Who Will Prevail?

This week you had the opportunity to practice your habits of mind as you worked in your battle groups (periods 7 and 8). In order to put together an effective presentation you had to communicate, negotiate, and organize. In addition, each of you had a critical role to play in gathering information for your presentation. Did you think and act like historians? Did you use multiple sources? Did you look for primary source material? Did you ask questions? Did you try to understand the battle from multiple perspectives? And finally, when it came time to present were you ready to explain the battle using your own words and insights?

Next week, we will finish making the presentations, write a reflective evaluation and then take the quiz. What questions would you ask if you were writing the quiz? While your text has basic information, I have provided you with additional links for each of the presentations: Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Trenton, Valley Forge, and Yorktown.

In addition to the facts and significance of the battles, please take a moment and look at the artists’ renditions of these moments in history. Just as the photos we see from Iraq evoke a strong emotional response, the great paintings of the Revolution captured the spirit and challenges of the times. Today, David R. Wagner, a painter from Connecticut is working on an ambitious project depicting the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary War Route (have you seen the markers along West Main Road?). Some of the paintings were on display at the Colony House and I had the good fortune of meeting him at the Naval War College celebration of the French landing in Newport July 11, 1778 (see blog of July 9, 2005)

Current Events:

Every day 3 you are responsible for bringing in a national or international news article with your summary and comments. This is an opportunity for you to earn extra points as you can earn a 4 if you exceed the standard. Students with the highest grades at the end of the quarter are usually the students who brought in the current event assignment every day 3 and earned the extra credit. You have a rubric that clearly outlines what you need to do to exceed the standard. Common mistakes include selecting an inappropriate article such as a local story or a news brief, copying phrases from the article into the summary and not making a link to another historical event or saying why you selected the article. Since you know the assignment is due every day 3, you have ample opportunity to find a substantive article that is interesting to you.

Interterm Grades

It is that time again when interterm grades are due. We will update the portfolios this week. If you are working on revisions, they are due the next class period. Keep in mind, that extra help is available every Monday after school in room 246.

Coming Attractions:

We will conclude the study of The American Revolution by reading two articles about two groups who contributed to the success of the Revolution but get minimal coverage in our text, women and African Americans. We will then look at the Treaty of Paris and its provisions. Our final assessment will be given out next week and some class time will be dedicated to working on your response.

Period 7 dialogues from "John Adams' are due December 20 and 21.