Thursday, Friday 26-27 September

Class began with a pop quiz:

Put the following in correct order, and write down the applicable date:

Bill of Rights 1791
Emancipation Proclamation 1863
End of the Revolutionary War 1785
End of Legal Importation of Slaves to the United States 1808

Students wrote to the prompt: "What do I want from my life?"

Next the class reviewed positive and negative (push and pull) reasons for immigration, and students compared what they want in their futures to reasons people may move from one place to another.

Next Mr. Zartler gave notes about the history of immigration to the United States.

First immigrants came from Asia during the last Ice Age
Before 1930 almost 30% of immigrants returned to their country of origin.

There are four major periods of immigration to America

1st:
1600s to 1770s
Majority of immigrants from Britain
Seeking
     economic opportunity
     religious freedom
     some convicts shipped out of England
    importation of slaves (375,000 by 1808)

2nd Wave:
1820-1870
7,000,000 immigrants
1/3 Irish (stayed in cities near the sea board)
1/3 German (often had money and moved to productive lands in the midwest)

Tuesday/ Wednesday 24-25 September

Class today was focused on analyzing the poem "The New Colossus" as a primary source for attitudes towards immigration in the United States in the 1880s.

We discussed the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" as a tangent.

Students considered the tone of the poem; as well as what it directly states.

We added six (6) vocabulary words to the unit vocabulary list:
immigration
migration
opportunity
displacement
geography
oppression

Finally students began developing a list of positive (pull) and negative (push) reasons that people might move from one place to another.

Monday, 23 September

Personal history essays were due today.

Students who had their essay were asked to complete the following self-evaluation:

Given the criteria of:
Thesis/ Topic Sentences/ Evidence being present and connected
Clear explanations for evidence
Generally well written with a conclusion

Answer the following questions including explanations for why:

What did I do well?
What needs work?
What grade do I deserve?

Turn in the evaluation, the final copy, and the color marked draft.

Students who did not have their essay were to turn in the following self-evaluation:
What's going on?
What is my plan to complete this assignment (being very specific)
Will I attend tutorial this Tuesday or this Wednesday?
What help do I need to be successful?


Students then created a "Immigration Unit" section in their notebooks and answered the following question:
Who should live in the area called The United States of America? Why?

Students then were given the following handout to review as homework.

Name ______________________________________ Date _________________ Period ______

The poem below “The New Colossus” is by a woman named Emma Lazarus. The poem is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. As we read the poem consider whether this poem reflects your views on immigration (and humanity) and whether it reflects our nations current views on immigration.

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in the middle of New York Harbor, inManhattan, New York City. The statue, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886, was a gift to the United States from the people of France. The statue is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States: a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving frrom abroad. (Wikipedia.com)

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

My thoughts/ questions / reactions

Vocabulary notes and other notes:

Tuesday/Wednesday & Thursday Friday 17-20 September

Sorry for the delayed entries.

Classes this week were different for fourth period and for 5th, 6th, and 7th because of Mr. Zartler's jury duty.

4th period had a lecture and note taking activity on Tuesday that 5-7 had on Friday. This activity involved the correct order and dates for major events in United States history. The class also worked to categorize these events based on the themes the class will follow this year: Immigration; Labor; Foreign Relations; Civil Rights; and Women.

On Wednesday and Thursday, all classes worked on a variety of activities designed to make sure that the essay on personal history which is due on Monday, 23 September is well done.

Students needing the time line handout or the handouts for writing activities should see Mr. Zartler.

Monday, 16 September, 2013

Homework:
Students have been working on a "Personal History" essay. This essay uses primary source documents to prove who the student is; where they have been; and what they have done.

A FINAL ROUGH DRAFT is due Wednesday for periods 5,6,7 and Thursday for period 4.

The essay should have an introduction with a thesis statement; the thesis statment should some how name or show what is unique about the author.

Body paragraphs should have topic sentences that connect to and support the thesis, and evidence with explanations that show how the primary source supports the topic sentence of the paragraph.

The conclusion should somehow expand the essay; most students can explain what they think their future holds based on who they are today.

Class:
Class today included working on the conclusion of the Personal History essay.

The class spent most of the period examining one of the themes in history we will be exploring.

We began by defining Civil Rights as "Peoples' Rights". We discussed how despite the promise of the Bill of Rights (1789) basic rights have not been universally available to all people in the United States.

We discussed the 1954 Brown Vs. Board of Education decsision that established that "seperate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Then we read the following article. Be aware that this article contains disturbing facts and language.

The class briefly discussed the importance of bring Civil Rights to all.

Introductions

Welcome to the blog for

Mr. Zartler's US History class at Grant High School.

You can find me in Room #200 at Grant.

It is often easiest to contact me via email: jzartler@pps.net

My phone number is 503.916.5160 x 75-700