Please click here or the image below to leave your response.

Massacre in Boston by Jacob Lawrence, 1955

Based on this interpretation (parts I & II), was the American Revolution justified?

BONUS (optional) material: Interview with historian Woody Holton regarding the Founding Fathers and why the creation of America still matters to Americans.

Favorite quote: "We’ve got to let go of the heroes and replace them with heroics. That is, to see that the same person can do something heroic on Monday and be an enslaver or a town destroyer....And is that so hard? Does anybody have any perfect friends? Most of us are some of this and some of that. And I think we are more likely to unify around the founding if we admit the feet of clay, as well as the virtuous aspects. And I think one way to do that is to focus on people’s heroics rather than insisting on heroes."

For HW, please take notes on the presentation below and be prepared to answer the following question:

How does the School House Rock interpretation of colonial resistance differ from that of bUSH? Compare and contrast the relative biases of each. 

HINT: add up the amount of money raised by the taxes on the colonists and compare that to the amount of money the "Peace Force" cost the British, for example. 

Feel free to watch this at 1.25x speed!

A few questions to think about, courtesy of bETH tHE silc:

1. How significant was the amount of land gained by the British after the war?
2. Why was defense a concern for the British post-war?
3. How was living in the colonies a financial advantage compared to living in Britain (consider taxes and deficit spending)?
4. What did the British government do to attempt to compensate for the debt after the war?
5. What was the main difference between the Navigation Acts and the Parliamentary taxes? 

Note: the worksheet below is homework (if you did not complete it in class). Try your best to complete it and do not worry if your answers are incorrect. 

While watching the School House Rock video, consider jotting down a few answers to the following critical analysis questions in your notebook:

1. Who is missing from this video?
2. How is King George portrayed?
3. How are the colonists portrayed?
4. What is the apparent purpose of the taxes?
5. How is the characterization of the U.S. President contrasted with the King of England?
   

What questions do you have?

WORKSHEET:

• Click here to access bUSH3 slides

• Click here to access bUSH7 slides

Click here for an editable Google doc.

How to do the homework on Google Slides (VA). Consider the following requirements:

1. Choose 2-3 contiguous slides, more or less. Claim them before others do.
2. Leave thoughtful and thorough annotations as comments which will be awarded with the following feedback (ST, OK, NW) based on your choices below:

• → Short textbook quotes which are explained in relation to the slide content (up to ST)

• → An original analysis of images or documents covered (or not covered) in class* (up to ST)

• → Comments as pure narration (up to OK) which is the min. req't for ALL students

• Click here for bUSH3 or click there for bUSH7

If you missed class, please print and complete side 1 and 2 of the first document below.

BONUS: Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

This is a formative (low-stakes) assignment, but should help you in the project.

Need an editable Google Doc? CLICK HERE.

Using the 1624/25 Virginia muster database, can we determine if the Africans listed on the census document were either enslaved individuals OR indentured servants?

Lastly, why do some linguists believe that Midwesterners have an accent, not Southerners who speak with a drawl? Check out this explanation of the "dropped r":

Hi guys,

I'm sorry I can't be there today, but please watch this video lecture either with the sub or on your own for homework. Keep in mind that this was created in a single take and you can either pause it or speed it up as you take notes in your paper notebook.

If you missed class, you can access the film here.

Or below:

You can also make an Google doc copy of the study guide by clicking here.

Please take thorough notes on this in-class presentation. You will use that work (and more) on the next assessment.

https://padlet.com/boloss/u32g24w5tbvyhy50

Remember that asking generative questions is one of our classroom norms:

And this is my own interpretation of the chain of events leading to 9/11. Note the distinction between ultimate and proximate causes, which you will need to identify for your individual 4th Quarter Project. Others may disagree regarding the relative importance of the factors below, but that interpretive piece is inherent to the writing of history:

This assignment demands your critical attention to bias in historical writing. Give it your very best attempt, even if you're unsure that you're doing it correctly. Because it is in preparation for a future writing challenge (see further below), we would classify this as a formative assessment.

If you need a copy of the textbook reading, please click here.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Focusing on the six paragraphs under the subheadings, “Indians Fight Back” and “Chivington Massacres the Cheyenne” (pp. 415-16), now rewrite the history textbook selection without changing the factual aspects of it. Meaning, after identifying the bias of the current text, think about how you might use diction, voice, length and inclusion/exclusion to create a different bias in your own version. 

You may confine your rewrite to any THREE contiguous paragraphs for this assessment. In a fourth and separate paragraph, you will need to explain which method(s) you employed (inclusion/exclusion, length, diction, voice, or other) to substantively change the bias, citing specific examples (i.e., quotes) from the text. Click here for a link to the raw text so you can avoid retyping sentences.

Content warning: feel free to include some of the primary source details provided by two US soldiers (Silas Soule and Joseph Cramer) who were at the Sand Creek (Chivington) Massacre. Make sure to scroll down in order to read the primary source material. The last link is a more recent interpretation (meaning, a secondary source) provided by the National Park Service.

In the end, this writing challenge will function as a mirror to the final exam.

Please CLICK HERE to contribute.

Assignment:

BONUS: Had enough of your eight hours of daily screen time? Want to try the "Bored and Brilliant" challenge? Try any one of these techniques and see your creativity soar and your ability to self-reflect, deepen.

Having watched the sped-up version of the film without narration, what do you believe was the story of Jess's life and the relationship with their father? CLICK HERE TO RESPOND.

The International Center for Photography, New York:

Jess T Dugan's website

For today's class, please contribute one of your strongest research findings to the collective by clicking here.

Various photos and videos I found from his place. Click image below:

Watch the entire video below. It might help you with first assessment...[sound UP]

And make sure you mind these:

Click here for a editable small group worksheet.

Featured Theme Song: "We Belong Together" by Vampire Weekend

Songwriters: Rostam Batmanglij / Ezra Koenig

Please make sure you turn in your script (essay with citations) and bibliography on paper. Now click the appropriate link below to upload your video presentation (only if you are NOT using VoiceThread):

• Period 2 = "Just America"
  

  

• Period 5 = "Real America"
  

  

The images above are adapted from George Packer’s most recent book, Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal. His essay version is called, "The Four Americas" and originally appeared in The Atlantic.

Download Annotated_RUBRIC_-_4th_quarter_project_.pdf

Click here to see three student-created exemplars from a few years ago.

MLA citation protocol (the basics):

And don't believe what this student wrote ;)

If you missed class, you need to watch the following video and turn in the study guide (below)

>>bUSH2<<

>>bUSH5<<

* * * * *

WHY does this kind of research matter?

See The Atlantic: "The Books of College Libraries Are Turning Into Wallpaper"

In order to see your feedback on your iPad beyond the color-coding, please follow the directions below:

1. Click on the link below to access the spreadsheet of possible questions
2. Make sure Google Sheets is in "light theme", not "dark mode"
3. Select your question (or any other) cell
4. Tap it once and then select, "NOTE" to see the written feedback

LINK to VIEW FEEDBACK

If you still need to submit a successful 4QP proposal, click here.

>>SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL(S) HERE<< 

>>NTHS LIBGUIDE HERE<<

Here is a link to a journalistic example (using a very similar method).

RECENT CONTEMPORARY ISSUE: In his State of the Union address...President Obama celebrated the fact 'that for the first time in 40 years, the crime rate and the incarceration rate have come down together.'"

WHY QUESTION: Why does the USA incarcerate such a high percentage of its population, despite falling crime rates?

ANSWERS:

1. Crime surged during an era of social upheaval (historical look-back)
2. The federal government got more involved in local law enforcement.
   
3. A War on Drugs was launched.
   
4. Politicians changed sentencing laws.
   
5. More?? Others? Consider the role of race.

"Coming up with good questions in history is often more difficult than the answers."--Stephen Berry. @CWI_GC

— Kevin M. Levin (@KevinLevin) March 9, 2021

Need more help understanding proximate versus ultimate factors (causes)? Perhaps this will trigger your memory:

Lastly, here is a rationale for writing your own piece of history. Listen to the last half of the Today, Explained "American_history_v9" podcast (transcript) where David Blight, Yale University Professor and President of the OAH (Organization of American Historians) weighs in on recent efforts by the Trump Administration to "celebrate America's greatness" in Executive Order #14253:

Read carefully, distinguishing between the primary and secondary sources included in the following packet and answer the questions: