American History Work

Today we watched a portion of the first episode of Ken Burns' The Civil War. You'll find a link to the episode below (we watched the first nineteen minutes or so, and then skipped to the thirty-three minute mark and watched another ten minutes or so.) You should have notes for me to check tomorrow, including the answers to the following questions:

• What percentage of the U.S. population died in the war?
• At Cold Harbor, ______ men fell in _____ minutes.
• In what year did the last Civil War veteran die?
• What percentage of slaves lived to be sixty years old?
• By 1860, one out of _____ Americans belonged to another American.
• What was the first state to secede from the South?

Second, on a separate piece of paper, you need to choose a quote or an image from the portion we watched and write a response paragraph. You can write about why that image or quote affects you, how it does, what it reminds you of, what you learn or realize from that image or quote.

Due tomorrow.

Current Events Presentation Guide

This activity is designed to introduce and encourage students to become aware of current issues in the community, state, nation, and world. You will search for original current event articles every other week. Some possible topics you may research include: political figures, elections, campaigns, political crises, major court cases, major crime investigations, civil rights issues, famine or natural disasters, developments in science and technology, business and finance, health breakthroughs or disease outbreaks. Stories centered on sports and entertainment are not acceptable for this assignment. You may search newspapers, news magazines, or news-oriented websites.

Once you find an article, you must do the following:

• Clip the article. If your research is from the internet, print out the article. Original articles only. No copies are allowed. (3 points)
• Staple the article to the back of your summary paper. (1 point)
• Please highlight or underline key elements of the article (names, places, facts, figures, etc.) (1 point)
• Include a short summary of the article. Summary must be neatly written or typed. Summary must include (5 points):
• Who and what the article is about
• Where, when, and why
• Implications for the community, state, country, or world
• Whether and how it affects you
• How it relates to any current class discussions
• Include bibliographic citation (on summary page) in the following formats (5 points):
• Newspaper article: Author's last name, first name. "Article Title." Newspaper name Date: page number.
• (example) Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County's Uninsured Patients." Washington Post 24 May 2007: LZ01.
• Magazine article: Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages.
• (example) Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71.
• Website article: Author's last name, first name. "Article Title." Name of online publication. (Date posted). Date accessed. <Complete URL>.
• (example) Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites. (16 Aug. 2002). 4 May 2006 <http://alistapart.com/articles/writeliving>.

Your spoken presentation needs to include the information in your summary. It should only take sixty seconds or less for you to give us the summary. Practice good eye contact and volume to get the best grade.

History Work on Slavery and Anti-Slavery Movements

From your reading in Chapter Twelve, Sections One and Two, answer these questions (well, and with thought)

• Describe three different attempts to end slavery
• How did African-Americans resist or work against slavery?
• How did western expansion increase tensions over slavery?
• Describe the political compromise attempts

Here is a link to Chapter Twelve.

The assignment is due tomorrow.

Essay Rubric

Click this link to see the essay rubric used in grading your essays.