Tuesday/ Wednesday 10/29 - 10/30

Mr. Zartler began with a short lesson on the proper presentation of dialogue in narrative writing.

The class began by completing a self-evaluation of the 3rd Wave Immigration Narrative.

Then students followed the following process for conferencing on their drafts:

1. In random groups first share you name and a gift you would like to receive in the near future.
2. 
   
3. Next, each student read their piece aloud.
4. 
   
5. After reading the piece aloud group members said back which aspects of the rubric they heard in the story.
6. 
   
7. If the author wished to ask for additional feedback he / she could.

Next Mr. Zartler began with some lecture notes on Chinese Immigration.

Their was little economic mobility (new vocabulary word) in China.

Many Chinese men (and some women) came to the United States. Frequently they worked in hard heavy labor jobs.

There was a lot of prejudice against these immigrants. There are stories that in John Day Oregon, it was not uncommon for white folk to get drunk at night and shoot randomly towards the Chinese section of town.

Angel Island was the main entry point for immigration from Asia to the United States from 1910-1940. It was sometimes called "the Ellis Island of the West," but was much more like a prison. The vast majority of immigrants were detained for long periods on Angel Island.

Mr. Zartler then shared this poem which was carved into a wooden wall of a barack on the island.

Thursday/ Friday 24/25 October

Class began with a review of and discussion of the positive and negative experiences turn of the century immigrants were likely to have in the United States.

Next Mr. Zartler shared some passages from contemporary novel sharing the story of a Korean family's immigration to the United States that is written in the first person.

Note (the dialogue in this novel is not done according to standard format, and student stories should be).

After this, students worked on writing a scene for their immigrant character once they had arrived in the United States.

Then students read to a partner their stories so far and got feed back according to the criteria for the story.

Typed, complete, rough drafts are due on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. We will use the following rubric to asses the work on Tuesday.

Tuesday/ Wednesday 23/24 October

Class began with a writing prompt about what it might have been like to watch an immigrant in front of you detained at Ellis Island.

Next the class studied pages 192-194 of History Alive! in order to create a list of the positive and negative things immigrants faced in the United States.

This list can be used for writing about what it was like for the immigrants in their new homes.

A complete rough draft is due in class on Tuesday, 29 October.

Monday, 21 October

Class began with a review of the requirements for the current assignment:

Write a story that:
Shows knowledge and understanding of "push" and "pull" factors affecting 3rd wave (18802-1920s) immigration.

Story = characters + conflict => resolution
Written in the 1st person

Includes scenes in at least three (3) of the following segments: original home; travel; Ellis Island; detention/ deportation; new home.

The story can be told in the form of a journal; letters; a narrative, or a combination of these methods.

The class broke into groups of like origin immigrants to check for understanding and received feedback on the current drafts.

Students were assigned drafting additional sections of the story as homework.

Thursday/ Friday 17-18 October

Classes that had already begun writing from the point of view of a third wave immigrant began by sharing what they had.

Then the class analyzed what kinds of activities physical and mental there could or should be in the story. We reviewed the slide presentation to take note of more setting details.

Next students revised. Most students had to conduct some research (pages 188-189 of History Alive!) were useful so as to include push and pull factors in the story of third wave immigrants.

The current assignment is as follows:
Write a short story from the point of view of a third wave immigrant to the United States. This story should include scenes in at least three of the following settings: original home; travel; Ellis Island; Ellis Island detention; the United States as new home.

We will work on this story in class on Monday.

Monday/ Tuesday 14/15 October

Class began with a few minutes to finish up note taking / map making on Chapter Sixteen (pages 187-192) on Third Wave Immigration to the United States. After discussing some of the more noticeable trends and fascinating ideas Mr. Zartler gave a slide lecture on what it was like to be an immigrant during this period.

Then Mr. Zartler gave instructions for the next major assignment. Students are to write a one to one and half page story from the point of view of a third wave immigrant. The story could include aspects of being in their original country; the journey to America; the experience at Ellis Island; or the arrival in the community where they first settle. A good way to begin is to choose an age, a gender, and a country of origin, then to look through the chapter and / or notes to determine motivations for emigrating/ immigrating, as well as what the experience would have been like.

Wednesday/ Thursday 9/10 October

Here is a link to the class syllabus.

Class began with a review of methods for studying vocabulary. (Flash Cards are the most effective strategy.)

Students then had time to review our current vocabulary list: immigration; emigration; migration; opportunity; displacement; geography; oppression; mortality; fertility.

Next Mr. Zartler lectured on an excellent method for studying from a text book:

Text Book Studying

Skim and Scan
     Titles, headings, sub headings, vocabulary
     Images, repeated ideas and concepts
     Topic sentences of paragraphs

Check Outcomes
     Read summary or Review Questions at end

Review
     Reread titles, headings, sub-heads and topic sentences
     Try to determine the argument / claim the author is making

Read and Take Notes
    Take about one note per heading
    note facts that interest or surprise you
    note facts or arguments that support the authors claim
    take other notes as directed by the instructor


Mr. Zartler then assigned the beginning of Chapter 15 of History Alive! (pages 182-197) to be studied in this way.

During the next class he will give a slide lecture on 3rd wave immigration to the United States and students will begin to work on a 1st person Point of view writing assignment to show what the experience of an immigrant to the US between 1880-1920 would have been like.

Monday/ Tuesday 7/8 October

Class began by reviewing the syllabus for the course, including the grading policy.

Next Mr. Zartler returned to students all of the "Personal History" essays that had been submitted. The "Personal History" essay is a required assignment. Students who received a "Not Yet" mark, or who have not turned the essay in yet, need to be attending Tutorial with Mr. Zartler.

Mr. Zartler went over common editing marks that students might see on returned papers.

Next the class examined the world of a hypothetical Irish person considering emigrating in 1865.

After considering this person's point of view, students wrote a brief first person account of what he or she would have been thinking.

Back to School Night, Thursday, 3 October

United States History   Mr. Zartler    Grant High School 2013-2014

Thank you for coming to Back to School Night if you were able. I look forward to seeing you at Conferences.

Below is the information that I felt was most important to share with you.

THE MOST IMPORANT THING you can learn is the address of our class blog:

ZartlerUSHistory.blogspot.com

This blog is where you son or daughter can be reminded about what happened in class (or what they missed), homework assignments, and project due dates. (It’s my way of getting past dinner conversations that go like this:)

           

            Parent/ Guardian/ Caring Adult: What did you do in school today?

            Adolescent: Nothing

            (Awkward silence.)

My history class is organized around five themes: Immigration; Labor and the Economy; Foreign Relations; Women; and Civil Rights. Students are expected to learn the chronology of US History, but do so by studying the history through these five lenses. The course syllabus is currently online and there is a link in today’s entry on the blog.

You can read more about the course, including the grading policy which is also below by viewing my course syllabus.

GRADING POLICY

Work in this class will be graded based on demonstration of proficiency, exceeding proficiency, and mastery of skills taught. 

Students will be given a variety of assignments and activities to complete, however, only major assignments that are based on clearly defined skills will receive a grade. Grades assigned will be:

C for demonstrating proficiency of skills; 
B for exceeding basic proficiency and demonstrating mastery of skills and exceeding the minimum requirements for work; 
A for demonstrating mastery of skills and significantly exceeding the minimum requirements of an assignment in terms of depth, breadth, and quality of work.

Grading will be cumulative based on the completion of work. However credit will not be granted for the course if proficiency in one or more of the key skills is not demonstrated; therefore students should consider all proficiency assignments to be "exit criteria." The final course grade as well as quarterly grades and mid term reports will be based on cumulative "points." Each proficiency assignments will have a total "point value" and the total points earned and the final grade will be based on the following scale: "C" is equal to 75%; "B" is equal to 85%; "A" is equal to 95%.

Students will be expected to continue to work on the key assignments demonstrating proficiency until the assignments meets minimum standards of proficiency. Extensive use will be made of the Conference Period available on Tuesday and Wednesday from 2:25, and students should seem out the teacher during planning periods and after school for assistance.

COMMUNICATION

If you ever need to contact me email usually works best: jzartler@pps.net

But if you need to phone the number is 503.916.5160 x75-700

Thank you for coming, I look forward to working with you and your son or daughter,

                                                Jamie Zartler

Thursday / Friday 3/4 October

Class began with a group challenge. In small groups students tried to make a list of the steps in solving the immigration questions we studied last class.


Next, students completed the following assignment:

2^ND WAVE IMMIGRATION EXERCISE

There was a failed revolution in Germany in 1848. Revolutions create unrest, as well as change when they are successful. Unrest is a “push” factor in immigration. Approximately how many immigrants to the United States came from Germany in 1852, 1854, and 1856?

How do this numbers of immigrants compare to the number of immigrants from Germany who came in 1845?

It may be helpful to record the steps to follow on the back of this paper.

After finding these four figures, create a graph in the space below to show your findings.

Then write an analysis of what this data could be evidence for on an attached piece of lined paper.

The last project of the day was to create a visual metaphor that responds to the question, 

"What do I want America to be?"

Tuesday, Wednesday 1/2 October

Class today began by considering two metaphors for the United States:

Students recorded the pros and cons of each idea of what a country should be.

Next the class worked with graphs and tables presenting data on mid-nineteenth century immigration.

We practiced combining data from different sources to extrapolate missing information. We found numbers (green) to fill in the missing information suggested from the list written in black to estimate the number of Irish immigrants entering the United States in the 1940s.

In class on Thursday and Friday we will consider the question: "What do I want America to be?" 

Monday, 30 September

Class today was focused on sharing and enhancing the text mark up that students did for homework over the weekend.

As a class we commented on, asked questions about, and made connections on the handout "The North 1800s to 1850s" on immigration.

Class on Tuesday and Wednesday will be centered around analyzing charts, graphs, and other sources of numbers concerning mid nineteenth century immigration.

The current Immigration Vocabulary list is as follows:
immigration
migration
opportunity
displacement
geography
oppression
emigrate