Due Monday May 20th

Please have your rough draft (aim for 3 pages minimum) printed out for class Monday. You will peer edit and I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Bring your computers so that following the peer edit, you may make the revisions suggested to you.

I felt that as a class, you have picked really interesting topics and have developed some solid thesis statements- nice work! Keep it up!

Due Friday May 17th

Tomorrow, printed out, please bring your thesis statement and introduction to class.

If you are someone who works better independently with headphones, please feel free to bring them. I will have the classroom organized in such a way that your backs are to the front of the room and your computers are facing me. This is to help you stay on task. I will be spending time with each of you, reviewing your introductions/thesis statements and giving you suggestions.

Due Wednesday May 22nd: Final Essay!

AP US Final Essay

Reagan YOLO

Ronald Reagan's 31 most YOLO moments

Due Monday May 13th (or Tuesday)

You have received a take-home test labeled "AP Practice Exam #2". By the time of our review session Tuesday night, at 8 PM in our classroom, you should have shown me that you have completed 2 out of the 3 sections of the exam. This could mean any of the 3 following:

• Multiple Choice & DBQ.
• DBQ & Free Response (2 essays!).
• Multiple Choice & Free Response (2 essays!).

If you have thoroughly completed 2 of 3 sections of the practice exam, then I will award you a 20/20 quiz grade. If you do 1 section, you will earn 10/20. If hypothetically you complete the multiple choice section and only 1 free response essay, then you will earn 15/20. See how it works?

Those of you taking AP Bio, feel free to stop by Monday when you are done if you would like to see your first practice exam or need questions answered. I will be around! Good luck!

Remember:

• Thesis statements are MOST important. One sentence that can stand alone, answers the question and makes an assertion.
• No first person! No vague words like seems, appears, things, stuff, various etc.! Avoid cliches!
• Do NOT refer to documents in the manner of "In Document A...". Instead, introduce the document by author and title. Use parentheses (Doc A) following the quotation if you must clarify.

Due Friday May 10th

Today in class you took 15 minutes to review the DBQ documents, brainstorm outside info, outline and develop a thesis statement.

For homework, set a timer for 45 minutes. Write your DBQ essay. Drop your pens when the timer goes off! I will collect in class. *Under no circumstances should your essay be typed.

Nixon-Reagan

American Experience: Nixon
Oval Office Tapes: It Wasn't Just Nixon
Ford Presidential Library and Museum
American Experience: Carter
Iranian Hostage Crisis: Argo Trailer
American Experience: Reagan
How the Star Wars Program Didn't Work

Due Wednesday May 8th: Review Guides!

1585-1799
1800-1850
1851-1899
1900-1950
1951-Present

Our recent list of presidents:

Due Monday May 6th

Please actively read Reagan's "Speech on Military Power" and jot notes on the two questions on the end. Then, actively read his "Farewell Address".

Next, please take notes in your AMSCO books starting on page 647 where you left off through page 650 stopping before "President George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War."

Finally, look over your diagnostic AP exams! I talked to Mr. Sahs and he said his class ranged from 20-45/80 and averaged a 30, so we did fine with 28-43/80 and average of 33. We will take a couple more practice multiple choice sections before the big show!

Here's an example of how studying history can make you culturally literate- you can understand why Lil Wayne got himself in trouble!

Due Friday May 3rd

Please read and take brief notes on AMSCO starting on page 626 with "Gerald Ford in the White House" through the bottom of page 630, and then again starting on page 642 through to page 647 stopping before "Foreign Policy During the Reagan Years."

Please actively read (highlighter, pen, notes in margin) the 1985 "Ronald Reagan, Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union" document handed out to you in class. Prepare notes on the three questions at the end.

The other 2 Reagan documents are for over the weekend.

Due Thursday May 2nd

Please actively read (highlighter, pen, notes in margin) the US vs. Nixon document handed out to you in class. Prepare notes on the two questions at the end.

In addition, please read and take brief notes on AMSCO starting on page 609 with "Coming Apart at Home" through the bottom of page 610, and then again starting on page 619 through the top of page 626 stopping before "Gerald Ford in the White House."

*Look over Vietnam terms/notes!

Due Wednesday May 1st

Please actively read the Tonkin Gulf Resolution and Walter Conkrite's Commentary on the Tet Offensive, both handed out to you in class. Jot down notes (bullets are fine) to all five questions found at the conclusion of each document. I will check your homework and we will discuss the docs in class!

Also, please be familiar with our class term sheet!

Interesting links:
Nixon's "Silent Majority"
Secret War in Laos
Pentagon Papers
Paris Peace Accords

Due Monday April 29th

To finish up from today, you might look over the article handed out to you in class entitled "Freedom Fighters," and especially browse over the timeline. Here also is a cool history.com interactive webpage on Stokely Carmichael and the Black Power movement- check it out!

Over the weekend, please create a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting FDR's New Deal with L.B. Johnson's Great Society social program. In addition to Chapter 29 pp. 870-874, you may find this American Experience resource useful! You may work individually, or with one partner, and you may employ GoogleDocs or work by hand.

*Remember that we have class at 11:20 on Monday due to the revised prom schedule.

Due Friday April 26th

Tomorrow in class we will finish Civil Rights and look into JFK and Johnson's presidencies. Feel free to do any background reading on the 1960s, otherwise, please REVIEW! Use those prep books!

Due Thursday April 25th

Make sure you have notes done on Chapter 27 in AMSCO (I will check tomorrow, forgot today), actively read the article on the Korean War Part 2 that I handed out in class, and enjoy the gorgeous weather!

*Make sure you are prepping on your own! Do some practice multiple choice as long as you are nose deep in the AMSCO book. And make sure you're signed up for the SAT II subject test- check with your parents!

Due Wednesday April 24th

Please read and take brief notes on Chapter 27 "The Eisenhower Years, 1952-1960" in your AMSCO prep book.

You are skipping over Truman and the Cold War because we are going to dominate that in class on Wednesday, so this chapter will help you fill in the gap that follows between that and our lesson on the 1960s.

Due Monday April 22nd

Study for a quiz on WWI, the New Era & Great Depression, and WWII.

Keep in mind that at this point, you should be reviewing for your upcoming AP exam in general! Hit those review books and old notes!

Due Friday April 19th

Complete actively reading Kurt Vonnegut's "Wailing Shall be in All Streets" from Armageddon in Retrospect.

Type, in complete sentences, answers to the questions provided to you by handout earlier in the week. I will collect them for a grade!

Holocaust

What the Iranian president said about the Holocaust: Ahmadinejad Says Holocaust is a Lie

Questioned on it point blank by Brian Williams: Williams Interview of Ahmadinejad

Parts I, II & III of the film "Nuit et Brouillard" (Night and Fog). 

Timelines

In class today, with your assigned group members, you will employ GoogleDoc or another online timeline or graphing tool to create a graphic and text representation of your assigned year from WWII.

The challenge is to discern what is most important about the events of that year--major battle? New charter? Pact? Alliance? Conference? Emergence of an important leader? Highlights!

Remember to emphasize U.S. involvement. If you are 1940/1941, please look at U.S. policy and attitude towards the war leading up to the bombing at Pearl Harbor.

1940: Skinner, Grieve
1941: Loh, Levenson
1942: Bashey, Quarrier
1943: Abbott, Alvino
1944: Feingold, O'Brien
1945: Lawrence, Gordon, Ghiasuddin

National Archives FDR War Address

Video Footage of FDR War Address
FDR's Lend-Lease Act

Hiroshima: Dropping the Bomb

Due Wednesday April 16th

Wednesday: New Deal DBQ Outline. Look at your Gilded Age outline that was handed back for feedback! Have it printed out and ready to submit at the start of class.

Thursday: Have actively read Vonnegut's "Wailing Shall Be in All Streets" from his book Armageddon in Retrospect. Complete questions 1 & 2.

Friday: Complete questions 3-5, be ready to hand in all of them, typed neatly.

Here are the brief notes on regimes from today:

Due Monday April 15th

Please read and take notes beginning with "A Second New Deal" on page 740 through the end of the chapter. It is a big chunk, so please practice skimming and extracting what is most important.

For Wednesday, have completed your DBQ outlines on Roosevelt and the New Deal.

Due Friday April 12th

Please read and take notes on page 726 with the "Dirty Thirties" through page 727. Pick up again on the top of page 731 through page 740 stopping before "A Second New Deal."

Practice your skimming and extracting what is most important! Here is the film we watched excerpts from today:

Watch The Crash of 1929 on PBS. See more from American Experience.

Due Thursday April 11th

Please actively read your assigned primary document and type up answers to the questions included (you may split them up amongst your group/partner if you wish, as long as there is one answer for each question). Be prepared to present your document to the class.

Due Wednesday April 10th

Please read and take notes starting on page 712 through page 719.

Due Monday April 8th

To finish up WWI, skim and take brief notes starting on page 683 through 686, then take more thorough notes beginning with "Red Scare" through 687.

Next, using Chapter 24 and at least one outside scholarly reliable source, become an expert on your assigned topic. You must send me a minimum of one visually enriching slide to incorporate into a PowerPoint and be prepared to speak on your subject in front of the class.

Abbott: Henry Ford & the automobile
Alvino: The "New Woman- who was she?
Bashey: National Woman Suffrage Association, 19th Amendment
Feingold: National Woman's Party, Equal Rights Amendment
Ghiasuddin: Charles Lindbergh
Grieve: Movies, sports, dance, jazz
Lawrence: Marcus Garvey
Levenson: Harlem Renaissance
Loh: Sacco & Vanzetti, National Origins Act
Quarrier: Prohibition, 18th Amendment
Skinner: Fundamentalism, Darwinism & the Scopes Trial
O'Brien: KKK

Here are links to things we have discussed in class:
Joyeux Noel
Zimmerman Telegram
Wilson's 14 Points Plan

And our chart!

Due Friday April 5th

Please read and take notes picking up on page 673 through page 679. Be working on your recitations for Saturday!

Due Thursday April 4th

Please research and find a piece of propaganda from WWI. Print it out and bring it in, and be an expert on the meaning behind your visual.

• Who produced it? When and where?
• Who did it target? What is the message?
• What is the symbolism of the imagery?

In addition, in your Davidson textbook, please read and take notes starting on page 667 with "The Road to War" through page 673 stopping before "War and Society."

Due Upon Return from Spring Break

Work on those flash cards! Plenty of dates left and time to proves that you are a master of events of precise historical meaning.

In addition, check out your final recitation for the year: In Flanders Fields (due Saturday by lunch).

For Wednesday, April 3rd, I recommend that you do a little review before we get right into WWI. In your AMSCO AP prep book (stars and stripes on the cover), please read starting on page 430 with "Political Reform in the Nation" through the top of 436. Take a few notes- this will help you brush up on Roosevelt, Taft & Wilson.

Finally, check out this PBS article "Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal" (you don't need to print it out, but do read closely as we will discuss). Think back to what you learned about the Teller & Platt amendments, and the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. How might your characterize American diplomacy during this era?

Fun fact: How the Bull Moose Party got its name.

Due Friday March 8th

Study for your quest! Reminder that study guides were emailed to you Monday.

Due Thursday March 7th

Please read and take notes picking up on page 650 through page 658.

Actively read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle excerpt.

*Hang on to those docs you got in class today, we will work with them in class.

Due Wednesday March 6th

Please read and take notes starting on page 641 to page 649.

In addition, actively read the Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois documents that you will receive via email attachment. We will be debating in class. The teams are:

Team Washington: Grieve, Ghiasuddin, O'Brien, Quarrier, Lawrence and Skinner.

Team DuBois: Alvino, Bashey, Abbott, Levenson, Feingold and Loh.

Remember, you should actively read both documents so as to prepare yourself for the opposing side's arguments.

Due Monday March 4th

Please finish your Roosevelt Corollary worksheets, and actively read your double-sided Teller/Platt Amendment handout.

In addition, please read and take notes starting on page 633 through page 641 stopping before "Controlling the Masses."

Due Friday March 2nd

Revise your DBQ outlines to submit at the start of class.

In addition, read the hand out on the Spanish-American War!

Due Thursday Feb. 28th

Since you enjoyed it so much, here is the 2 Cow Philosophy of Government.

Notes on the year 1950 from your dates quiz:

For homework, please read and take notes pp. 580-583. In addition, complete your DBQ outlines to be handed in.

Due Wednesday Feb. 27th

Please read and take notes starting on page 569 through the top of page 580.

Actively read "20 Years at Hull House" by Jane Addams, which I will send to you as a PDF via email.

Due Monday Feb. 25th

Please complete reading Chapter 19 picking up on page 558 through page 565.

Next, please print out and actively read Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth.

And if you're feeling extra responsible, you can start working on your DBQs, handed out to you in class. Remember, our objective for this DBQ is to create an outstanding thesis statement, and to frame an outline:

I. Intro
   A. Thesis Statement:
II. First Body Paragraph
   A. Topic Sentence
       1. Make your point
       2. Use of document to support point
           a. Support point with outside information
...and so on!
V. Conclusion
   A. Restate thesis in a new manner.
   B. Sum up points of essay.

For those of you who want to learn more about John D. Rockefeller and horizontal combination beyond what we learned today, check it out:

Watch The Rockefellers on PBS. See more from American Experience.

Due Friday Feb. 22nd

Pick up on page 554 and read/take notes through page 558 stopping before "Children, Women and African Americans."

Due Thursday Feb. 21st

Please read and take notes starting on page 547 through page 554 stopping before "Corporate Critics."

Notes from today:

Due Wednesday Feb. 20th

Read and take notes starting on page 539 through page 547. Please learn about Bessemer, Edison & Eastman, Morse & Bell and "Robber Barons".

Notes from today:

Due Monday Feb. 18th

Please read and take notes starting on page 509 with "Indian Peoples and the Western Environment" through the end of the chapter on page 529.

Try to read and absorb as much as possible about Native American life and their struggle with white expansion and the US Army, and then mining and railroad construction, from pg. 509 to 522. While reading pp. 522-29, focus mostly on Boomers/Sooners, the Homestead Act, Boomtowns (like Denver), and the "Wild West."

Enjoy the long weekend!

Due Friday Feb. 15th

Study for your Civil War/Reconstruction assessment! Remember that it will take the form of an AP test style free-response essay. There will be 2 questions to choose from and you will select one.

To prepare, read the "Free Response" handout given to you today in class, and review the questions created by yours peers. It is likely that the questions will be an amalgamation of them.

Content-wise, review Civil War Days I-IV and Reconstruction Days I & II.

From the College Board website (don't be put off by the fancy language!):

Section II: Free Response — 3 questions; 1 hour and 55 minutes plus a mandatory 15 minute reading period

The free-response section covers the period from the first European explorations of the Americas to 1980.

• Part A: 1 Document Based Question (DBQ); 45 minutes
  • This section tests your ability to analyze and synthesize historical data and assess verbal, quantitative, or pictorial materials as historical evidence.
  • You will assess the value of a variety of documents and relate them to a historical period or theme to demonstrate knowledge of major periods and issues.
  • Documents will vary in length and format and may include charts, graphs, cartoons, and pictures, as well as written materials.
• Parts B: 2 Standard Essay Questions; 70 minutes
• The standard essay questions may require you to relate developments in different areas (e.g., the political implications of an economic issue); analyze common themes in different time periods (e.g., the concept of national interest in United States foreign policy); or compare individual or group experiences that reflect socioeconomic, ethnic, racial, or gender differences (e.g., social mobility and cultural pluralism).

Essays will be graded on the strength of the thesis developed, the quality of the historical argument, and the evidence used to support your argument, rather than on the factual information per se.

In the free response section, Part A is worth 45% and Parts B is worth 55% of your free response score.

Due Wednesday Feb. 13th

Actively read the "Murder at the Theater" handout you received in class.

Generate 3 thoughtful, thematic questions that pertain to material on the Civil War that you would like to see on your assessment (probably Friday morning!). Post them to the blog- make sure they are different that the ones posted before you.

Due Monday Feb. 11th

Revisit the Gettysburg Address and identify three recurrent themes. Clearly write the themes that you identify out on the paper, then assign them a corresponding letter. Match the appropriate letter to the section of the speech that includes that theme.

Next, in a written response published to this post, answer the following (pgh each):
1. What was the context for the Emancipation Proclamation--when did Lincoln write it, what was its purpose, what was its delivery like, and what did it accomplish, if anything?
2. What was the context for the Gettysburg Address--when did Lincoln write it, what was its purpose, what was its delivery like, and how was it received by the American public?

Finally, work on your recitation, to be completed by the end of lunch on Monday.

Due Thursday Feb. 7th

Print out the Emancipation Proclamation & Gettysburg Address and actively read both documents.

For Monday:

Gettysburg Address by s_w_rahilly

Due Wednesday Feb. 6th

Please complete the map handed out to you in class, following the directions on the front side.

*Be studying your flashcards!

Due Monday Feb. 4th

1. Please answer the 2 questions on your "A House Divided" sheet. Use the comment function on this post, but make sure you copy your writing before hitting "publish," as you don't want to lose it if something goes wrong.*

2. Go through Chapter 16 and look at all the pictures and maps, making sure to read the captions.

*You received an extension on your recitation. Be prepared to deliver "A House Divided" by the conclusion of class on Monday.

First Week Back!

It's almost time to start spending quality time together again! Don't lie, you miss it...

Here's a look at what you have coming down the line, for those of you who like planning ahead. I am operating under the assumption that we will meet for the first time on Wednesday January 30th. Adjust accordingly if I have that wrong!

Remember to be studying your flash cards. I know that you don't have your last installment so don't worry about that.

For Wednesday, please read and take notes starting with "Escape from Crisis" on page 398 through page 402.

For Thursday, please read and take notes starting with "The Political Realignment of the 1850s"on page 414 through page 421 stopping before "The Lincoln-Douglas Debates."

Actively read the entirety of Abraham Lincoln's "A House Divided" (sheet handed out in class). Prepare your thoughts on the two questions featured at the conclusion of the document for class discussion.

For Friday
Read and take notes picking up on page 421 through page 427 stopping before "The Roots of a Divided Society."

For Saturday by noon, complete your recitation by the end of lunch!

A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.  -Lincoln, 1858