Thursday, May 17, 2012

Sectionalism & Westward Expansion: Socratic Seminar Style...

Happy Thursday Y'all,

      To prepare for the Socratic Seminar today, please REVISIT the relevant information from your previous articles.  Also, please review some of the media presentations provided to us by Hippocampus.org.  We will start after the first 20 minutes of class to give you ample time to prepare your thoughts.  Look over your notes.  Look over your highlighted text.  Look over your quickwrite.  look over the media.  Good luck and have fun!
Here, you will see the questions that will drive our SOCRATIC SEMINAR today. 
      1.  Think about what we know of Lincoln.  What did he believe he needed to do as the next president and a brand new fledgling Republican?

      2.  Why were Southerners so scared of and angry about the Republicans' views on the extension of slavery?

      3.  Looking back all the way to the land ordinance of 1787, the Louisiana Purchase, and then fastforwarding to what we know now about "sectional issues", how do you think Westward Expansion and Sectionalism are interrelated?  In other words, What links can you identify between these two issues in 19th Century United States?
    
      Sectionalism: is loyalty to the interests of one's own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole.  Sectionalism refers to the different economies, social structures, customs, and political values of the North and South.  It increased steadily 1800–1860 as the North, without slavery, industrialized, urbanized and built prosperous farms, while the deep South concentrated on plantation agriculture based on slave labor, together with subsistence farming for the poor whites. The South expanded into rich new lands in the Southwest (from Alabama to Texas).  However, slavery declined in the border states and could barely survive in cities and industrial areas (it was fading out in cities such as Baltimore, Louisville and St. Louis), so a South based on slavery was rural and non-industrial. On the other hand, as the demand for cotton grew the price of slaves soared. Historians have debated whether economic differences between the industrial Northeast and the agricultural South helped cause the Civil War.

      Below, you will find the backchannels for each of your CORES.  Please don't make me remind you of netiqette, or how to behave so that all can learn.
CORE 1
histlit1
histlit2
histlit3
histlit4

CORE 2
histlit5
histlit6
histlit7
histlit8

CORE 3
histlit9
histlit10
histit11
Today's learning targets:
I can identify main ideas, analyze supporting details, and evaluate inferences within discipline specific media.  
I can apply content in order to evaluate relationships of people and ideas and to draw conclusions.




From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

From Sectionalism to Westward Expansion...

Guy and Gals,

Here, you will see the questions that will drive our SOCRATIC SEMINAR tomorrow. 
      1. Looking back all the way to the land ordinance of 1787, the Louisiana Purchase, and then fastforwarding to what we know now about "sectional issues", how do you think Westward Expansion and Sectionalism are interrelated? 

      2.Think about what we know of Lincoln.  What did he believe he needed to do as the next president and a brand new fledgling Republican?  

      3.Why were Southerners so scared of and angry about the Republicans' views on the extension of slavery?   

Today, like I told you yesterday, you will have a guest teacher for your CORES. 
CORES 1 & 3...  You have 4 tasks today.
1. Gallery Walk
2. Read the Article and Annotate
3. Prep for the Socratic Seminar tomorrow
4. Open up your Slip Game word documents and complete another question as a table group. 

Here are the instructions for the Gallery Walk:
1.  Delegate one person from your table group to speak about the work your group did on the article.
2.  Those who are not speaking will grab a clip board with post its and their copy of the article: The Lincoln Douglas Debates
3.  You guys and gals will have 8 minutes to circulate from poster to poster listening to the speakers from each group. 
4.  The post-its are you for you to leave comments on the posters as you walk throught the gallery. 

CORE 2, here are your tasks:
1. Read, Highlight, Annotate
2. Prep for the Socratic Seminar
3. Slip Game (Some may finish the Slip Game)

I will be back by 11:15 which means I will see you for STEaM time.  You have things due today and the final due date is Friday. 

Sincerely,
C
From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Monday, May 14, 2012

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates & Collaborative Annotation...

Happy Mobday Almost Freshies,

      We have finally arrived at the last article in our series.  We should be CONSTRUCTING MEANING from all that we have read, and we all should have an idea of some of the deep causes of the Civil War.  What was the Dred Scott Decision?  What is a "free stater"?    What was the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850?  And most importantly, why do all these things matter?

      Today, the activity we will be engaging in is called Collaborative Annotation.  We will look at an article together, then break into our table groups and annotate it COLLABORATIVELY.  To start, please click on the links below to refresh your memory and access any schema you may have on these subjects. 

The Dred Scott Decision

Bleeding Kansas

Today's learning targets:
I can identify main ideas, analyze supporting details, and evaluate inferences within discipline specific media.  
I can apply content in order to evaluate relationships of people and ideas and to draw conclusions.
From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Cause: Documentary...

It's Thursday,

      The Civil War began at 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861.  The documentary you will see today does a fabulous job connecting to the articles we have read together.  Listen for "Bleeding Kansas".  Listen for Dred Scot.  Listen for dates, people, turning points, and events our articles may have mentioned. 

      Below, you will see two questions.  Your task, at the end of class today, is to comment on this blog by answering these questions.  You ARE NOT using the blackboard blogs!!  You are commenting on this blog.  I will receive your post in my personal email account and approve or disapprove your responses. 

1. What did you see or hear in the documentary that we read about in the articles? 

2. At this point in all of our reading, writing, talking, sharing, and studying, what do YOU think could be considered a cause of the Civil War? 

      “Slavery is like holding a wolf by the ears.  You don’t like it, but you dare not let it go.”
-Thomas Jefferson
      “For me, the picture of the Civil War, as a historic phenomenon, is not on the battlefield.  It’s not about weapons.  It’s not about soldiers except to the extent that weapons and soldiers at that crucial moment joined the discussion about something higher about humanity, about human dignity, about human FREEDOM”   
-Barbara Fields (Historian 9:10)
      “If there was a single event that caused the war it was the establishment of the United States in independence from Great Britain with slavery still a part of its heritage.”
-Barbara Fields (Historian 17:00)
Today's learning targets:
I can identify main ideas, analyze supporting details, and evaluate inferences within discipline specific media.  
I can apply content in order to evaluate relationships of people and ideas and to draw conclusions. 

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Dred Scott Decision

Happy Camel Day,

      We are nearing the last few articles that explain some of the causes of the Civil War.  Continue to remember your inquiry and reading skills. Conceptual annotation and critically thinking about relevant information are vital when constructing meaning from text.  What do you know based on what you read?  How do you know it?  And, more importantly, why is it relevant?   

      The article today, which will open us up to our activity later, is The Approaching War: The Dred Scott Decision.  Please do a few things before we begin reading today...

1.  Log onto Hippocampus.org (History & Gov. - U.S. History)
2.  Watch the presentations that accompany our articles
3.  Review, read, or reread the Kansas-Nebraska Act and/or The Dred Scott Decision
4.  Prepare for the Slip Game

Sincerely,
C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Happy Tuesday Y'all,

      Please click on the links below and watch before you begin reading and annotating text. 


Media to Text 1

Media to Text 2

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Monday, May 7, 2012

The Missouri Compromise & the Compromise of 1850 Continued...

Happy Monday Gang,

      Please watch the media provided below and get your articles out from last week.  Many of you and your table groups are in different areas of the reading.  Some are conceptually annotating.  Some are attacking text for relevant information.  Some are continuing to read.  Some may be finished and are ready for the next article. 
The Missouri Compromise

The Compromise of 1850

     The next two articles we will read things really start to heat up.  The country continues to fight over SECTIONAL ISSUES and continues to draw the lines between north and south.  The next two articles will be in the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dredd Scott Decision.  If you would like a head start, see what you can find on these subjects. 

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Friday, May 4, 2012

The Missouri Compromise & The Compromise of 1850...

High Five Friday,

      We will be doing another activity today called Carousel Brainstorming.  You may remember it from our space projects and writing a thesis.  Please read the questions below to get a peek at what we will need to think about:

1.  What are some of the dates we are coming across in our reading?
2.  Who are some of the people we hear in our articles?
3.  What are some of the compromises we have read about so far?
4.  What are some sectional issues that caused so much drama/conflict?
5.  What are some of the TP's, Worldviews, or C&E's, we have read in our text?

SECTIONALISM

What is Sectionalism?

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Conceptual Annotation & Thinking Like a Historian...

Hi Everyone,

      So, we have all seen and tried Text Coding as well as Annotating text.  Text Coding is using symbols in a piece of text you are reading in order to make it easier to review that text later.  Text Coding organizes our thoughts in a specific way that makes sense to us.  Annotating text is simply interacting with text and writing notes along the way IN THE TEXT.  You have all done this.  Now is the time to step it up a bit.

      Conceptual Annotation brings these two nonfiction reading strategies together.  It makes meaning out of text which, in turn, allows us to use text in our WRITING, OUR PROJECTS, and CONVERSATIONS in class.  So here we go... 

These are the concepts we all know and love:
TE = Through Their Eyes
TP = Turning Points
CE = Cause & Effect
CC/CH = Change & Continuity
UP = Using the Past

These will be the concepts that we will use to mark up our texts as well.  Let's roll up our sleeves and get to it. 

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Using the Part: Slavery

HOWDY Y'ALL!!

      Camel Day is here to stay!!  Drawing lessons from the past can be a powerful way to make sense of the present and to inform decisions about the future.  One can use the past for less immediate purposes.  Historians use their understanding of one historical event to raise questions about another historical event.  USING THE PAST RESPONSIBLY REQUIRES FINDING THE USEABLE PAST.  We must be able to discriminate between those events and aspects that are relevant to the event under study. 
Olaudah Equiano: African Slave (Primary Source)


From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy