Today we wrote our last in-class LEQ!  We will shift essay writing gears over the next two weeks to prep for DBQ essays.  The basic pieces of the DBQ remain the same as the LEQ, but the focus of your evidence and analysis will be drawn from historical documents which will be provided to you.  We have been preparing for this with every DocBlock you have written, so you are more ahead of the game than you may realize. 

Please look at the class calendar on this website!  The due dates for many textbook chapters over the next couple of weeks have shifted!  Additionally, you will notice that starting with Chapter 28 late in November the Chapters sections are broken apart more specifically as we cover information in class differently than the textbook!

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We took the Chapter 21 Quiz today, which means you only have four more chapter quizzes in this class!  We spent the rest of the day evaluating the Progressive Era through an examination of documents from specific portions of the reform movements in order to answer three essential historical questions.  We will finish the third set of documents on Monday.  Please be sure the check the class calendar this evening as we are shifting the due dates of some of the chapters!

Tomorrow is LEQ 2!  Make sure you review the handout on historical contextualization HERE and brush up on technology, industrialization, and other aspects of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.

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Scored Discussion #3 was today as we examined the Gilded Age in terms of its business practices and popular reaction to those practices as told by Howard Zinn.  The online board is now open and you have until Monday night at midnight to make your usual online submissions.

Don't forget that Chapter 21 is due tomorrow!

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Today we covered more of the nuances of the Gilded Age with an exploration of the living conditions in major cities for the majority of residents and with two DocBlock documents, one by muckraker journalist Jacob Riis and another by industrialist and immigrant Andrew Carnegie. We also spent a few minutes discussing the concept of Historical Contextualization, which will be a scored element on this Friday's LEQ. Additionally, we discussed and checked notes for Chapter 20.

Don't forget tonight to finish up your reading and pre-write for tomorrow's Scored discussion (find the document by Howard Zinn under Scored Discussion #3 on the Period 6 page) and your online comments for the second scored discussion are due tonight before midnight as well.  Chapter 21 is due Thursday also, so plan ahead!  We are in the thick of the toughest part of the course.  After next week, however, the number of chapters due per week drops significantly for the remainder of the semester!  Hang in there!

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Today was our second scored discussion, this one over the question of genocide in Westward Expansion.  It generated some good discussion and clash and I was proud of how well you all handled that!  The online discussion board is now open and will be until Tuesday, October 245 at midnight!  The posting rules are the same as last time and details can be found on the discussion board.  You can get to the board by clicking the "Discussion Boards" tile on the home page of the website then clicking the "Discussion #2" link.

Don't forget that Chapter 18 is due Friday!  The next scored discussion will be on Wednesday, October 25 and will be drawn from a reading by Howard Zinn once more, this time on the issue of big business in the Gilded Age.  The reading, etc. can be found on the Period 6 page.

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Hutchison was out today so his classes "skipped ahead" to the plan for Thursday and explored the problems facing farmers in the American West and their attempts to address those problems through the creation of the People's Party, the most successful third party in American politics since the Civil War.  Richardson's classes got to wrestle with the historical questions posed by an enigmatic tombstone in our annual exploration of the West through the investigation of a murder in Helena, Montana in the late 1800's.

Don't forget tomorrow is your second scored discussion!  All the materials can be found posted under Period 6!

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We took the second exam today.  This is the last exam that will go on Quarter 1.  I also graded the DocBlocks, etc. from your binders.  Remember that Chapter 17 is due tomorrow and the second scored discussion will be on Wednesday!

Please note, some of the due dates for the next few chapters have shifted slightly!  Check the calendar on this website to see what has moved over the next two weeks!
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Today we wrote our second in class LEQ essay then used the last few minutes of time (since it was a Pep Rally bell schedule) to work on the Lit Circles from yesterday.

Don't forget, Exam 2 tomorrow!  It will follow the same format as the last exam in terms of the number of questions and format.  It will cover everything up through Chapter 16.

Also, I will check binders, so look back over the list of requirements from yesterday's blog!  And remember that next Wednesday will be the second scored discussion!  All of the info you need for that is posted at the top of the Period 6 page.

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Reconstruction was the topic of the day as we spent a significant chunk of time discussing the historiographical schools and their points of view after taking the Chapter 16 Quiz.  We also started the Voices of Reconstruction Lit Circles as our DocBlock in some classes.  Others will get to that tomorrow after the LEQ.

Tomorrow is LEQ #1b!  Focus your review this evening on information from the rise of disunion through Reconstruction (approx. 1850 -1877).  Also, your second exam will be on Monday!!!  See the list below of DocBlocks and other activities you should have in your binders at that time.  

The last item to note today is Scored Discussion information.  Your online submissions for Scored Discussion #1 are due tonight!  The discussion board will close at midnight, so don't wait too late!  The reading selections and slightly different pre-write directions for Scored Discussion #2 can be found at the top of the Period 6 page.  The next scored discussion will be next Wednesday, October 18!

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Many people were out 1st through 3rd periods today for PSAT testing.  Those that remained in class spent the time examining a set of documents drawn from the first 100 years of the United States as a nation and centered on the celebration of the Fourth of July.  We analyzed and compared these documents to draw conclusions about the changes and continuities in American history in those first 100 years and to look at ways different groups modified the holiday in light of their personal experiences.

Don't forget that chapter 16 is due tomorrow!  The online portion of the last scored discussion is due by midnight tomorrow night as well!

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