OCTOBER

READING.

Weekly Reading 

For the month of OCTOBER, here is a list of the weekly reading, in case you lost those handed out in class:

• 10/5 - George Washington's Farewell Address
• 10/12 - Marbury -v-Madison--John Marshall's Opinion
• 10/19 - The Louisiana Purchase - Jefferson's Position
• 10/26 - NO READING - DEBATE PREPARATION

WEEKLY PRESENTATIONS.

Weekly Presentations began last month - for October, the following folks will be presenting (not necessarily in the order shown):

October 6th

• Aris - Women's Roles in Colonial America
• Elyse - Maryland Toleration Act of 1649
• Hannah - Pennsylvania's Frame of Government
• Romy - Salutary Neglect

October 13th

• Piper - The Coercive Acts
• Joel - France's Role in the American Revolution
• Josh - Mount Vernon Compact/Annapolis Convention
• Alyssa - The French and Indian War

October 20th

• Justin - The Northwest Ordinances
• Shay - The Judiciary Act of 1789
• Cami - The Anti-Federalist Papers
• Mia - Shay's Rebellion

October 27th

• Joe - Alien & Sedition Acts of John Adams
• Paige - Zebulon Pike
• Nathan - The Embargo Act of 1807
• Trevor - The War of 1812

DEBATE.

Quarterly Debate 

You and a team of debaters will be preparing for an argument on a related topic each quarter. You will be expected to participate and engage - and hopefully learn something unique about your nation's history...

This month's debate topic:

RESOLVED: America should return to a Confederation system where the states have more power than a centralized government system.

FIRST QUARTERLY DEBATE - Thursday, November 3rd

QUARTERLY TEST. 

REMEMBER you will have a test each Quarter over the SNAPSHOT dates, any material provided in class to that point, and details from Weekly Presentations.
Keep taking notes - we will review beforehand...

FIRST QUARTERLY TEST - Tuesday, November 1st

"Tomorrow will be better for as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life."

Walt Disney

America.

A nation that often forgets its blessings.

A people that need to often be reminded.

That's what this class will do - remind you, in a generic overview, of the blessings you have; not just given freely, but fought and bled for by those greater than us.

In this class we will go back and look again - before you run off to college, you will be asked to confirm your memory to events, people, situations and perspectives that have made our nation the greatest in the history of mankind.

ASSIGNMENTS.

Weekly Reading 

You will be provided a one page reading assignment each week that will correspond with a weekly discussion/activity/debate. You will be given 5 questions over each reading and will be expected to have your answers ready to present each Wednesday (they will be graded on the same day and turned in each Wednesday). Randomly, students will be chosen to provide their answers - so come prepared.

SNAPSHOT quizzes/tests

You will be asked to remember crucial dates throughout our history - 5 dates each week (quizzed each week, comprehensively - so by the end of the year you should have tucked away in your brain 120 dates/events of your nation).
At the end of each quarter, there will be a SNAPSHOT Test, which will also include questions from weekly presentations.

The SNAPSHOT list can be found here, in case you lost yours.

Quarterly Mini Presentations 

You will be required to present a 10 minute (no less than 9 minutes, no greater than 11 minutes) presentation each of the first three quarters. The topics will be assigned - however if you have a particular topic you wish to explore, and it fits within the timeframe we are reviewing, let Mr. Johnson know and that is permitted. On Thursdays, four students will be presenting their research.

YES you will be required to know the content if you are not presenting (in other words - take notes); weekly quizzes and quarterly tests will have questions from the presentations!

The rubric can be found here, in case you lost yours.

Quarterly Debates
You and your team will be debating on topics related to the time period we will be reviewing (and which also pertain to modern times as well). More details on this assignment will be forthcoming, but get ready to debate, discuss, argue and use logic.
The rubric for the debate can be found here.

Mini-Dissertation 

This is the BIG one. This assignment will take you the entire year to complete and is worth a whopping 1000 points (total) - and I hope it will give you not only deeper insight on the American history topic of your choice, a better understanding on research skills, but also a portfolio piece to help you enroll in college.

We will explain this in greater detail in class, but in case you lost your rubric, it can be found here.


READING.

Weekly Reading 

For the month of SEPTEMBER, here is a list of the weekly reading, in case you lost those handed out in class:

• 9/14 - John  Locke's EXCERPTS
• 9/21 - James Otis and Writs of Assistance
• 9/28 - Patrick Henry and AntiFederalism
• 10/4 - George Washington's Farewell Address