Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 28,29,30,31 January

We spent this week practicing interpreting and describing graphs.

We used graphs about unionization, and graphs about wages to identify and understand trends in labor and industry.

We practiced writing about our findings.

Thursday/ Friday 16/17 January

Today we talked about the role of Pinkerton Detectives in the Homestead Strike.

Then we investigated the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire by looking at source documents including photos, engravings, personal writing, and opinion pieces from the time.

These documents came from this website.

We will prepare for the final exam on Tuesday during our next class.

Monday 13 January, and Tuesday/ Wednesday 14/15 January

Warning: I have been having trouble getting the blog to publish.

Classes on these two days covered a variety of topics:
We discussed the conflict between the "gold standard" and "greenbacks".

We looked at the rail strikes of 1877 that had the effect of increasing union membership in later years.

We added the vocabulary words of "anarchist" and "scab".

We studied the Haymarket Riots from two different perspectives:

Haymarket riot video

http://video.pbs.org/video/1907816603/ 10 mins

and

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OQxncb2ihQ&safe=active

2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkZET09x5_Q&safe=active

3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaUFPCMnChk&safe=active

18-19 minutes total

Some classes reviewed a graph on page 185 of History Alive! that shows wages and hours worked from 1890 to 1915.

A few classes also discussed the Pullman Strikes.

The final exam will cover the history of labor and industry through 1910 including vocabulary.

Thursday/ Friday 9/10 January

The class took time to finish studying Chapter 13 of History Alive!

The class watched and analyzed two films about coal mining:
The first film was to help understand how a coal mine works. This film from 1934 shows some of the improvements that resulted from the labor unrest of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

This film titled "Breaker Boys" illustrates terrible child labor in the mines around the turn of the century.

Wednesday, 8 January

After a quick review reminding students of the lecture on the history of work and industry that was presented before the break, the class continued studying the history of work in the United States.

First students worked individually to consider what life would be like without four items that came about as a result of the industrial revolution: the light bulb; electricity; the automobile; and the phone; then students combined their thinking.

The class had a mini-lecture on architecture and stuff, and how the design of homes changed as a result of the industrial revolution.

Next the class reviewed the skills used to study from a text book:

Skim & Scan
     headlines and titles
      photos, graphs, and images
     wha is repeated

Check Outcomes
     review any summary
     review any study questions

Review the Outline of the Chapter
     Re-read titles, headings, and sub-headings
     Try to determine the authors argument, claim, or thesis

Take Notes
     Take about one note per title, heading, or sub-heading
     note surprising or especially interesting facts
     note any information that clearly and directly supports the author's thesis

Students then applied this protocol to Chapter 13 of History Alive!

Tuesday, 7 January

After a quick review reminding students of the lecture on the history of work and industry that was presented before the break, the class continued studying the history of work in the United States.

First students worked individually to consider what life would be like without four items that came about as a result of the industrial revolution: the light bulb; electricity; the automobile; and the phone; then students combined their thinking.

Next the class reviewed the skills used to study from a text book:

Skim & Scan
     headlines and titles
      photos, graphs, and images
     wha is repeated

Check Outcomes
     review any summary
     review any study questions

Review the Outline of the Chapter
     Re-read titles, headings, and sub-headings
     Try to determine the authors argument, claim, or thesis

Take Notes
     Take about one note per title, heading, or sub-heading
     note surprising or especially interesting facts
     note any information that clearly and directly supports the author's thesis

Students then applied this protocol to Chapter 13 of History Alive!

Monday, 6 January, 2014

The counseling department gave important information about getting ready to apply to college.

Students also got their scores from the PSAT test.