Holiday Gift Exchange

We will be having a "holiday celebration" the last day of class before break.

You will need to bring in a 5 euro gift for our holiday exchange. Please, make sure it is wrapped!! Also, the gift needs to be appropriate for a boy and a girl.

If you would like to bring in a snack, please do.

Roby class,
Our class meets in the morning, so please bring "morning snacks".

**You do not have to participate in our gift exchange. It is your choice.

Comic Strips

Your comic strips about the problems between workers and business owners in the 19th century are due at the beginning of the next class (Roby, December 12 and Lycee, December 14). You will receive a description of the assignment during our next class.

The assignment:
Create a 6 panel comic strip that illustrates a problem between workers and business owners in the late 19th century.

Your task is to choose one type of factory and one type of possible problem that existed in that factory. You should describe the problem and how some workers reacted to it. USE YOUR ORGANIZER TO HELP YOU.

Your comic strip must include:
a description of one type of problem workers faced ___
a description of how some workers reacted to the problem ___
a title ___
a narration box and/or a dialog bubble in each frame ___
a plot (your comic strip should have the same story in all 6 frames) ___
a setting (date, type of factory) ___

YOUR COMIC STRIP SHOULD ALSO BE
NEAT, LEGIBLE, EASILY UNDERSTOOD AND SPELLED CORRECTLY.

HAVE FUN!

Long Awaited Update

First, I want to apologize for not updating this blog sooner.

Secondly, I hope your pen pal letters are ready for the next phase in the writing process, the teacher edit (Roby) and self-edit (Lycee). Remember, you are representing, not only yourself, but your school and France, so you want your letters to be as perfect as possible! I hope to mail all of the letters out before the holiday break.

Lastly, we will continue exploring our current unit, intervention and change, until January. By now, you should have all read chapter 5, lesson 1 entitled Big Business and Industrial Cities.



For extra credit, answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. Be sure to use complete sentences. You must answer both questions correctly in order to receive extra credit.

1. Why do you think railroad stock would have been a good investment in the late 1800s?
2. How do you think the transcontinental railroad affected economic growth? Explain.

Variety Show

Are you a singer? Are you in a band? Do you like to dance?

If so, come and perform in the American Section Variety Show. It will take place on December 20th.

If you are interested in participating, please see BJ in the American section office. She will give you all of the information.

We all look forward to seeing your performance!!!

Civil War Reconstruction

During the next two weeks, we will be analyzing Reconstruction. We will look at President Johnson's plan and compare it to the Radical Republicans' plan. You will actually give each of these plans a "grade" and then you will create YOUR OWN plan for reconstruction.

When we get back from break , we will begin with our Invention and Change Unit.

Extra Credit

What happened at Fort Sumter? Why was this event very important in the Civil War?
Who was the leader of the Confederate troops?
Who was the leader of the Union troops?


Bring the answers to me at the beginning of our next class and I will give you extra credit. Your answers should be on a piece of paper with your name on it. Be sure to answer in complete sentences.

Roby and Lycee

For Roby-
During our next class, you will be taking part in a "Civil War Station Activity". During this lesson, you and your teammates will be analyzing primary source documents from the Civil War. The primary sources will include Civil War maps, battlefield photos, slave auction posters, Confederacy currency and many other interesting documents.

For homework, you will be reading in your text and answering some questions.
Read pages 148 - 152
Answer questions #1 and #2 on page 152.
Answer question #2 on page 153. There are four parts to question #2.


For Lycee-
Unfortunately, I will be on a seconde field trip on Friday, so I will miss our class. You will have a substitute, so please come to class!!! The substitute will give you your homework. It is NOT the same as the Roby class.

We will completing the Roby lesson mentioned above at our next class.

See you next week!

Differences Among the North and the South

Hello.

Just a reminer:

Be sure to bring to class your notes on the differences between the North and the South.

By the next class, you should have read pages 128 - 134 in your book.

**Don't forget to tell your parents about Parent Forums.**

Roby, September 25

Lycèe, September 26

Map, Nation Divided 1861

Your completed map is due Friday, September 14 (Lycee) and Wednesday, September 19 (Roby).

See pages 122 - 123 in your book.

Your map should include:
Union States
Border States
Confederate States
Territories
Major Cities
Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Gulf of Mexico
Canada
Mexico
Rocky Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
Great Lakes

Please, be sure it is neat and colorful.

Have fun!!

Letter to Self

Letter to Self
You are going to write a letter to yourself explaining your personal goals for this school year. You will hand your letter in at the beginning of our next history class and you will not get it back until the end of the school year. It is always fun and exciting to reread the same letter nine months later. It will make you smile and, hopefully, remind you of the goals you have met and exceeded throughout the 2006 - 2007 school year.

Your letter must include:
*description of yourself
*explanation of your feelings at the beginning of this school year
*at least TWO personal goals
*at least TWO academic goals

Due date:
*the beginning of our next history class

Grade:
*this completed letter will count as a homework grade

HAVE FUN,
but be sure to include proper grammar, spelling, and structure

Welcome to the new school year!

Throughout the year, I will post information on this blog about our class. You will be able to find assignments, due dates, suggested resources, and some Lycèe/Roby announcements. I will update the blog every 7 - 10 days.

If you need to contact me, however, please call the American Section and leave me a message at 01 34 51 74 85 or you could email me at michelesilvestri@yahoo.com. Please note, I check my email three times a week.

Below you will find some information about this class.

Content
This course covers the period in American history stretching from the end of the Civil War to modern times. We explore the evolution of the United States chronologically as well as thematically, learning about the course of US history from the experience of reconstruction through the advent of the American nation as a world power to the challenge of the Great Depression, while looking in detail at various aspects of United States civilization during these years: government, society, culture, industry and science, among many other interesting topics. In addition, our class places considerable emphasis on the ways in which American history has influenced US identity today.

Texts
The book we use this year is entitled United States in Modern Times (Harcourt Brace & Company). As much as possible, we also consider primary sources, what one historian has called "witnesses of the past."

Objectives
This course has numerous aims, beginning with the goal of enhancing student knowledge about the fascinating era under consideration, knowledge that will be essential in middle school, high school and beyond. We also emphasize the refinement of research, writing and oral skills so that participants become historians who are both impassioned by and practiced in the fascinating craft of historical scholarship.

Expectations
Students are asked to read several pages per week and to prepare the assigned passages for active engagement in class discussion. Once in the classroom, participants are expected to show respect for the opinions of others and to help in the building of a constructive learning environment. While some assignments take the form of research projects and in-class tests, students are asked to complete other forms of homework and classwork during the year.

Evaluation
Participants earn grades out of 20: 17/20 corresponds to an "A" and 14/20 to a "B". Yet whatever the work, various factors enter into any given mark, including the effort a student has made, the historical accuracy of what he or she has said or written, the extent to which each participant has included important information, and the strength of his or her argumentation.