A Time to Shine!

Thursday, May 4 is your time to shine before family, friends, and our guest judges. You have had over three weeks to prepare your project. You were able to select your own partner and your topic. You have your rubric and support materials. On Thursday you will be the expert on your topic! You should take this weekend to put the finishing touches on your board and to practice your presentation. I know that you will think and act as historians for our guests and display cool confidence as you make your presentation.

Below you will find responses to frequently asked questions. If you are still uncertain about a part of the project check with your partner, call a friend, post a question on the blog or you may email me. I will not be in school on Monday as I will be attending a training session on lessons that help students think and act as historians. I will be available before school on Tuesday and Wednesday as well as after school on Wednesday.

FAQs

1. Does the journal have to be in the bluebook?

While the blue book and folder were given to you at the start of the project as a way to keep organized, you may hand in your journal and work plan on notebook paper. The importance of the journal is to show the work, planning, and decisions you and your partner made over the past three weeks. While journal entries do not have to be lengthy, they should show evidence of decision making. It is also helpful to date each entry.

2. Should the higher level question and response go on the board?

Yes. Your rubric states the higher level question and response need to be on the board. Your judges will most likely ask you to explain your higher level question and response. You have the Bloom’s List of questioning so make sure you select one of the higher level applications for your topic. You should also make sure that you have referenced a contemporary event or issue that is related to your topic. You can prepare a separate paragraph on this requirement or weave it into your response. If you are having difficulty making connection, talk with family or friends. Remember two heads are better than one.

3. Where can I find primary source material?

Mr. Fontaine’s power point presentation is located in the Civil War Fair 2006 folder under Teacher Pubs. You can also check out the Library of Congress or the GilderLehrman sites. There are also ample sources at the public library. If you need help, ask the reference librarian for assistance.

4. How can I make sure my board has visual appeal?

Make sure to sketch out a plan before gluing anything to the board. Lay out your items and arrange them until you feel it is attractive and easy to read. Ask a family member or friend to look at your layout before making the final decisions. Visuals should not be pasted directly on the white board as they look washed out. Using colored paper as a “frame” makes the items more attractive. Make sure to have a consistent set of lettering. Make sure your title question is large, easy to read and centered on the board. Each item should have a caption. Last but not least, make sure everything that goes on the board is your work. Do not be tempted to cut and paste text off the internet! If you are using quotes or primary sources, make sure you have given credit.

5. How can I be more confident when I make my presentation?

Practice, practice, and then practice again! You should outline the key points you want to make with our guests and then divide the presentation so each partner has about the same amount of material. You don’t have to tell everything you know about your topic as you want to keep your remarks to about 3-5 minutes. Your guests will want time to ask questions. Make sure to use note cards to help guide your comments. Do not read the cards but use them as reminders. Most effective public speakers use notes so you should as well.

Make sure that you are appropriately attired for the event. You are making a professional presentation so you need to dress for the occasion. This is very much like a college or job interview so you want to make a good impression.

Thank You

A special thank you to SH for inviting Private Ryan to MHS. His spirit and interest in the Civil War were inspirational.

Making a List and Checking it Twice

Your Civil War Project is an opportunity for you to practice many skills one of which is project management. Your exhibit includes many components and you and your partner need to have an effective work plan in place in order to reach your goal. I know that I find a check list handy as I work my way through a complex task. Below you will find a preview of the list you will receive after your break. We will review the final steps of the project the week of April 24 so you will be ready to present on May 4. I know you are going to do a great job and I am looking forward to seeing your presentation!

Spring Break:

This is a perfect time to sleep late, read a fun book, watch a movie, go for a run, take a day trip, and relax. Enjoy your time off and stay safe.


Civil War Check List

Journals: Have I maintained an accurate and complete journal? Have I worked with my partner to devise an effective work plan?

Questions: Do we have a list of questions that reflect the first three levels of Bloom’s? Can I show the judges how we applied the higher level thinking skills with our topic? Can I link my topic to a contemporary issue or event? Do we have an over arching question for the display board?

Resources: Did we use four out of the seven categories of sources? Can we clearly identify the primary source materials we used to complete the project?

Visuals: Have we selected a variety of visuals that will help tell the story of our topic? Did we add captions to each display item? Do we have appropriate footnotes?

3-D Item: Have we selected an item that adds meaning to our presentation? Did we try to exceed the standard by making our own item?

Standards/Habits of Mind: Have we gone over the content and applied learning standards we are meeting? Can we identify and explain the habits of mind we used? Did we fill out the form explaining how our project helped us meet our mission statement goals?

Display: Did we construct an attractive display board? Even though two people put the board together, does the display appear seamless?

Letter of Invitation: Did we deliver our letters of invitation?

Presentation: Have we written out note cards? Have we practiced the presentation? Are we confident and excited about our project?

Day of the Event: Are we on time? Do we have all of the display? Are we dressed appropriately? Are we excited and proud of our project?

Time for a Laugh

Thought you would enjoy seeing how Disney interpreted the "Crossing of the Delaware"

The Tipping Point

You have performed a balancing act this week as you looked at events leading up to the Civil War for homework while working on your project during class time. You are multi-tasking!

Was the Civil War inevitable? Was the division so great between the North and the South that war was the only way to resolve the differences? What event tipped the balance in favor of open warfare: bleeding Kansas, the beating of Senator Sumner, John Brown’s Raid, the Dred Scott decision, or was it the election of Lincoln? Historians continue to debate these issues. This week the period 6 class will be acting out these key events as we move towards the first battle of the War, the firing on Fort Sumter.

In today’s New York Times (April 9), columnist William Safire has a column exploring the meaning of the term “civil war.” He focuses on the many terms that politicians are using to describe the violence in Iraq and speculates that a proper name for the conflict will only come after it is over.

Civil War Project:

This past week you selected your topic and partner and have begun thinking and acting like historians. Make sure to use your blue book journals to track your progress and decisions. It is also a good idea to list the resources you are finding helpful as you will need to produce an annotated bibliography as part of your final product. We have one more day in the library this week when Mr. Fontaine will introduce you to ways you can access primary source material and scholarly publications. Finally, make sure you and your partner establish a work plan, that is, who will be responsible for what information and when you will meet to put your board together. The presentations will be due the first week in May.

Ten Days that Shaped America

The History Channel is featuring a series of 10 documentaries on turning points in history. The special series starts tonight and runs through Thursday. Two different events will be featured each evening starting at 9:00 pm. The USA Weekend Magazine, which is part of the Sunday Providence Journal, featured an article on the series. Tonight’s episode starts with The Battle of Antietam.

A Time to Reflect

We have just completed a very busy third quarter. This quarter we focused on developing critical thinking skills, looking at multiple perspectives and reflecting on key historical events and people. You can see that history is not a fixed, static list of events, dates and people. It is a dynamic study of events in the past that hopefully give us insight into the problems and issues of today. One of our recent current events was an article comparing the censure of President Jackson and the effort to censure President Bush. We are now looking at the tensions that contributed to our Civil War while keeping an eye on the events in Iraq that may point to the same. History offers us lessons and insights for today.

Fourth Quarter Plans

In addition to reflecting on skills and content, this is the time to think more deeply about what you have accomplished and to plan for the final quarter. We will start off the quarter with several weeks of work on your Civil War project. This project gives you the opportunity to apply all of your best historical thinking. You will also practice project management as you juggle the demands of the assignment, working with a partner, and knowing you have a deadline. This is also a fun project as you get to make most of the decisions on the topic and how you will present your findings. We will also have outside guests that are anxious to hear about your project.

Report Cards

Congratulations to all who met or exceeded the standard during the 3rd. quarter. For those of you who struggled, take the time to look at your assignment sheet and identify weak points. Keep in mind that there are several safety net tools you can use to be successful. The agenda is written on the board as a way for you to keep track of assignments and homework, before and after school help is available most days, your status of assignment sheet and folder allow you to track and monitor your work and finally you have the blog as a way to review and to extend your understanding.

A Best Seller

This week we started watching “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” a video based on the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” first appeared in 1851 in a serial format in an abolitionist publication. In 1852 it was published as a book and became an immediate best seller. While viewing the movie, take note of how the different families and family members treated Tom. You should also compare the plantation life style with life in the north on a small farm or life in a manufacturing town. One of our text books asks if the United States in the 1850s had developed into “Two Nations?” This movie gives us some insight into that question.

If you want to review the story line I have provided you with a link and for a more historical understanding of the popularity of the story I have provided a link to the Library of Congress site that contains posters advertising “Uncle Tom.”