people to vote even if they couldn't pay the tax or read as long as they had a grandfather who could vote in 1867 (meaning he was white).
- two leaders' responses:
- Booker T. Washington:
- We need to get jobs and education so that we (and our children) will be able to pay the poll tax and pass the literacy test.
- W.E.B. DuBois:
- We need to insist on getting our rights now!
- Booker T. Washington:
- segregation:
- Most people think there are 2-3 super powers these days (the US and China / the US, China and Russia).
- What did it take for us to become a super power starting about 150 years ago?
- war, military expansion, economic influence
- What will it mean if China and/or Russia are trying to surpass us as a world leader?
September 30
Learning Target: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2
- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
- We also filled out the appropriate section on the chapter study guide.
- the importance of military bases overseas for the world's super powers
- Notice how many USA has.
- Notice how Russia still has quite a few.
- Notice how few China has right now.
- If China is going to try to surpass the USA as a world leader, they will most likely expand the reach of their military.
- There are 50 states in our country, but we also control many territories.
- Here's a map.
- the queen of Hawai'i, Lili'uokalani
October 01
Learning Target: 6.2.2:
- Evaluate the actions of the U.S. in Latin America during the imperialist era.
- We filled out as much as we could on the first page of the study guide.
- Cubans rebelling against Spain seems similar to Americans rebelling against England
- We still don't know what caused the explosion on the USS Maine.
- There are some who think it was a conspiracy by Americans in order to start the war but to blame it on the Cubans or the Spanish.
- the term "yellow journalism" sounds like "fake news"
- why Americans would want to get involved in Cuba (and Hawai'i, and the Philippines, and anywhere else throughout our history...)
- It usually boils down to money.
October 04
Learning Target: 6.2.2:
- Evaluate the actions of the U.S. in Latin America during the imperialist era.
Read. the second part of Ch. 5 Sec. 2 p. 186-189.
- We filled out the rest on this section of the study guide.
- We also started filling out the written part of the study guide (p. 3).
- We have multiple military bases on the tiny island of Guam.
- We also have military bases in South Korea and Japan (and many other places around the world, which we discussed last week).
October 05
Learning Target: 6.2.2:
- Evaluate the actions of the U.S. in Latin America and Asia during the imperialist era.
I talked for a few minutes about current news stories that relate to what we're talking about in class with regards to imperialism (economic and military expansion), in this case with China:
- Chinese planes flying into Taiwan's airspace
- China building military bases on the western coast of Africa
Read. the second part of Ch. 5 Sec. 3 p. 190-192.
- We filled out what we could on this section of the study guide.
- some maps of the Panama Canal (1, 2, 3)
- compare that to the Suez Canal
- and closer to home, the Soo Locks
October 06
Learning Target: 6.2.2:
- Evaluate the actions of the U.S. in Latin America and Asia during the imperialist era.
Read. the second part of Ch. 5 Sec. 3 p. 193-195.
- We did a 5-things assignment to discuss these pages as a class.
- We filled out what we could on this section of the study guide.
- other examples of guerrilla warfare (terrorist groups, fighting in Iraq, Vietnam War)
- how to prevent the spread of yellow fever
- another way to think about "dollar diplomacy"
- diplomacy using business and money instead of military or the threat of force
October 07 (had a fire drill that took 10+ minutes of our time)
Learning Target: 6.2.2:
- Evaluate the actions of the U.S. in Latin America and Asia during the imperialist era.
We talked about any questions from the study guide.
- including a term that's on the test but isn't in the book: Pan-Americanism
- a good topic sentence (such as explaining how the USA was against imperialism until the 1880s, but since then...)
- an explanation of some economic factors:
- Hawai'i (sugar, avoid paying tariffs)
- Puerto Rico (same)
- Philippines (a large market for our products)
- Japan (large market), so it helps to have naval bases on the way there (Guam, Hawai'i, Philippines)
- China (large market), same as Japan
- an explanation of cultural factors:
- "Anglo-Saxonism"
- belief that English speakers were superior to others and would (should) dominate the world
- "civilize" people of the world
- help make places safer for those who live there (Cuba)
- "Anglo-Saxonism"
- an explanation of the military factors:
- We were often competing with Europe.
- We needed protection for our merchant ships (pirates, other nations)
- We also used the military (navy) to pressure other nations
- examples: Japan, Philippines, Cuba, Panama/Colombia,
October 08
TEST: Ch. 5: Becoming a World Power
October 11
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and limitations of Progressive reform in the role of organizations, movements, and individuals in promoting change.
- We also talked about more recent examples of muckraking reporting, such as the following:
- sexual abuse in the Catholic Church (2002)
- prisoner abuse at Abu Graib in Iraq (2004)
- sexual abuse by a Penn State assistant coach (2011)
- drug companies pushing opioids (2016)
- as well as sexual abuse by Larry Nassar (2018)
- Fill out as much of this graphic organizer as we can so far.
October 12
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and limitations of Progressive reform in the role of organizations, movements, and individuals in promoting change.
- Fill out more of this graphic organizer as we go.
- top of p. 204: city governments run by experts
- It's likely Progressives would also want health/medical policy to be determined by experts.
- How you feel about Dr. Fauci may be a sign of whether or not you are "Progressive."
- how Progressives attempted to give more political power to average citizens instead of the party bosses and long-time politicians through
- primary elections
- such as how Democrats had more than 10 candidates in the primary and a bunch who didn't even make it that far
- initiatives and referendums
- and recalls
- such as the recent recall attempt to remove Governor Gavin Newsom from office in California
- primary elections
- how abolishing slavery and woman suffrage were often supported by the same people
- Are they related?
- The 19th Amendment prevents states and the national government from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex.
- So it ensures that women have the right to vote.
- It was certified just over 100 years ago.
- Susan B. Anthony is on some of our coins
- lobbyists
- good: Individuals and groups can have more say, more involvement, in politics
- bad: Many people today consider the term "lobbyist" to be negative, possibly because how much money is involved in lobbying and the assumption that there may be corruption or bribery involved.
October 13
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and limitations of Progressive reform in the role of organizations, movements, and individuals in promoting change.
- Fill out more of this graphic organizer as we go.
- And we watched a couple video clips related to what we read:
- Think about how the school's exits all open out, away from the building.
- Our homes may be different, but those aren't regulated like public buildings are.
- Think about any other business or factory.
- The doors and other exits (e.g. fire escapes) need to allow for safe evacuation of a building in case of a fire.
- This is a result of the Progressive movement's response to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
- Child labor laws:
- Is the movement to legalize medicinal and then recreational use of marijuana similar to repealing prohibition?
- admitting that it's difficult to outlaw such a thing, and also allowing the government to control and even tax production and distribution of the drug
- Here's our first one: Cuba needs help. Spain is barely keeping Cuba from being destroyed by anarchy.
- Who will save Cuba? Whose hand is that? (Most likely America's.)
- Here's another one:
- We talked about how we know who the villain is.
- German helmet, label on his shorts, and also a certain resemblance to the leader of Germany during WWI, Kaiser Wilhelm II.
- We talked about how we know who the villain is.
- Next time we have time for this, we'll talk about some of the political cartoons of Dr. Seuss from before he wrote children's books.
- (putting these links here for when we want them)
- There's a book or two about this: Dr. Seuss Goes to War
- Jackson District Library has it through Hoopla (perfect for reading on a phone or a tablet).
- cartoon 1
- cartoon 2
- cartoon 3
- cartoon 4
- cartoon 5
- cartoon 6
October 14
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and limitations of Progressive reform in the role of organizations, movements, and individuals in promoting change.
- Follow the directions on slide 1, and use slide 2 as a model
- This is due (in Google Classroom) by midnight tomorrow night.
- We will have some class time tomorrow to work on this, but it won't be even close to the entire hour.
October 15
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and limitations of Progressive reform in the role of organizations, movements, and individuals in promoting change.
- We discussed government involvement in business since the Progressive Era and how it's still a debate today.
- Then we started filling out the study guide for our upcoming test over ch. 4, 5, and 6, which will be on Friday, Oct. 22.
October 18 (no school)
October 19
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and limitations of Progressive reform in the role of organizations, movements, and individuals in promoting change.
- I read this out loud as we talked about the details in each paragraph.
- e.g. Most of us see the need for labels on medicine and food, and we imagined what it would be like without those.
- We talked about the conflict between wanting limits to keep things fair between American businesses while helping American businesses compete against businesses from other countries.
- Students read independently, and we discussed it afterward.
- Can you think of ways we regulate natural resources today?
- hunting licenses, hunting seasons
- What would it be like if we never had any hunting? If we had unlimited hunting?
- hunting licenses, hunting seasons
- Are those in charge of managing our forests doing a good job of it these days?
- We weren't sure. Some pointed out that there seem to be many devastating forest fires every summer.
- the "bully pulpit"
- The Roosevelt presidency marks an expansion of presidential power.
- It makes sense since he was a Progressive, meaning he wanted to increase government's involvement in our everyday lives.
- Why argue about tariffs?
- Tariffs protect businesses from competition from other countries, but they raise prices (which hurts consumers).
- And we talked about how perception is often different from reality, especially in politics.
- e.g. Taft worked against trusts more often than T. Roosevelt did, even though Roosevelt is knows as the "trust buster."
- interesting conversation:
- Who would do a better job at preserving natural resources, the government or private owners?
- One theory: the government - it seems more likely to be fair since it doesn't benefit personally
- Another theory: private owners who will take care to keep something profitable.
- e.g. a paper company that plants trees to ensure future resources
- e.g. a farmer who raises livestock to ensure future products (milk, meat, etc.)
- I'm not sure what to think about this theory, but I've heard some people advocate for eating endangered animals!
- Their theory is that the animals we eat (cows, pigs, chickens) are so plentiful because they are profitable.
- Who would do a better job at preserving natural resources, the government or private owners?
October 20
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and limitations of Progressive reform in the role of organizations, movements, and individuals in promoting change.
- I read this out loud as we talked about it as we went.
- e.g. We talked about why there have been basically two parties in our elections.
- When there are three, one of the parties is split, and someone (Woodrow Wilson, Bill Clinton) won with well under 50% of the popular vote.
- We talked about the different types of taxes and how an indirect tax is paid by the consumer (e.g. sales tax) or by the employee (e.g. taxes from a paycheck).
- I also handed out what we'll be working on tomorrow.
October 21
Learning Target: 6.3.1, 6.3.2
- Analyze the causes, consequences, and limitations of Progressive reform in the role of organizations, movements, and individuals in promoting change.
- We also talked about the following:
- cryptocurrencies and why people who work at the Federal Reserve or support its decisions probably hate them
- why people felt the need to create the NAACP and the ADL
- how we now have the expectation that government can and even should get involved
- "There should be a law about that" is a fairly common phrase these days, but it probably wasn't prior to the Progressive Era.
October 22 (half day / end of marking period)
TEST: Ch. 4, 5, 6
October 25
Watch Iron Jawed Angels (IMDB link / Wikipedia link).
- got to 00:33:24
- Over the course of the movie, students are to write down their thoughts/reactions.
- There's a minimum of two per day and at least 10 by the end of the movie.
October 26
watch Iron Jawed Angels
- got to 01:15:12 (we skipped 00:50:00 to 00:52:00)
- See Oct. 25 for more details and for details about the assignment.
October 27
watch Iron Jawed Angels
- got to 01:54:06 (under 10 minutes left)
- See Oct. 25 for more details and for details about the assignment.
October 28
Learning Target: 6.2.2
- Identify what caused World War I and why the United States entered the war.
Then we talked for a bit about the buildup for World War I.
- We started by comparing the map on p.231 (similar to this map) with a recent map of Europe.
- Notice how the Austro-Hungarian empire in the first map is huge, and it has since been split into many different countries.
- Along the way, we talked about militarism and arms races (and compared that to the buildup of nukes in more recent times).
- We also discussed the entangling alliances as well as the rationale behind why countries wanted to ally with whom they did.
- Compare this to today when one of our allies may be attacked (Taiwan is being threatened by China).
- What will we do if China attacks?
- What will our other allies do?
- Will it develop into World War III?
October 29
Learning Target: 6.2.2
- Identify what caused World War I and why the United States entered the war.
- Some examples include the following:
- Susan B. Anthony
- the Quakers
- The closest thing we're familiar with is probably the Amish.
- whether or not women could drive back then
- and how in most of our experience, men drive if there are men and women in the car.
- The assassins didn't think they would be starting such a huge war.
- America tried to stay neutral, but we also used the war as a chance to do business.
- Fighting a war takes a lot of supplies, and we sold a lot, especially to the countries that we eventually allied ourselves with (the UK and France).
- WWI cartoon #1
- WWI cartoon #2
- WWI video
November 01
Learning Target: 6.2.3
- Analyze the domestic impact of World War I
- Victory Gardens prove that WWI impacted daily life far more than any war effort during our lives.
- We still have daylight savings time now (this coming Sunday, in fact).
- sharecropping explained (which contributed to the Great Migration)
- Does the First Amendment mean you can say anything you want?
- Watch this video about Schenck v. United States.
November 02
Learning Target: 6.2.3
- Analyze the domestic impact of World War I
Read ch. 07 section 02: p.240-242: p.242: poster and primary documents handout (due today).
We also started a response to a political cartoon.
- This will be due tomorrow.
- p. 239 is a good help for this.
November 03
Learning Target: 6.2.2
- Understand the impact of WWI fighting style by watching a movie clip and responding to a poem.
Read Ch. 7 Sec. 3 p. 243-244.
- The distance from the English Channel to Switzerland is about 450 miles.
- Imagine 450 miles of trenches!
- There's a reason they didn't use zeppelins too often for warfare (such as the most famous disaster, well after World War I, the Hindenburg).
- Compare the average life span of a WWI pilot (two weeks) to how much time it probably took to train to be a pilot.
- not worth it
- Snoopy is always pretending to be a WWI ace.
- Here's more information about the poem.
- chemical warfare (e.g. poison gas)
- The pictures on that site are worth clicking through.
- This poem is a response to people who try to persuade men to join the war effort, such as women who gave men white feathers during WWI to shame them as cowards.
November 04
Learning Target: 6.2.2
- Understand how the U.S. military contributed to the Allied victory in the war
Read Ch. 7 Sec. 3 p. 245-246
- a picture of a WWI convoy
- The Russian Revolution had a major impact on WWI (Germany could focus on just the Western Front) as well as many decades to come (Joseph Stalin, the Cold War, etc.)
- The landscape of the Argonne Forest was devastated by the fighting in WWI.
- To this day, you can see huge craters from the explosives.
November 05
Learning Target: 6.2.3, 6.2.4:
- Explain how American involvement affected the end of WWI and its peace settlements.
- the Treaty of Versailles (and why it didn't go as Woodrow Wilson had planned)
- We talked about how European empires were divided, especially Austria-Hungary.
- Unlike USA, why would Britain and France care more about punishing Germany?
- Their countries suffered more from the fighting than ours did. They wanted revenge.
- Germany was forced to pay 33 billion dollars in reparations.
- In today's terms, that's almost 2 trillion dollars.
- That weakened the German economy, and German territory was also taken away.
- Adolf Hitler was able to come to power because of these situations.
- We compared Wilson's plan for League of Nations to the United Nations today.
- Notice that almost every nation in the world is a member now.
- There are 195 countries in the world, and 193 are UN members.
- Would the League of Nations have prevented World War II?
- We have no way to know that.
- We realize, however, that the United Nations has not prevented war since its creation in 1945.
- We realize further that this is perhaps not a fair point, as no other group or era has been able to prevent all wars.
- We also talked about reasons (at least enough) Americans had for not wanting to join the League of Nations:
- weren't sure who is the boss: US or League
- also didn't want to get sucked into another war due to an alliance
- And we considered what would happen if we had an obligation to defend another nation but didn't do so.
- probably would weaken our reputation for reliability
- Consider what we should do if an ally gets attacked (e.g. Taiwan by China):
- fight with China? abandon ally? Both are unpleasant options.
- And we considered what would happen if we had an obligation to defend another nation but didn't do so.
November 08
Learning Target: 6.2.2
- Identify what caused World War I
- Understand the impact of WWI fighting style
After that, we spent time preparing for the essay questions:
1.) Explain how nationalism, militarism, and alliances led to the start of World War I in Europe.
- nationalism: intense pride in one’s homeland and/or nationality
- Many groups wanted to break away from empires to have their own countries (e.g. Serbs, Bosnians, Croats, and Slovenes all wanted independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire).
- militarism: strong buildup of armed forces to intimidate and threaten other nations
- This led to large armies and the creation of more destructive weapons, including improved and new types of weapons:
- tanks, machine guns, submarines, poison gas, airplanes, and long-range cannons
- Germany built a large army and navy, so Britain and other nearby countries increased the size of armies and navies.
- This led to large armies and the creation of more destructive weapons, including improved and new types of weapons:
- alliances: as a reaction to militarism, countries wanted to outnumber, overpower and surround their rivals (enemies).
- Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Ottoman Empire
- Allies: France, Russia, United Kingdom (and later USA, but that's not part of this question)
- putting it all together:
- When the archduke of Austria-Hungary (AH) was assassinated by a Serb nationalist in Bosnia, AH declared war on Serbia and Germany invaded Belgium in order to sneak attack France before Russia had time to attack Germany.
- Britain sent troops to fight Germany. Germany began a blockade around Britain (which led to the sinking of the Lusitania, which brought the USA into the war).
2.)Explain why the number of combat deaths during World War I was extremely high. Give specific examples.
- New and improved weapons were mixed with old-fashioned tactics.
- new or improved weapons: machine gun, poison gas, tanks, long-range cannons, larger explosives, airplanes, submarines
- old weapons and tactics: bayonets (close-range weapon), horses, and trench warfare
- Troops were trained and ordered to "charge” with single-shot rifles and bayonets towards an enemy hiding in trenches armed with machine guns.
- Long-range cannons could launch powerful explosives and poison gas many miles away.
- Poison gas attacks could kill or injure people even if they were safe from bullets or explosives.
- airplanes: had only been around for 11 years prior to WWI!
- Planes were used for reconnaissance, more precise bombing, and machine-gun attacks.
- submarines: use of torpedoes to sink ships without warning
- All of these factors combined to greatly increase the number of casualties during World War I.
November 09
Learning Target: 6.2.2 and 6.2.3
- Identify what caused World War I
- Understand the impact of WWI fighting style
- Analyze the domestic impact of World War I
- You don't need to have all of those details, but your essay does need to include some specific details for full credit.
- We talked about why there were labor strikes after World War I and why there were race riots.
- We also talked about the growing anxiety about socialism and communism (due to the Bolshevik revolution in Russia), which soon led to the Red Scares (one right after WWI and another right after WWII) in America.
- The Internet was down at the time, so we couldn't get to these during class.
- If time, students may benefit from some short video clips for more details:
November 10
TEST: Ch. 07: World War I and Its Aftermath
November 11
Learning Target: 7.1.1
- Present how the U.S. experienced both economic and social change in the decade after WWI by completing a group project.
- handout
- sample - script template
- important: Your script must include enough specific information about the terms and people so that someone who has no idea what they are (e.g. a middle schooler) will get enough details to know the basics.
- Example:
- "Isn't it great that the Ohio Gang were kept together?"
- "Yeah, they're good friends with the president, so I think they should stay close."
- Better: include the following:
- name of the president
- name of some of the members of the Ohio Gang
- explanation of why the president did that
- explanation of why some people had a problem with it
- Example:
November 12
Learning Target: 7.1.1
- Present how the U.S. experienced both economic and social change in the decade after WWI by completing a group project.
- See Nov. 11 for details and links.
November 15
Learning Target: 7.1.1
- Present how the U.S. experienced both economic and social change in the decade after WWI by completing a group project.
- See Nov. 11 for details and links.
November 16
Learning Target: 7.1.1
- Present how the U.S. experienced both economic and social change in the decade after WWI by completing a group project.
- See Nov. 11 for details and links, especially the note marked "important."
November 17
Learning Target: 7.1.1
- Present how the U.S. experienced both economic and social change in the decade after WWI by completing a group project.
- See Nov. 11 for details and links, especially the note marked "important."
November 18
Learning Target: 7.1.1
- Present how the U.S. experienced both economic and social change in the decade after WWI by completing a group project.
November 19
Learning Target: 7.1.1
- Present how the U.S. experienced both economic and social change in the decade after WWI by completing a group project.
November 22
Learning Target: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.10
- By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
- You will be able to use the handout we worked on in class today during tomorrow's test, so it is in your best interest to fill it out accurately before then.
- You can do this after school by Friday, December 10.
- If you need help with your response, feel free to consult our notes from class, which can be found under November 8 on the class schedule.
November 23
TEST: Ch. 8: The Jazz Age (open notes using the handout)
November 24-26
Thanksgiving break
November 29
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
- Examine how the Great Depression affected the lives of urban and rural Americans.
- After that, we talked a little bit about the cycle that made the Great Depression so bad.
- And we talked about why a bank run would occur.
- As a result of bank runs during the Great Depression, the FDIC (created in 1933) and NCUA were created to make sure depositors can get their money even if a bank closes.
- Students were encouraged to watch the movie It's a Wonderful Life this Christmas season.
- The main character operates a bank that experiences a run during the movie, but it is also about so much more.
- Here's a video clip from the movie that shows a run on a bank.
- Students were encouraged to watch the movie It's a Wonderful Life this Christmas season.
- As a result of bank runs during the Great Depression, the FDIC (created in 1933) and NCUA were created to make sure depositors can get their money even if a bank closes.
- If time, we also watched a comedy video clip from 2008 about whether the Great Depression was really that bad.
- Complete guided reading worksheet.
November 30
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
- Examine how the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl affected the lives of urban and rural Americans.
- The unemployment rate was about 25%!
- We currently have a 4.6% unemployment rate (Oct. 2021 numbers).
- Imagine if things were five times worse...
- Many people then (and probably most people now) bought houses by taking out mortgages.
- If time, we'll play with some numbers on a mortgage calculator to see how much interest is involved in these types of loans.
- Students are encouraged to ask their parents about whether or not they have a mortgage, and if so, how long is it (15 years, 30 years, etc.)
- Note:
- This is not an assignment of any sort, and we will not discuss anything personal or private, such as loan amounts and payments, even if students know such details.
- What I want students to realize is the basic way that mortgages work and what would likely happen if many people were laid off and couldn't make their loan payments (e.g. 25% unemployment rate during the Great Depression).
- Note:
- Hoovervilles
- We tried to imagine living in a such a small shack with a family.
- Watch video over the Dust Bowl and Dust Bowl II
- If time, listen to Al Jolson "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
- The Grapes of Wrath (novel)
- Migrant Mother (photograph)
- American Gothic (painting)
December 01
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
- Examine how the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl affected the lives of urban and rural Americans.
- the exemption policy
- advice about exemptions
- how it works using this formula
- 1st quarter = 40%
- 2nd quarter = 40%
- exam = 20%
- We used this mortgage calculator to figure out how much money a borrower (you) would end up paying to the bank when paying back $100,000 over 30 years at today's interest rate (3.8%).
- Hint: It's not just 3.8% of the amount loaned.
- monthly payment: $790.96
- total payment (principal, interest, insurance, etc.): $274,369.65!
- over 15 years instead of 30?
- monthly payment: $10,054.71
- total payment (principal, interest, insurance, etc.): $184,221.99
- Dorothea Lange: Eye on the Great Depression and Share Cropping
- Photographers of the Dust Bowl
- Dust Bowl Migrants (warning: contains the N-word)
December 02
Learning Target: 7.1.2:
- Analyze President Hoover’s response to the economic crisis and how he ultimately failed to stop it.
- We spent more time on the Bonus Army than anything else.
- It's a difficult situation because these were
- former soldiers (trained to fight, used to camping out [think WWI trenches], and willing to march across the country)
- who were promised a $1,000 bonus...
- which they wouldn't get until 1945.
- Most likely, the government didn't have the money yet, and it would be able to save up the millions of dollars by then.
- The problem is they needed the money early because of the Great Depression.
- Many thought they'd die before they would finally get the money.
- It's a difficult situation because these were
- video clip: The Bonus Army.
December 03
Learning Target: 7.1.2:
- Explain and evaluate the multiple causes and consequences of the Great Depression by analyzing the political, economic, environmental, and social causes of the Great Depression including... the Dust Bowl.
- We did this mostly together, but it was still an assignment due by the end of the hour.
December 06
Learning Target: 7.1.3
- Recognize how the New Deal attempted to address the problems of the Great Depression by explaining both the terms and people.
- Assignment: Students completed a 5-things assignment for p.310-311. We discussed the following:
- how Polio almost ruined his political career
- what Polio is, its long-term effects, and why it's not a problem these days
- how Roosevelt needed crutches or a wheelchair the rest of his life, but how he hid it from the American public
- how Eleanor Roosevelt saved FDR's political career
- how he went on to be the longest-serving president ever
- how FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt were trans-formative figures
- transformed the presidency and federal government (way more involvement even than before) as well as what people expect from the First Lady
- After that, we discussed the following on p.312-314:
- the concept of FDR's "first one hundred days" as president
- having advisers who disagree with each other
- a good way to hear multiple options, multiple opinions
- FDR's "fireside chats" compared to presidents using social media (e.g. President Trump on Twitter)
- FDIC and SEC to protect American consumers
- more government involvement:
- Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) - bought mortgages of home owners
- Fam Credit Administration (FCA) - bought mortgages of farm property
- and then homeowners and farmers would pay the government back at a lower rate than what the bank was originally charging
December 07
Learning Target: 7.1.3
- Recognize how the New Deal attempted to address the problems of the Great Depression by explaining both the terms and people.
- We talked about the following things:
- the logic behind paying people not to make things or to grow things
- how it seems big farmers did well but smaller farmers (or farm employees) still suffered
- some government programs ruled unconstitutional
- The president/Congress were trying to help, but they seem to have overstepped their bounds.
- CCC sounds similar to military
- FERA, PWA, CWA, FDIC, etc.
- all of these programs...
- evidence that government more and more involved in daily lives
- FDR's impact on our nation
December 08
Learning Target: 7.1.3
- Be able to explain the major issues of the second New Deal by discussion and taking a test.
- We did some math to figure out how many miles of roads, public buildings, airports, bridges and parks were built in each state (on average) by the WPA.
- It's an impressive amount of projects.
- We talked about the likely effectiveness of sit-down strikes.
- We also talked about how (probably) the most famous one was just down the road in Flint, Michigan.
- It's what made the UAW such a powerful labor union.
- We talked about the concept behind Social Security (you pay money in while you work and get money back when you retire).
- However, you do you not get back the money that you put in.
- The money you put in now is taken out now to pay others who are currently collecting payments.
- We looked up when it'll go broke, and most forecasts seem to be be 12-15 years from now.
- These were the first few results when we searched for "when will social security run out":
- And we talked about why it probably hasn't been fixed yet.
- Social Security makes up about 37% of the federal budget.
- Plus, people who have paid into it their whole adult lives resist change because they feel like they paid for it, they should get it.
- Lastly, we talked briefly about some alternative ideas that have gathered enough support.
- The most common alternative is probably privatizing the system.
- Such an idea has pros as well as cons.
- We also watched a short video about the Supreme Court case A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
- We made the comparison to recent rulings by the federal courts concerning President Biden's vaccine mandates.
- The same policy is at issue: How much authority does the federal government have over businesses.
December 09
Learning Target: 7.1.3
- Be able to explain the major issues of the second New Deal by discussion and taking a test.
- After that, we had time to work on Ch. 10 Study Guide (p.3-4 on this handout).
December 10
Time to study for the test (which is Tuesday).
December 13
First, we spent some time talking about exams:
- exam schedule
- other questions about this week (absent for "review period")
- etc.
- You Have the Right to Remain Innocent, by James Duane
- This book has a lot of interesting and thought-provoking stories and statistics about our legal system.
December 14
TEST: Ch. 09-10
December 15-17
EXAMS
SECOND SEMESTER
January 03
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
January 04
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
January 05
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
assignment: 5-things response and discussion
January 06
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
January 07
Learning Target: 7.2.1
January 10
Learning Target: 7.2.4:
January 11 (had a sub)
written response: letter
January 12 (had a sub)
TEST: Ch. 11: A World in Flams (WWII)
After that, start watching Schindler's List.
January 13 (had a sub)
movie: Schindler's List
January 14 (school cancelled)
January 17 (no school)
January 18
movie: Schindler's List
January 19
movie: Schindler's List
January 20
movie: Schindler's List
January 21
movie: Schindler's List
January 24
movie: Schindler's List
pre-test: ch. 12-13
January 25
Learning Target: 7.2.3:
January 26
Learning Target: 7.2.3:
January 27
Learning Target: 7.2.2:
January 28 (class disrupted by SnowFest schedule)
Since we had about half of the class period and some students were missing to prepare for the assembly, I talked a bit about some really good movies about World War II, and we watched their trailers.
January 03
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
- Describe how totalitarian states took power after WWI and maintained power.
- resolution writing assignment (due by Friday, January 10)
- We talked about how it's important to understand how this happened back then because it could happen again.
- These dictators came to power in times of economic trouble (Great Depression).
- were voted in
- These dictators restricted freedoms
- only 1 party allowed
- censored or controlled speech, the press, etc.
- These dictators came to power in times of economic trouble (Great Depression).
January 04
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
- Describe how totalitarian states took power after WWI and maintained power.
- attempts to avoid war didn't work
- "peace in our time," and war broke out less than year later
- why Poland, Czech Austria, France, etc. couldn't resist Nazi army while United Kingdom could, even by itself
- If time, here are some decent videos to reinforce the reading/discussion:
January 05
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
- Sequence the American reaction to events in Europe and Asia in the early years of WWII by explaining the significance of terms and people.
- e.g. the multiple Neutrality Acts passed by Congress in 1935, 1936 and 1937
assignment: 5-things response and discussion
January 06
Learning Target: 7.2.1:
- Sequence the American reaction to events in Europe and Asia in the early years of WWII by explaining the significance of terms and people.
- e.g. the multiple Neutrality Acts passed by Congress in 1935, 1936 and 1937
- Why would we require our friends to bring their own ships to buy stuff from us?
- We didn't want our ships sunk by German submarines.
- Why would Japan ally itself with Germany?
- "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Both countries opposed western democracies.
- What is fascism?
- Why did many Americans feel like WWI was a let down?
- We sacrificed many lives, and our allies who borrowed money from us didn't repay us (due to the Great Depression).
- We used a world map to see how far away Japan is from Germany.
- We looked up a map of Pearl Harbor as well as images of the surprise attack (map, images).
January 07
Learning Target: 7.2.1
- Describe how totalitarian states took power after WWI and maintained power.
- Sequence the American reaction to events in Europe and Asia in the early years of WWII.
- assignment: 5-things response and discussion
- There were hundreds of Nazi concentration camps.
- Here's a map that shows the major camps.
- Concentration camps were not just a Nazi thing.
- Unfortunately, we had some here due to fears about Japanese Americans working for Japan.
- American actor George Takei was sent to such a camp, and he wrote a book (graphic novel) about it.
- Similar to Krystallnacht, Nazis got harsh revenge on the city of Lidice due to the assassination of a Nazi official (Reinhard Heydrich)
- Many Nazis were put on trial after World War II.
- The single most famous Nazi trial is probably that of Adolf Eichmann who escaped Europe after WWII, hid in South America, was abducted by Jewish Nazi hunters, put on trial in Israel (on TV), and executed.
- Much of this story is depicted in the movie Operation Finale.
- The test will probably be Wednesday, January 12.
January 10
Learning Target: 7.2.4:
- Demonstrate an understanding of how the Holocaust developed and its results.
- How could they tell which people were Jewish?
- compare Jewish last names to German last names
- Did Jews fight back against the Nazis?
- Some did, such as the Jews in this movie.
- It was dangerous because before this, Jews were not allowed to legally own weapons (cf. the 2nd Amendment in the US).
- Why didn't they just leave Europe?
- Many tried to.
- Still, p.346 explains many of the challenges:
- immigration was limited in destination countries, such as the US, which was already suffering from high unemployment
- Jews were prohibited from taking much money with them (could have roughly $4).
- Imagine trying to find transportation, food, etc. for your family for $4...
- Understanding the realities of Holocaust at the time was difficult.
- complete the ch. 11 study guide
- continue studying for the test (Wednesday, January 12)
January 11 (had a sub)
written response: letter
- Use Google Classroom to complete this and turn it in.
January 12 (had a sub)
TEST: Ch. 11: A World in Flams (WWII)
After that, start watching Schindler's List.
January 13 (had a sub)
movie: Schindler's List
- Today we stopped at 00:36:00 or so.
- While watching the movie, write down your reactions to the movie to prove you're paying attention and thinking about the movie.
- 10 things total, by the end of the movie.
- 2 things minimum per day.
- These should be specific things you notice about the movie and/or your reactions to those things.
- These are to be specific details and/or reflections, not something general like the following:
- "This is terrible what happened!" or
- "This may be the saddest movie I've ever seen."
- A couple examples of suitable reflections:
- It doesn't make sense how the commanding officer can try to not spread his cold germs to a Jewish woman, and then he goes on to have another one executed for trying to do a good job.
- It was so sad to see all the stuff stolen from the Jews, and I noticed there were even stuffed animals taken away from the children.
January 14 (school cancelled)
January 17 (no school)
January 18
movie: Schindler's List
- Today we stopped at 01:01:35
January 19
movie: Schindler's List
- Today we stopped at 01:42:19
January 20
movie: Schindler's List
- Today we stopped at 00:04:38 on the second side of the DVD
January 21
movie: Schindler's List
- Today we stopped at 00:45:17 on the second side of the DVD
January 24
movie: Schindler's List
- Today we finished watching the movie and then discussed our reactions to it for a few minutes.
- We looked over the Wikipedia entries for Oskar Schindler and the Nuremberg trials.
pre-test: ch. 12-13
January 25
Learning Target: 7.2.3:
- Explain how WWII increased opportunities for women and minorities.
- During that time, we watched a preview for a comedy movie about World War II called JoJo Rabbit.
- 5-things assignment
- We made sure to discuss the following:
- internment camps of Japanese Americans in the US
- American actor George Takei was sent to such a camp, and he wrote a book (graphic novel) about it.
- So was Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid/Cobra Kai) - second paragraph down from here.
- minority groups who performed heroically during the war
- Tuskegee Airmen (African-American pilots)
- a good video clip about them
- 442nd Infantry Regiment (Japanese American soldiers)
- the fictional Mr. Miyagi (The Karate Kid movies and Cobra Kai)
- Navajo Code Talkers (which the book will explain in more detail soon)
- Tuskegee Airmen (African-American pilots)
- women in the military (non-combat roles)
- internment camps of Japanese Americans in the US
January 26
Learning Target: 7.2.3:
- Explain how WWII increased opportunities for women and minorities.
- During that time, we watched a preview for a comedy movie about World War II called JoJo Rabbit.
- increasing military production:
- cost-plus contracts = guarantee to make money, so companies more likely to produce military equipment
- switching from cars to tanks, bombers, etc.
- a bit of an adjustment, but similar process
- liberty ships -
- Henry Kaiser's increased efficiency meant making 6x as many as before.
- Would you move if you could double your income? Many Americans did (the Sun Belt).
- more opportunities for women (e.g. Rosie the Riveter), Mexican immigrants, African-Americans
- downsides:
- racism, violence (zoot suit riots)
- Japanese internment camps (also some Germans and Italians, but not nearly as many)
- famous court case (educated Americans know about this)
- It might not be a fair comparison, but some people today have compared this to some controversial anti-Covid measures that resulted in teenagers sent to quarantine compounds in Australia.
January 27
Learning Target: 7.2.2:
- Explain how the Allies turned the tide against the Axis.
- We used a map of the Pacific Ocean to locate the Philippines and Midway Island (which we'll talk more about tomorrow).
- the Bataan death march
- Japanese soldiers basically never surrendered.
- This is because of their Samurai history.
- In case you didn't know, Samurai carried two swords; the long one was for the enemy, but the short one was for committing suicide instead of suffering defeat or dishonor.
- As a result of this, Japanese thought anyone who did surrender deserved to be tortured.
- a movie about this: Unbroken (2014)
- the Doolittle Raid
- Navajo code talkers and why their code was so effective
- compare to the most famous code machine from the time, the Enigma machine
January 28 (class disrupted by SnowFest schedule)
Since we had about half of the class period and some students were missing to prepare for the assembly, I talked a bit about some really good movies about World War II, and we watched their trailers.
- Anthropoid
- the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich
- Hacksaw Ridge
- hero American soldier in the Pacific who is a medic but refuses to shoot a gun
- Operation Finale
- the plot to abduct runaway Nazi (fled to South America) who came up with plan for "Final Solution" of the Jews, Adolf Eichmann
- Unbroken
- American Olympic athlete and then pilot who was shot down by the Japanese and then tortured in a prison camp
January 31
Learning Target: 7.2.2:
- Explain how the Allies turned the tide against the Axis.
- Here's a map of the territory Japan controlled in the Pacific.
- the amphtrac mentioned by the book
- kamikaze pilots: reason behind and why so destructive
- Japanese soldiers rarely surrendered
- Some even fought for decades after World War II because they didn't know the war had stopped -- never quit.
February 01
Learning Target: 7.2.2:
- Explain how the Allies turned the tide against the Axis.
Read ch. 12 Sec. 3, p. 374-378:
assignment: 5-things response from today's reading and/or video clips
- a map of Stalingrad's location
- so important for oil, needed by Germany and Russia
- Whoever controlled this city would have a major advantage in the race of production.
- The Battle of Stalingrad was the bloodiest fighting in all of World War II.
- video clip from movie Enemy at the Gates
- The Russian army was so poorly equipped, they would give a rifle to a soldier and then tell the next soldier to pick it up when the first guy died.
- This movie is about the Battle of Stalingrad, especially the sniper battle involving Vasily Zaitsev, who may be history's best sniper.
- Here's a clip about the tactics and weapons of the snipers at the time (start at 1:32)
- another interesting video about the weapons used during World War II
February 02 (school cancelled)
February 03 (school cancelled)
February 04 (school cancelled)
February 07
Learning Target: 7.2.2:
- Explain how the Allies turned the tide against the Axis.
- Here's a map that shows how far Nazi Germany had spread out during World War II.
- And this map details the D-Day invasion.
- Allied soldiers didn't want the Nazis to know where or when we would attack.
- The Ghost Army is one example of the types of deception used to fool the Nazis.
- so important:
- opening scene - Saving Private Ryan
- More details about the movie can be found here.
- Of particular interest is how realistic the scenes of the D-Day invasion were:
- (from the movie's Wikipedia page) "Many World War II veterans stated that the film was the most realistic depiction of combat they had ever seen. The film was so realistic that some combat veterans of D-Day and Vietnam left theaters rather than finish watching the opening scene depicting the Normandy invasion."
- (if time) D-Day Invasion Explained.
February 08
Learning Target: 7.2.2:
- Explain how the Allies turned the tide against the Axis.
- The "It Matters Because" section mentions war-crimes trials (e.g. the Nuremberg trials)
- Nazi war crimes: the Holocaust
- Japanese war crimes: Nanjing Massacre (aka the Rape of Nanking)
- "The Third Reich Collapses."
- Why was Nazi Germany called the Third Reich? (third sentence here)
- Battle of the Bulge
- map of Iwo Jima
- "island hopping": Iwo Jima and Okinawa are important as military bases for Japan to defend itself
- and for Americans to attack Japan
- Check out the third paragraph here, which details how few Japanese soldiers surrendered.
- book recommendation:
- Flags of Our Fathers (by James Bradley)
- His father was one of the men in the photograph.
- "island hopping": Iwo Jima and Okinawa are important as military bases for Japan to defend itself
February 09
Learning Target: 7.2.2:
- Explain how the Allies turned the tide against the Axis.
- 5-things assignment:
- Why our military wanted to take over Okinawa:
- The Manhattan Project
- the spread of nuclear weapons today
- This is what would make a World War III (if there ever is one) so dangerous: So many more countries have nukes now.
- And today's bombs (thermonuclear) are far more powerful than the original nukes (atomic bombs).
- We'll discuss and turn in the 5-things assignment tomorrow.
February 10
Learning Target: 7.2.4:
- Examine the major immediate and long-term effects of World War II.
- Nuremberg Trials
- the nation of Israel (created in 1948, just after WWII)
- We're still dealing with conflict over this.
- We learned from the mistakes at the end of WWI:
- Instead of letting the German and Japanese economies collapse again (which is what helped people like the Nazis come to power in Germany), we helped rebuild their countries.
- Germany: the Marshall Plan
- Japan: Occupation of Japan
- 5-things assignment discussion (turn in your paper when we're done):
- What did the atomic bombs look like?
- napalm?
- Why didn't Japan attack us back?
- They tried to get closer to us (battle of Midway), but we won that.
- If we hadn't, they probably would have island hopped toward the US (which they tried, including islands of Alaska).
February 11
Learning Target: 8.1.1
- Examine the major immediate and long-term effects of World War II.
- a video clip about the creation of the United Nations
- 193 of the world's 195 countries are members of the UN.
- Not in it: the Holy See (the Vatican) and the State of Palestine.
- Some interesting things have happened at the UN:
- Nikita Khrushchev banged his shoe on the desk in protest over someone else's speech.
- It's odd dividing Germany up into four sections.
- Dividing Berlin itself up as well (the Berlin Wall).
- Who is in charge of the U.N.?
- There's a security council that runs most of the important things.
- The current president of the U.N. is this person.
- Most of us don't know this person (I didn't even know this person until a student asked about it) because, in reality, the U.N. has very little control over our lives.
- For comparison, compare how most of us know our governor, our president, the principal, etc.
- Our money was on the gold standard.
- What can happen if it's not?
- Check out the inflation rate in Zimbabwe, where the government just printed money like crazy.
- It ended up costing this much money to buy a chicken.
February 14
Learning Target: 8.1.1
- Appraise how U.S. leaders responded to the threat of Soviet expansion.
assignment: study guide for ch. 13.1
February 15
Learning Target: 8.1.1
- Appraise how U.S. leaders responded to the threat of Soviet expansion.
- 5-things assignment:
- What's a telegram?
- why USSR would care about the Black Sea
- cf. how we created a canal at Panama
- which countries are in NATO today
- how NATO is in the news a lot lately because Russia was threatening Ukraine
- Berlin air drop (using bombers to deliver food instead of bombs)
- importance of Iran in the Middle East
February 16
Learning Target: 8.1.1
- Appraise how U.S. leaders responded to the threat of Soviet expansion.
- Mao Zedong may be history's worst killer, worse than Hitler and Stalin (check 2nd paragraph here).
- Taiwan is still home to the "nationalist" government of China.
- According to China, it's politically incorrect to refer to Taiwan as a different country.
- The communists in China consider Taiwan to be their territory, which they will take control of again some day...
- To this day, the communist government of China calls itself "the People's Republic of China"
- communist East Germany: German Democratic Republic
- communist North Korea: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- interesting names
- Why would they call themselves "republic" or "democratic" if they aren't in fact those things?
- the Korean War
- This was a test of our containment policy.
- If we really meant it, we'd have to fight.
- If we weren't willing to go to war, we didn't really mean it.
- It's interesting that General MacArthur wanted to use Nukes.
- If we had done what he wanted, what do you think would have happened as far as other countries getting or using nukes?
- Korea is still divided today.
- I have friends my age who were stationed there when they were in the military.
- (if time) 5 Things to Know about the Korean War
- (if time) The Korean War (from Simple History)
- This was a test of our containment policy.
February 17 (no school)
February 22
Learning Target: 8.2.2:
- Analyze how domestic anticommunism influenced American pop culture.
- comparing it to historical precedents:
- Hitler's expansion into the Sudetenland and Austria, perhaps?
- Appeasement, perhaps?
- Ever since the beginning of the Cold War, the prospect of possible war between USA and Russia is still very tricky because of nuclear weapons.
- We talked about the dangers involved if there were communists in our government working to weaken or harm America.
- Consider what we would do if we were in a "cold war" with a different school district and were able to get some of our people on its school board.
- What kind of people at that school would we fire?
- What kind of people would we hire?
- What kinds of things would we spend money on?
- What would we stop paying for?
- etc.
- Consider what we would do if we were in a "cold war" with a different school district and were able to get some of our people on its school board.
- And there really were communists in our government, apparently.
- Consider this paragraph about Joseph McCarthy that says there was a real problem (i.e. danger), but that McCarthy caused many problems as well while trying to solve that one.
- It's also important to point out that it wasn't just Senator McCarthy working on this.
- The HUAC was the House (of Representatives) Un-American Activities Committee.
- It's also important to point out that it wasn't just Senator McCarthy working on this.
February 23
Learning Target: 8.1.2:
- Examine Eisenhower’s military policies during the Cold War.
- We talked about the following and similar topics:
- President Eisenhower is responsible for our interstate system.
- Pay attention to how systematic it is (10, 20, 30, etc. = east/west. 5, 15, 25, 35, etc. = north/south).
- It looks like an engineer or soldier helped plan it out.
- "massive retaliation"
- You would not want to be on the business end of a B-52 bomber...
- We had (and have) submarines that can launch missiles (even nuclear missiles).
- And, of course, we have land-based missiles to go with the air (bombers) and sea (submarines) delivery systems.
- Taiwan is still a major issue today.
- the Suez crisis:
- We wanted to stop the spread of communism.
- We didn't want communist military elements to travel faster (i.e. through the canal).
- We didn't want communists to have access to all of the oil in the Middle East.
- President Eisenhower is responsible for our interstate system.
February 24
Learning Target: 8.1.2:
- Assess how the space race was an example of the Cold War.
- We did a 5-things assignment and talked about the following and similar topics:
- "ICBM"
- "nuclear warhead" attached to missile/rocket
- covert operations:
- Spying and sabotage have been happening forever, and they'll continue happening forever.
- Consider this dude who was allegedly spying for China or Russia and tried to hide the secrets in a peanut butter sandwich.
- Our CIA has been involved in a lot of operations meant to weaken our enemies and rivals around the world.
- Spying and sabotage have been happening forever, and they'll continue happening forever.
- satellites can be used for spying (camera?), attacking (missile or laser?)
- No one has used these in war (yet), but there are weapons specifically meant for knocking out an enemy's satellites.
- U-2 spy plane:
- advantage: can get very high (about 13 miles) and still take clear pictures
- disadvantage: it's difficult, but it can still get shot down, such as this time over Russia
- It happened again over Cuba.
February 25 (2-hour delay schedule)
Learning Target: 8.1.2:
- Assess how the space race was an example of the Cold War.
- Reminder: The essay question is about dropping the atomic bombs on Japan.
- five specific details
- For full credit, at least one detail must address a significant argument from the opposing view.
February 28
TEST: Ch. 12 & 13
March 01
Learning Target: 8.1.1, 8.2.2:
- Present how social and economic changes after World War II affected Americans by preparing a news broadcast.
- Examples:
- What is communism, exactly?
- In short, it means there is no private property. You can't own anything. The government (society) owns everything and determines who gets what.
- Here's a dictionary definition.
- And here's a lot more information if you want it.
- What did the book mean by "left-wing rebels"?
- To answer this, we spent some time scrolling through this chart for comparison.
- What is communism, exactly?
- Students were divided into six groups and then given time today to read their assigned section of the chapter.
March 02
Learning Target: 8.1.1, 8.2.2:
- Present how social and economic changes after World War II affected Americans by preparing a news broadcast.
- We talked briefly about planning it out and using the handout as a guide for the script.
March 03 (had a sub)
Learning Target: 8.1.1, 8.2.2:
- Present how social and economic changes after World War II affected Americans by preparing a news broadcast.
March 04
Learning Target: 8.1.1, 8.2.2:
- Present how social and economic changes after World War II affected Americans by preparing a news broadcast.
March 07
Learning Target: 8.1.1, 8.2.2:
- Present how social and economic changes after World War II affected Americans by preparing a news broadcast.
- We spent some time going over the scripts to make sure the required terms are explained so that someone who hadn't read the chapter would know what they meant.
- Groups also spent time practicing by reading through their scripts at least twice.
March 08
Learning Target: 8.1.1, 8.2.2:
- Present how social and economic changes after World War II affected Americans by preparing a news broadcast.
- easily got through 4/6
- saved two groups that had members absent
March 09
Learning Target: 8.1.1, 8.2.2:
- Present how social and economic changes after World War II affected Americans by preparing a news broadcast.
- last two groups
March 10
TEST: Ch. 14 (open book)
After that, we got as far as we could with the following videos and (if time) worked on another 5-things assignment for today:
March 11
Begin watching the movie Pleasantville.
We stopped at 00:32:00 today.
- Students are to write 2-3 things that occur to them per day while watching the movie.
- The point of this is to help students pay attention and to get used to providing evidence of thinkin' about it.
- Here's some information about the movie.
- It helps if students know it's a parody of popular 1950s (or 1960s) TV shows such as The Andy Griffith Show and Leave it to Beaver.
- The actor who plays the TV repair man is actually a famous actor from The Andy Griffith Show.
- It helps if students know it's a parody of popular 1950s (or 1960s) TV shows such as The Andy Griffith Show and Leave it to Beaver.
March 14 (no school due to teacher PD)
March 15
Continue watching the movie Pleasantville.
We stopped at 01:10:20 today.
- Students are to write 2-3 things that occur to them per day while watching the movie.
- The point of this is to help students pay attention and to get used to providing evidence of thinkin' about it.
March 16
Continue watching the movie Pleasantville.
We stopped at 01:40:00 today.
- (We stopped a little over ten minutes before the end of class in order to give students some time to join the NCAA Tournament Challenge and also to distribute the assignment mentioned next.)
- Additionally, this response assignment was discussed and handed out today.
- This'll be due by the end of the day this Friday.
- Students should still write 2-3 things that occur to them per day while watching the movie (due tomorrow).
March 17
We finished watching the movie Pleasantville.
- Then students had ample time to complete this response assignment.
- This'll be due by the end of the day this Friday, and we won't be able to spare class time for it tomorrow.
- We will read the next chapter over the next few full days and then have a test (multiple choice only) on Thursday, March 24 (a half day).
March 18
Learning Target: 8.2.3
- Determine the goals of Kennedy’s New Frontier by class discussion.
- Understand both facts and impact of Miranda vs. Arizona (where we get the term "Miranda rights").
- We read the first couple pages and then skimmed over the rest using some videos and maps to help explain:
- Kennedy/Nixon debates on TV
- What is apportionment (or reapportionment)?
- Michigan's Congressional districts (and why there are different sizes)
- if time and interest: gerrymandering example
- due process:
- the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution:
- All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
- Supreme Court case:
- Gideon v. Wainwright: You have the right to have an attorney defend you in court, even if you cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.
- similar: Miranda warning
- the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution:
- We also discussed the concept of a search warrant and other rights of suspects.
March 21
Learning Target: 8.1.2:
- Assess how President Kennedy responded to the challenges of the Cold War by examining the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Berlin Crisis.
- Determine the goals of Kennedy’s New Frontier by class discussion.
- Read Ch. 15 Sec. 2 part 2, p.457-460.
- 5-Things Assignment
- We discussed such things as the following:
- the Bay of Pigs invasion
- We compared the Cuban Missile Crisis to the war in Ukraine today.
- We didn't want Russian weapons that close to our country.
- Apparently, Russians today don't want our weapons (or NATO) that close to theirs.
- Check out this paragraph as well as the map just below it.
- the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
- the assassination of JFK
- the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald
- the assassin of the assassin, Jack Ruby
- the Warren Report (which will finally be released to the public in December of this year)
March 22
Learning Target: 8.2.3:
- Examine how Johnson’s Great Society Programs changed life for most Americans.
- the Cuban Missile Crisis
- the Berlin Wall
- If there's time and interest, here's one about the space race.
- We'll go back to finish 15.2 tomorrow.
- We discussed how LBJ's program "The Great Society" has goals that are good for people:
- increase access to healthcare
- improve education
- reduce poverty
- improve environment
- We also discussed how all of these programs cost a lot of money, and we realized that we still have all of these problems today.
- Therefore, it's difficult to say whether The Great Society was a success (meaning things would have been even worse without it).
- tip: I think the matching part (with the Supreme Court cases) could be difficult, so I'd start studying that today.
March 23
Learning Target: 8.1.2:
- Assess how President Kennedy responded to the challenges of the Cold War.
- handout: study guide for 15.2
- We went into more detail about the following:
- "missile gap"
- Alliance for Progress
- why we would care about Latin American economies (trying to prevent the spread of communism to countries close to us)
- Peace Corps
- This may be something worth considering if you're interested in helping people in other countries.
March 24 (half day)
TEST: Ch. 15 (multiple-choice and matching questions only)
SPRING BREAK
April 04 (had a sub)
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Examine how the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s.
- Complete a five-things response (due today).
April 05
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Examine how the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s.
- He was 14 (your age?) when he was murdered.
- What happened to him was horrific.
- It's a good example of learning the bad side of American history, which I think is important to learn (and which we do teach here):
- slavery, racism, segregation, lynching, etc.
- We had a duty to learn from our own mistakes and those of our country so that we can do better.
- It's a good example of learning the bad side of American history, which I think is important to learn (and which we do teach here):
- We watched this movie about Emmett Till and stopped at 19:00 for the day.
- Here's a viewing guide for while we're watching it.
- We'll finish the movie tomorrow.
April 06
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Examine how the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s.
- Here's a viewing guide for while we're watching it.
- What does NAACP stand for, and what did/does it do?
- What does de facto mean (as opposed to de jure)?
- This link helps explain these legal terms.
- What's the big deal about where one sits on the bus (with regards to Rosa Parks)?
- In her case, it would mean agreeing that she was an inferior person to the white man who wanted her seat.
- Today, we likely would expect a man to give up his seat for a woman (especially an older woman), an older man, or a child.
- That would be out of politeness.
- Rosa Parks's situation was different since the expectation was based on race and nothing else.
- In her case, it would mean agreeing that she was an inferior person to the white man who wanted her seat.
- Why did so many white people think they were better just because of their race?
- Many reasons, among them the following:
- the legacy of slavery (a tradition of thinking others are inferior)
- the appeal of thinking yourself superior to someone else if you're a white person of low social standing
- the legacy of the eugenics movement
- Many reasons, among them the following:
April 07
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Examine how the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s.
- Along the way, we discussed quite a bit, including the following:
- the emphasis on non-violent protests
- how violence probably would have been counterproductive, getting protestors arrested
- the violent response to the non-violent protests
- from the KKK and even the police
- protestors wanted some basic and fair results: ability to vote, to be treated equally in a store or restaurant
- Martin Luther King, Jr., and his idea that we should disobey unjust (unfair) laws
- We talked about a possible danger of each person choosing which laws they want to follow
- but also how he prevents that with this definition of unjust law: any law that degrades human personality (e.g. segregation)
- the emphasis on non-violent protests
April 08
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Examine how the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s.
- We talked about such things as the following:
- Imagine the governor of a state showing up to prevent you from attending a college just because of your skin color.
- What was the SCLC?
- Southern Christian Leadership Conference
- important here: MLK, Jr., and other pastors used their churches to help people do such things as register to vote
- The courts are getting more involved in preventing racist practices like segregation and literacy tests for registering to vote.
- The march from Selma to the state capitol (Montgomery) was about 50 miles.
- That takes commitment.
- Why would a group of senators want to filibuster something?
April 11
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Examine how the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s.
- Illustrate the successes and challenges facing the civil rights movement after 1964.
- We talked about such things as the following:
- riots right down the road from us in Detroit (in 1967)
- many resorting to violence, abandoning the non-violent methods advocated by MLK, Jr.
- Black Panthers
- Nation of Islam
- Malcolm X (and how the X acts as a variable for an unknown)
- the assassination of MLK, Jr.
April 12
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Illustrate the successes and challenges facing the civil rights movement after 1964.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.:
- the Black Power movement and Malcolm X:
April 13 (day of PSAT test)
If in class afterwards, use at least some of the time for studying for tomorrow's test.
- Don't forget that the three study guides from this chapter (see April 07, 08 and 11) and the chapter review (see April 12) are due the day of the test or else the day after.
April 14
TEST: Ch. 16
April 15 (no school)
April 18
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Examine how the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s.
- We stopped at 00:40:00.
April 19
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Examine how the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s.
- We stopped at 01:22:28.
April 20
Learning Target: 8.3.1:
- Examine how the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s.
- assignment: reaction to The Long Walk Home
April 21
Learning Target: 8.1.2:
- Examine why the United States became involved in Vietnam.
- (if time) Since all students in this class agreed that it we should respect soldiers even if they are fighting in a war we don't like, we talked about this article .
- One of the most famous antiwar protestors during the Vietnam War, Jane Fonda, posed for a picture on a North Vietnamese antiaircraft gun, as if she were willing to shoot down American pilots.
- To be fair, she says she regrets doing that now.
- Here's an OK map for this.
- Notice that communism spread from Russia (USSR) to China, then to Korea, and we fought the Korean War to prevent it from spreading to Japan.
- Notice that communism then spread from China to Vietnam, and we fought the Vietnam War in order to keep communism from spreading to Indonesia toward Australia.
- The fear of communism spreading like this is called Domino theory.
- The Vietnamese were difficult to conquer because of guerilla warfare.
- This type of fighting made it difficult for us to defeat North Vietnam as well as the Taliban in Afghanistan.
- It's also why Russia is having trouble conquering Ukraine.
April 22
Learning Target: 8.1.2:
- Examine why the United States became involved in Vietnam.
- After reading those, we took a secret vote on the issue of whether the United States should go to war with North Vietnam.
- The results: 16 yes / 10 no.
- Vietnam Introduction
- Gulf of Tonkin incident
- We also talked about how we have determined (only recently) that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was actually a misunderstanding (at best).
April 25
Learning Target: P.1.1
- Practice answering document-based questions by reading documents and completing questions.
We briefly looked at biographical information of the guy who is probably the most famous author about the Vietnam War:
- Tim O'Brien
- His most famous book is The Things They Carried.
- It's quite good. I recommend it, especially if you're looking for an AR book anyway.
April 26 (had a sub)
- Students had time to read Ch. 17, section 2 (p.506-509).
- After that, here are the study guides for section 1 and section 2.
April 27
Learning Target: 8.1.2:
- Evaluate how the American war effort in Vietnam led to rising protests and social divisions back home.
- Songs can get stuck in your head.
- Lyrics are usually easy to remember.
- If the country is involved in a controversial war, do students in public schools have the right to protest (e.g. wear a black arm band) while they are at school?
- (Use Google Classroom to submit your response.)
- often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time
- one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, musically and culturally
- President Barack Obama said of Dylan in 2012: "There is not a bigger giant in the history of American music."
- the song
- the lyrics (at least listen/read through verse 4)
- your thoughts (no partner, no copying from internet)
- due by Monday, May 02
April 27 (fire drill took a chunk of our time)
Learning Target: 8.1.2:
- Evaluate how the American war effort in Vietnam led to rising protests and social divisions back home.
- our results:
- 81.5% yes (can protest)
- 1825% no (can't protest)
- We briefly discussed similar situations:
- What about wearing a Confederate flag?
- What about school walkout (protesting COVID mandates or Black Lives Matter walkout)
- The issue seems to be whether these cause disruptions or not.
- Write a thank-you letter to a Vietnam veteran.
- First, check out this video to see what kind of an impact a letter can have.
- Then consider these guidelines.
- Additionally:
- It's better to use a pen (not a pencil) or to type the letter.
- The best, in my opinion, is to handwrite it with a pen. That seems more meaningful than typing it.
- Please do not say you're writing the letter "as an assignment" as that cheapens any thanks you give.
- If you wouldn't mind getting a response (if you asked questions, for instance) be sure to include your return address.
- You could set your letter up as close as you can get to this.
- It's better to use a pen (not a pencil) or to type the letter.
- Additionally:
- due: Monday
April 29 (spring assembly took half of the class period)
- We talked briefly about one of the most famous photos from the Vietnam era.
- This is the guy who set himself on fire in Saigon, Vietnam.
- Something that's really interesting about this is that a dude did this in America just this month.
- After that, students had time to work on one or both of the current assignments (letter / music) until they were released for the assembly.
May 02
Learning Target: 8.2.4:
- Demonstrate how the counterculture and the expanding rights revolution of the 1960s and 1970s influenced American society.
- How did the Vietnam War end, and what were its lasting effects?
- How did Richard Nixon change Cold War diplomacy during his presidency?
- Vietnam War - timeline
- We used this to review content from last week and to put the numbers in context.
- the My Lai Massacre
- Here is some more information.
- It's important to point out that American troops were put on trial for committing war crimes, and the kinds of war crimes that we were (justifiably) horrified by when Nazis or Japanese soldiers committed them during World War II.
- Still, the soldiers put on trial seem to have been given much more leniency than we showed Nazis and Japanese soldiers.
- the Kent State shootings
- relatively close to us here (about 3.5 hours away, near Akron, Ohio)
- Here's more information if you want it.
- p.507:
- voting age lowered to 18 years
- old enough to fight, old enough to vote
- The alternative was to raise the age to join the military to 21.
- Why do you think they didn't do that?
- Some people these days want to lower the age for voting to 16.
- Do you think 16-year-olds are wise enough, experienced enough to vote?
- Would you be willing to trade possible military service (e.g. the draft) at age 16 in order to vote at that age?
- voting age lowered to 18 years
- p.508:
- President Johnson chose not to run for president again due to facing challenges from within his own party.
- There's speculation that President Biden will face the same decision for the 2024 election based on his age and/or his popularity.
- p.509:
- the concept of the "silent majority"
- Does that mean there's a "vocal" or a "loud minority"?
- We considered that in relation to social media.
- p.511: domino theory seems to have been correct, as communism spread throughout southeast Asia after Americans left Vietnam.
- Here's another take on that.
- p.512: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- p.513: the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- the POW/MIA flag
- There will be time in class tomorrow to finish this.
May 03
Learning Target: 8.2.4:
- How did the Vietnam War end, and what were its lasting effects?
- comedy break: Vietnam Song
- a glimpse into the impact of the Vietnam War into today: Mementos at the Vietnam Wall
May 04
Learning Target: 8.1.2 & 8.1.4
- Examine why the United States became involved in Vietnam.
- Evaluate how the American war effort in Vietnam led to rising protests and social divisions back home.
- How did the Vietnam War end, and what were its lasting effects?
- After everyone was done, we talked about the visit by the Vietnam War veterans this morning.
May 05
We started watching the movie We Were Soldiers (stopped at 00:40:30).
- Here's more information about the movie.
- The main character was a real person, and he wrote the book this movie is based on.
May 06
We continued watching the movie We Were Soldiers (stopped at 01:20:00).
May 09
We continued watching the movie We Were Soldiers (stopped at 01:52:45).
May 10
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed in the 1970s.
- We glanced at some information about the main character in the movie, Hal Moore.
- We also peeked at information about his wife, which included how she changed our government's policy about informing family members of a soldier's death.
- We spent a few minutes comparing the electoral map on p.541 (from 1968) to the two most recent electoral maps:
- There are 538 possible electoral votes, and a candidate needs over half (270+) to win.
- We talked a bit about how a candidate might lose the popular vote (or at least may not have over 50%) and still win the electoral count.
May 11
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed in the 1970s.
- Here's more information about the following:
- Henry Kissinger: still alive, a major figure in world politics, controversial (war criminal or hero?)
- proxy wars: Look at how many the United States has been involved with just during/since the Cold War!
- Taiwan: Still a touchy subject with China today.
- Consider this controversy in a major movie coming out soon.
- This shows that athletics and competition can be a way to improve relations with other countries (cf. the Olympics about 3,000 years ago).
May 12
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed in the 1970s.
- Andrew Johnson
- basically because he fired someone he may not have been allowed to fire
- Bill Clinton
- The most famous part of this ordeal was Monica Lewinsky, but he was impeached for lying to investigators.
- Donald Trump #1
- impeached for asking for information about Joe Biden, who would be a likely opponent in the next election
- Donald Trump #2
- over whether or not he started a riot/insurrection at the Capitol
- This article has some interesting claims.
- President Trump says he was spied upon while he was the president, which is something similar to what occurred in the Watergate scandal.
- Also, the senator in the article claims that if that was true that it would be worse than Watergate.
- Watergate was a break-in (robbery) when people working for the president were looking for information they could use against their opponents in the next election.
- quite similar to Trump's first impeachment
- the only time when a president resigned from office
- The break-in was bad enough, but the real problem was the cover-up.
- "What did the President know, and when did he know it?" was the famous question.
- Does a president have the right to privacy if that means a crime is covered up?
- the reason for Nixon's tape recordings
- It's hard to believe the secretary who claimed an 18-minute gap in the tape was just an accident when many other people were already caught lying for the President.
- Spiro Agnew (Nixon's Vice-President) resigned due to his own corruption problems.
- Gerald Ford becomes VP and then President when Nixon resigned.
- Ford is the only president who was from Michigan (Grand Rapids).
- Ford pardoned Nixon.
- Ford then lost a fairly close election to Jimmy Carter in 1976.
- Watergate in Two Minutes
- United States v. Nixon
- We didn't have time for it, but if it'll help, this music video explains how the different branches of our government work and interact with each other.
- assignment: Answer questions about another political cartoon.
May 13
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Examine the goals of American foreign policy during the presidencies of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
- We talked about how we're facing very similar circumstances today:
- inflation
- unemployment
- high gas prices
- OPEC
- still around, and still determining oil prices
- We compared this to two gas stations right next to each other selling gasoline at the same price.
- deficit spending
- fiat money
- compare with commodity money (e.g. coins have value because the metal is worth something)
- compare with representative money (e.g. the gold standard, can trade money for an equal amount of gold)
- Now money is just valuable because the government says it is, basically.
- This has the potential to be very unstable.
- Cambodia
- taken over by the Khmer Rouge during President Ford's term in office
- We didn't want to get involved in another war, especially right next door to Vietnam.
May 16
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Examine the goals of American foreign policy during the presidencies of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
- Should the US or Panama be in charge of the Panama Canal?
- What if China were in control of an alternative?
- boycotting the 1980 Olympics (which were held in Moscow) because Russia had just invaded Afganistan
- Many other nations joined us in boycotting.
- Notice the similarity in recent history:
- The 2022 winter Olympics concluded on Feb. 20
- Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
- Iran hostage crisis
- That link is good for information as well as photos.
- The crisis made Carter look ineffective.
- hostages held for 444 days despite his efforts to get them released
- Some people (some intentionally joking about it, some by accident) thought the song "Barbara Ann" by the Beach Boys was saying "Bomb Iran" over and over.
May 17
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed in the 1970s.
- busing
- called "forced busing" by critics
- called "racial-integration busing" by supporters
- affirmative action
- This is still an issue just down the road at the University of Michigan.
- Notice the map on the Wikipedia entry:
- Affirmative action is legal (at least to some degree) in a majority of the 50 states.
- These are both controversial methods trying to solve complex issues.
- It should be possible to imagine yourself on both sides of these situations in order to see another person's perspective.
- busing
- affirmative action (Regents of the University of California v. Bakke)
- at least a decent paragraph (more than just a couple sentences)
- can look up more information online or ask someone else (e.g. a parent) for input
- due this week
May 18
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed in the 1970s.
- Native Americans learned how effective protests could be from previous groups, especially what we call the Civil Rights Movement.
- In fact, there was an Indian Civil Rights Act passed in 1968.
- Many thought it didn't do enough to help Native Americans, so they demonstrated:
- occupying Alcatraz Island (for 19 months!)
- We looked through the pictures there.
- at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
- This occupation was much shorter: just over two months
- The location was chosen because of the massacre that occurred there in 1890.
- occupying Alcatraz Island (for 19 months!)
- These occupations remind me of a much more recent one in 2020:
- Native American gains:
- $81.5 million in return for giving up the claim to land in the state of Maine
- able to own casinos in states that don't allow non-Native Americans to own them (such as in Michigan)
- (There are three state-owned casinos in Detroit.)
- religious freedom:
- This gets more complicated if a religion includes practices that are against the law.
- an obvious example would be human sacrifice, although I can't think of any common religions that still practice that.
- more complicated: drug use, such as peyote
- This gets more complicated if a religion includes practices that are against the law.
- The Disability Rights Movement
- wheelchair ramps, elevators
- handicapped parking spaces and seating
- Once again, protests (e.g. sit-ins) in order to provoke change.
- special-education laws
- closed-captioning
- A lot of these things are normal to us because we've grown up with them, but they weren't before the 1970s and even into the 1990s thanks to the 1968 Architectural Barriers Act and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (usually abbreviated ADA).
- Check out this form of non-violent demonstrating in support of the ADA.
May 19
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed in the 1970s.
- DDT
- To this day, it seems it's not clear whether it is harmful to humans or not.
- Check out this picture! This is wild considering what many people think of DDT as poisonous.
- moral dilemma:
- If DDT saves humans (by killing mosquitoes that transmit malaria, which kills hundreds of thousands of people per year, mostly in Africa) but it is harmful to animals, should we use it?
- environmentalism
- Much of what we take for granted today (recycling efforts, Earth Day, clean water in lakes and rivers) is thanks to the efforts of environmentalists starting in the 1960s and 1970s.
- A river that feeds into Lake Erie, for example, used to be so polluted that the lake itself caught on fire!
- private property:
- moral dilemma:
- If you own property and want to build a house there, for example, should the government be able to stop you if it would affect endangered species that live on your property?
- Should the government compensate you financially if they prevent you from building what you want?
- moral dilemma:
- Love Canal
- So sad that there were birth defects and cancer, and these people had nothing to do with it -- but they have to live with it.
- nuclear power
- There's a debate about whether it's safe or not.
- consider meltdowns and accidents (Chernobyl, Fukushima, Three-Mile Island)
- also consider seemingly safe examples:
- nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers
- moral dilemma:
- Nuclear power may be much better for the environment than our main sources of power (oil, coal, natural gas).
- It's also more reliable than wind and solar power.
- wind - only when the wind is blowing, plus the turbines kill a lot of birds
- solar - only when the Sun is shining, plus the panels take up a lot of space for how much power they generate
- But is it safe enough?
- There's a debate about whether it's safe or not.
- It depends on what we prioritize, and there are many factors:
- human life
- quality of life
- financial cost
- inconvenience
- personal property rights
- environmental impact, including animal life
- impact on endangered species specifically
May 20
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed in the 1970s.
- ch. 19 - visuals and graphics (due today)
- study guide for 19.5 (due after the test)
May 23
Learning Target: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2
- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
- Students were advised to have at least two items per box and to be able to explain them in their own words in essay format, meaning complete sentences in paragraph(s).
May 24
TEST: Ch. 19
May 25
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed during the 1970s and 1980s.
- liberals vs. conservatives
May 26
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed during the 1970s and 1980s.
- map: Sun Belt
- map: Rust Belt
- We talked about why people and businesses would choose to leave one for the other:
- people: climate, health concerns, lower cost of living, etc.
- businesses: go where the people are (employees), cheaper transportation (closer to ocean shipping lanes), perhaps cheaper labor, more land available, etc.
- We talked about why people and businesses would choose to leave one for the other:
- video: Why the Sun Belt Keeps Growing
- the Democratic Party
- according to this, at least 19 different groups (see "voter base" in the table of contents)
- the Republican Party
- according to this, at only 7 different groups (see "historical factions" in the table of contents)
- We really just glanced through the top 8 or so here, looking for the following:
- primary concern(s)
- political orientation
- how much money involved
May 27
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed during the 1970s and 1980s.
- We did a 5-Things assignment to talk about this part of the section, and we talked about such things as the following:
- being an actor first and then getting into politics
- most commonly, politicians start in law (law school) or the military before entering politics
- switching parties from Democrat to Republican
- controversy - cutting programs
- lowering taxes
- I encouraged students to look at their own or their parents' paystubs to see how much taxes are taken out.
- It's worth looking at, but it's important to remember all of things that are funded by taxes.
- landslide victory in 1984 (49 states to 1)
- Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court
- being an actor first and then getting into politics
- We also watched this video clip about his life.
- If time allowed, we also talked a bit about government spending using this chart from President Reagan's economic advisor, Milton Friedman.
May 31
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed during the 1970s and 1980s.
- lowering taxes
- supply-side economics
- cutting programs (food stamps, school lunches, Medicare, unemployment, student loans)
- deregulation
- reducing government involvement in business
- aid to Afghan rebels
- compare with USSR and China helping North Vietnam fight USA during the Vietnam War
- Nicaragua and Grenada
- This map has both of them on it.
- Why would USA care about what's going on in these places?
- Iran-Contra scandal
- This could have turned into a situation like Watergate was for Nixon.
- Why would USA care about what happens in Iran?
- "Star Wars"
- name used to make fun of Reagan's plans
- Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
- lasers, satellites, missiles, etc. used to protect USA from Russian nukes
- a New Soviet Leader
- "peace through strength" and these other details helped lead to the fall of the USSR
- And we talked about this assignment for tomorrow.
- Choose two of the ten topics:
- yuppies
- cable television
- HIV/AIDS
- space program (especially the Challenger explosion)
- the war on drugs
- relations with Iran
- tax cuts / Reaganomics
- electronic innovations (Nintendo, the PC)
- pollution
- end of the Cold War (and the emergence of China as our main adversary)
- Choose two of the ten topics:
June 01 (had a sub)
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed during the 1970s and 1980s.
- We'll work on this some more tomorrow when I'm back.
June 02
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed during the 1980s.
- One of the veterans took the time to answer 25 questions that students had asked him in writing.
- I read out the questions and his answers.
- We talked a bit about how we still see these historical influences today:
- Amazon does online and through the mail what Wal-Mart did in the store.
- Technology for entertainment (audio cassettes to CDs, VHS tapes to DVDs) has continued to improve (streaming).
- GPS technology is used in so many ways these days, even games.
June 03
Learning Target: 9.1.1:
- Analyze how American society changed during the 1980s.
- George H. W. Bush's promise "Read my lips: no new taxes" and how that backfired on him
- how the fall of the USSR was monumental in world history
- Imagine the United States disbanding.
- Tiananmen Square
- I'm surprised the book doesn't include this picture from this event.
- the Persian Gulf War
- comparisons to Russia vs. Ukraine today
- why we got involved then
- why we haven't gotten (directly) involved today
- comparisons to Russia vs. Ukraine today
- Operation Desert Storm (skipped around in it since it's pretty long and sort of boring)
- the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall
June 06
Learning Target: 9.1.2:
- Analyze how American society changed during the 1980s and 1990s.
- downsizing
- capital-gains taxes
- the election of 1992:
- George H.W. Bush
- Bill Clinton
- H. Ross Perot (possible spoiler [although that's debated] as third-party candidate)
June 07
TEST: Ch. 20
June 08
EXAM