12/18/13

We used today's class to draft our essays.  Students followed the directions on their DAR essay packet.

Tomorrow we will edit our papers, and work on the final drafts. 

Essays will be due on Friday.

Homework is to finish rough drafts by Thursday (600-1000 words). 

12/17/13

Today was the second work-day for the essay contest.  Students finished their planning, taking notes onto the Google document they created yesterday. See Monday's blog for instructions on planning.

Next, students began writing their essays.  Fist, they wrote title pages, following the instructions on the sheet they received yesterday.  Then, students began writing their essays, following the instructions they received yesterday.

For homework, all students need to finish their planning of their essay for the DAR contest, their title page, and be ready to begin writing tomorrow. 

12/16/13

This week students are working on an essay contest sponsored by the Daughter's of the American Revolution.

The essay prompt is:

Pretend you are a boy or a girl during the colonial fight for freedom.  Using historical facts, discuss how the war is affecting your life.  The war dramatically changed the lives of children during the Revolution.  Some actually followed their fathers into battle; others stayed home and assumed new responsibilities that were necessary for their families' survival.  Imagine yourself in the place of such a child taking on important and often adult responsibilities.  Describe some of the changes that are taking place in your life and that of your family as you face this new situation  You may portray either a historical child or a fictional child living in the era of the American Revolution.  

At the beginning of class I gave students instructions.  Today, students collected information to use in their writing.  On the instruction sheet, look at the instructions on the front of the sheet.

DAR Essay Instruction Sheet

Students had the rest of class to work on planning for this assignment.

There is no homework, unless you missed class.  If you missed class, please review the essay instructions and begin planning your essay.

D.A.R. Essay Contest- Resources

Online Resources:

Library Thinkquest

Colonial Williamsburg

Kidinfo.com

Document all sources using:

Easy Bib

12/13/13

Test today. No homework this weekend.

If you did not take the test today, please be prepared to take it on Monday.

12/12/13

We began class today with a non-graded quiz to find a team representative for the geography bee.  Students were able to earn bonus points on their test with this quiz.

Next, I gave students a list of events relating to the Articles of Confederation.  They organized these events onto a Venn diagram, and we discussed as a class.

I gave students the end of class to study for tomorrow's test and ask me any questions they had about test.

Homework is to use the study guide to study for tomorrow's test.

12/11/13

We began class with a quick video on the "Turtle" submarine.  As students watched the video I collected their timeline projects.

Next, we had a "take-a-stand" discussion about Betsy Ross.

At the end of class we switched gears and began looking at the Articles of Confederation.  I gave a short lecture (PowerPoint slides 1-5) on the Articles of Confederation.  Students took notes onto their fill-in-the-blank note sheets.

Articles of Confederation Notes

A.O.C. Note Sheet

Homework:  Use your study guide to study for Friday's test.  See Monday's blog for copies of the study guide.  Use old blog postings for textbook readings.