A Time for Change

Writing is hard work! Most people struggle putting their thoughts on paper…remember Thomas Jefferson and the numerous drafts he went through as he wrote the Declaration! You have a challenging task as you grapple with your understanding of Constitutional rights for high school students and how to persuade your readers that the position you adopt (your thesis statement) is correct. You have had ample opportunity to research the rulings and resulting limits on freedom of expression in high schools. Do not get bogged down with this information but use it to support your point of view. Keep in mind your essay must also consider the other point of view. Congratulations to those who had their research signed off on time! Research rubrics should be signed off by Monday. The draft essay is due on April 11 or 12, depending which day your class meets. Do not wait to the last minute, as the sooner I have the draft, the more time you will have to revise it, as the rubric requires. I want to read every essay carefully to provide you constructive feedback. You have an outline that you may use to help you construct the essay. Finally, you must have your paper word processed and in MLA format. Take a minute to review what that means by consulting the OWL web site or reviewing the handouts you received in English.

Reform Movements

This week we also began reading about the numerous reform movements that arose in the early 1800s: temperance, education, women’s rights and the effort to end slavery (abolition). In Saturday’s Newport Daily News there was an article about the slave trade in Rhode Island, as Brown University has a new exhibit featuring primary source documents that show the history of the trade by the Brown brothers. Moses Brown eventually became an abolitionist. For movie buffs, you may enjoy seeing “Amazing Grace,” a film about the efforts to end the slave trade in England, headed by William Wilberforce and opposed by Lord Tarleton, who defended the rights of the shippers. It has an all star cast and a great sound track complete with bagpipes playing the title song.

This coming week we are going to take a closer look at the women’s reform movement and you will have time in the library to research a woman from the 1800s who made a significant contribution to society. We will take it a step further by looking at contemporary women and their unique contributions. We have already talked about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Hillary Clinton and how they will go down in our history books as “firsts.” As good historians we want to look at a variety of resources to get a better picture of the past, as our text is only one point of view. You may have noticed that the text is dominated by political and military history and as such focuses on the accomplishments of men. One reviewer of text books estimated that only 3% of most American history text books talk about the contributions of women and minorities. Howard Zinn, a noted historian who writes about the silent people of history, will be speaking at Salve University on April 18. This is a great opportunity to hear from a professional historian who has made major contribution towards our understanding of our past. You can find more information on his presentation by going to this link.

Let’s have a laugh

On day 3 your current event must be an editorial cartoon from a newspaper or news magazine. In order to get a wide variety of cartoons, please do not use the Providence Journal or Newport Daily News. Cartoons can be found on news web sites and special sites devoted to cartoons. Once you have selected a cartoon that you have found amusing, use our cartoon analysis guide to help you write your two paragraph summary. What persuasive techniques did the cartoonists use: symbolism, exaggeration, labeling, analogy or irony? I have included a link to the Library of Congress web site that gives you additional guidance.

Three Down and One to Go

We have just finished the third quarter. Keeping your work folder up to date and maintaining your status of assignment sheet allows you to monitor your own work. There should be no surprises as you know your grade on a daily basis. Staying organized is a challenge for all of us but you have many support systems in place to help you: a class folder, a status of assignment sheet, a blog and time before or after school to get extra help. This is all part of the process of learning how to learn.

Good-bye John and Abigail; hello Matt!

A reminder to period 7, you will have your final assessment on the last two chapters of “John Adams” on Monday. You have an outline of what you need to know. As you turn in the book on Monday you should take great satisfaction in completing this lengthy Pulitzer Prize winning book. The book was on the best seller list for many weeks and has sold over a million copies. You may now want to read “1776” by McCullough or try his first prize winning book, “Truman.”

Matt Sheeley, a reporter for the Newport Daily News, is scheduled to visit our period 7 class on Monday. He wants to observe first-hand how you think and act like historians!