Sitting out this school year

At first I was planning to take off a semester to stay home and take care of my son, Jonah. Things have been going really well here at home, although I do miss teaching a lot. During one the most important elections in US history and I'm not teaching?!? Oh, well. It's certainly worth it to be home.

I'll be returning for the 2009-2010 school year.

In the meantime you can check out this civics quiz. I'm a little skeptical of some of the questions and their correct gauging of civics, and some of their conclusions about the data are rather dubious, but if you've had me for a year you should do fairly well since most of the questions are on the Constitution and last 100 years of US history. Enjoy

8th Grade Graduation

Graduation went well this past Saturday and the 8th Graders are now finished. Good luck!

The Great Debate 2008

As our last major activity we also practiced debating. This was my first time trying this in class and I think that it wend very well. Here are some pictures of ace debtors (some more shy than others).

End of the Year

It's been a great year. We started with America in 1900 and traveled all the way to 2008. We also took the state required US & Illinois Constitution tests.

Debate WebQuest & 50 States Geography

Debate

First research "agree" or "disagree" debate points if you need to.

Next, decide on who you’re going to write to and find their name, address, and email.

Then write your rough draft of your postcard on your worksheet. Rough drafts are due next class.

50 States Geo

On your computer, Click on Start > All Programs > Map Games > US Map Puzzle and use the timed version and see how you do.

Or online, you can also try this resource for learning and testing but this one is my favorite.

United States & Illinois Constitution Test Completed!

We're that much closer to graduation. We're now moving onto state geography, current events, and debate.

Illinois Constitution Flashcards

are hosted at flashcardexchange.com
Click here, page down and click on study.
The test is Wednesday & Thursday next week.
Good luck!

Jonah Visits

Today my son, Jonah, visited the school.

He must really love history.

WebQuests: Illinois Constitution & More

First
Fill out the State of Illinois positions on page 73.
For the executive branch, go here.
For the legeslative branch, go here. Your senate district is 39, and your representative district is 77.

Second
Test your state knowledge.
On your computer, Click on Start > All Programs > Map Games > US Map Puzzle and use the timed version and see how you do.
Or online, you can also try this resource for learning and testing but this one is my favorite.

Finally, if you have time
Remember Kiva.org? Check out how are loans are doing by clicking here, here, and here.

Go to FreeRice.com and test your vocabulary and give food aid.

U.S. Constitution Flashcards

are hosted at flashcardexchange.com
Click here, page down and click on study.
The test is this Friday & Monday.
Good luck!

P.S. Don't study like Louis:

50s & 60s Day Photos

I know that it's been a while since 50s & 60s Day but I wanted to share some pictures of the day. Once again it was a great success. We all had fun and honed our knowledge of the decades.

Vietnam Test Review Questions

Date of Test:
Moved to 2/26 & 2/27

The test will be multiple choice and short answer.

Short Answer
Which three present day countries made up French Indochina?
What was the U.S. trying to do when it entered the war in Vietnam?
Who was the communist leader of North Vietnam?
South Vietnamese Communist who were opponents of the southern government were called
N O G E T V I C (unscramble the letters).
How did the north supply the south?
What event was the turning point in the war in the minds of many Americans?
Even though the U.S. had superior technology and weapons, we found it difficult to succeed in Vietnam because the Viet Cong used what?
The low morale and frustration among American soldiers in Vietnam led to the massacre of over 300 apparently unarmed civilians (including women, children, and the elderly) in the _____ ______ Massacre.
Nixon’s plan for gradually withdrawing U.S. troops and having the South Vietnamese do the fighting was called what?
Which amendment to the Constitution lowered the voting age? Why was it lowered? How old do you now have to be to vote?


Who/What
Agent Orange
Doves
Escalation
Guerrilla warfare
Hawks
Ho Chi Minh
Napalm
Search & Destroy
Tet offensive
William Westmoreland

Points of View (p.834 table that’s in your notebook)
What were three reasons for involvement in the Vietnam War?
1.
2.
3.

What were three reasons against involvement in the Vietnam War?
1.
2.
3.

Plus:
Map Questions (see map and worksheet)

Political cartoons (see notebook check sheet & class activity)
Iraq connections (see Venn diagram in notebook)

Elelction '08 WebQuest

Super Tuesday is over but the Primary certainly isn't.
Check out these sites to find out more.
First, go to the ChannelOne website to view their list of all things election. ChannelOne OneVote 2008 Page.
Next, go to the excellent CNN Election Center to look at the current election statistics. CNN Election Center. There's a ton of information and statistic here so don't get overwhelmed. Click on whatever looks interesting, especially maps and graphs, but don't stray off the site.
After using the internet and possiblly watching a video, these are the questions that we're going to answer in our notebooks:

Post Super Tuesday Questions

1. Who was the winner among the Democrats? How do you know?

2. Who was the winner among the Republicans? How do you know?

3. Who do you predict will be the Democrat nominee for the US? For the school?

4. Who do you predict will be the Republican nominee for the US? For the school?

Also, keep a look out for our second, Super Tuesday, primary vote statistics.

Election '08: Our straw poll & survey

With the primary in full swing, we took a survey online as a class to determine which candidate best represented us. The results were interesting. While we didn't have very strong matches in some classes, and we polled results so not everyone agreed, here are the results:
1A John Edwards with a 51% match (not doing too well, but still in the race)
4A Chris Dodd with 53% match (out of the race)
5A Bill Richardson with 40% match (out of the race, a little early in my opinion)
1B Obama & Clinton (tie) with 33% (they're pretty identical policy-wise)
4B Mitt Romney with 34%
5B Romney with 46%
Interesting results. While there weren't many strong matches, classes tended Democratic which surprised me.

Straw Poll Results
The outcome of our straw poll was not that surprising. Obama came out first among Democrats and overall, while Giuliani was first among Republicans and second overall (we voted for Democrats and Republicans, unlike regular voters).