So what really happened?

So what really happened March 5, 1770? Sam Adams named the event the Boston Massacre but was it a massacre? Did the British soldiers fire randomly into the crowd or were they provoked? Was Crispus Attucks the first to fall? We asked ourselves these and other questions as we read through multiple sources in an effort to try to understand the significance of an event that appears in every American history text. In your reflections, one student remarked that we should also have read an account by Captain Prescott, the leader of the British soldiers. Definitely, so check out the link. Another student brought in John Pufford’s rendition of the Boston Massacre, a great example of how artists see events from different perspectives.

This historical exercise shows you the necessity to look at multiple sources and perspectives and to ask the hard questions about events. Don’t believe everything you read in your text!

This exercise also gave us the opportunity to practice the habits of mind. Working in your group, you communicated, discussed, reflected, and persisted as you grappled with the guiding questions. “A habit of mind is knowing how to behave intelligently when you don’t know the answer.” (Costa and Kallick) We will be talking more about what you can do when you don’t know an answer over the next few weeks.

American Experience: John and Abigail

American Experience, on PBS, will be running a mini-series, “John and Abigail Adams,” starting in late January. American Experience has won numerous awards for their quality productions. This biography series will feature “a trio of formidable actors,” and award winning historians including David McCullough and Joseph Ellis. The couple’s story will be based on the more than 1,000 Adams letters that survive and are housed in the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston. So get your video tape or TiVo set to record what should be an insightful story of two remarkable people.

1621

While Thanksgiving Day has evolved into a day of family, friends, food, and football, I hope all of us take a moment to remember the hardy folks who arrived in New England in 1620 to create a new community. After a year of struggle, death, famine, and moments of doubt, they took the time to celebrate and to give thanks for survival as well as a bountiful harvest.

"Blows Must Decide"

This week you watched episode two of “Liberty.” This six part series on the American Revolution reenacts the tension and dilemmas the colonists and the British experienced in the 1770s. The series uses first rate actors, primary source readings and top scholars to bring this period into focus. Using the Liberty site, you can review the episode and extend your understanding of the period. “The Road to Revolution” interactive quiz is especially fun. Give it a try and let me know how you made out.

Extra credit question: What two scholars appeared on “Liberty” whom you met earlier on the blog?

Questions to ponder: Would you be willing to sign a document that could put your life in danger? What motivated well established colonists to sign the Declaration of Independence?

Newport Daily News Student Columns

Some of my favorite parts of the Newport Daily News are the student columns that appear in Saturday’s paper. I urge you to take the time to check out the column about the MHS volleyball team and then to read the article “Keep your life open to experience and remember, time flies.” The column is a friendly reminder that our daily actions and reactions have a major influence on the direction of our lives.


As part of our study of current events, we talked about an international figure who came to Salve Regina University in Newport, the Dalai Lama. Two of our MHS Wave staff reporters attended the event and will be writing about their experiences for the Daily News and the school paper. His message of non-violence, patience, and compassion was a powerful and inspiring challenge to all.

Coming Attractions

Next week we will once again act as historians as we look at the Boston Massacre using multiple primary and secondary sources. We will have to think about bias, reliability, accuracy, and intent as we sort through the accounts and try to come to an understanding of what happened that cold and snowy March evening in Boston.

A Word about Homework

The most important assignment is the one you give yourself. In addition to a teacher directed task, you have to ask yourself what you need to do to understand the material and to meet the standards and benchmarks. Do you need to spend more time taking active reading notes? Do you need to review the links on the blog? Do you need to talk about the topics? Do you need to design a graphic organizer or a list? This past week you had an announced “quiz” and that was an opportunity for you to measure your understanding of the events leading up to the Revolution. If you struggled with the quiz, you need to reflect on your study habits and design a corrective action plan.

Parent (Student) Teacher Conferences

Thank you to all who came by on Wednesday. One of the top predicators of success for students is family involvement. If your family was unable to make an appointment, please feel free to contact me so we can arrange another time.

Tensions Mount

This week we lived through the major events leading up to the American Revolution. Your historical dialogues allowed you to empathize both with the British government, which desperately needed money to finance the French and Indian War debt, and with the colonists, who were frustrated with what they saw as restraints on their rights as British citizens. Tensions mounted as taxes were imposed and boycotts conducted. Each side felt its actions were right and justified.

British troops arrived in Boston to impose order but the sight of the brightly uniformed soldiers infuriated the colonists. The colonists had been taunting the soldiers for months and in March 1770 the tension erupted in gun fire. The soldiers fired into the snow ball throwing crowd and killed five colonists. Sam Adams, one of the best organizers of the Revolution, quickly labeled this event the Boston Massacre. Paul Revere’s engraving of the event quickly spread throughout the other colonies, as evidence that British soldiers were sent to inflict harm on the colonists. More about this event next week when we read both primary and secondary sources on the Massacre and try to figure out what really happened!

While the events you portrayed in your dialogues happened in the past, the skills and techniques you used to understand multiple perspectives can still be used today. While you work on your current events assignment, ask yourself questions: is this the whole story? Is there another point of view I should be considering? Keep pushing for a fuller understanding of the event and its implications.

The Power of Ideas

Over the weekend you will be reading and thinking about the ideas that led to the Revolution. You will see Americans starting to read, think, and discuss the ideas that people were born with certain rights and that they should be able to rule themselves.

The best selling pamphlet in 1776 was “Common Sense” written by Thomas Paine. Using simple and direct language that all could understand, Paine argued that it was common sense that people did not need a King and that the colonies should break away from England. We will continue to look at these ideas as we read excerpts from “Common Sense” and as we explore these ideas as embodied in “The Declaration of Independence.”

John Adams

This is a friendly reminder that on November 14, Period 2 will be holding its first accountable talk activity focused on chapters 2 and 3 of John Adams. You need to come with an open ended question and/or a provocative comment that can be used to foster our text based discussion. You must have your John Adams text for the discussion to meet standard. I am looking forward to hearing your self-directed discussion.

Veteran’s Day

Please take a moment today to remember why November 11 is a national holiday. We should all pause to salute the many men and women who have served our country.

Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences

November 16 has been set aside as a time for parents, teachers, and students to meet. It is a great opportunity to review your progress and to plan what you want to accomplish during the school year.

Where in the World?

Can you identify the location where these two photos were taken?

Time for Reflection

This past week, acting as good historians, we spent time reflecting on earlier events. To reflect means to “realize after, or to think seriously” and that is mirrored in your timeline activity, your current events assignments, and your end of first quarter assignment sheet.

Events leading up to The American Revolution

You are designing a timeline with a partner on events leading up to the “start” of the American Revolution. This activity gives you the opportunity to look at events, debate with your partner on their significance, and to make a judgment as to which events are crucial to understanding why the colonists decided to wage war against the British Empire. This activity is due on Monday so plan ahead so you can start off the second quarter on the right foot.

Rosa and Sam

Rosa Parks was honored this week by thousands of mourners who filed by her casket as it lay in the Rotunda of the Capitol. This is the first time in history that a woman was so honored. We need to pause and reflect on her contributions and to ask how each of us will continue to add to her legacy of equal rights for all.

With the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, it is time to reflect on our Constitution and the role each of the branches plays in supporting and defending the oldest Constitution in the world. The Senate has begun the advice and consent process with the scheduling of hearings for January. We should be in the middle of our study of the Constitution just as the Senate begins this debate. Great timing!

One down and Three to Go

This past week the first quarter ended. Congratulations to all who met or exceeded the standard. You showed perseverance and completed your assigned tasks. Many of you went above and beyond and worked to receive extra credit on your current events assignments. A special congratulations to all of you who participated in class discussion, asked questions, and pushed all of our thinking beyond the text.

If you did not meet the standard first quarter, you have a new opportunity starting now. You need to reflect on what you did or did not do first quarter and then design a corrective action plan. What do you need to do differently so you can be successful second quarter? Do you need to take a more serious approach to class time? Do you need to be better organized, using your three hole punch notebook, folder, and agenda book? Do you need to use the blog as a review and a reminder? Do you need to be more diligent with your homework? It is up to you. If you need any further assistance, please come by and see me.

Signed status of assignment sheets are due Monday and are worth 3 points.

Planning 101

Planning is an important part of our lives and it is useful to review the steps to successful planning. I would urge you to check out Eye on Education. This site is devoted to helping students be better planners. As you will see, there is a special link for high school students.