Class Update: 10-25-12 and 10-26-12

Yesterday in class we had a quiz on the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. After the quiz we took notes on the final battles and the resolution of the Revolutionary War. Our notes included information on the battle of Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris. It was interesting to see that the Treaty of Paris included giving the Americans the land between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River when this was one of the reasons the revolution began. As Mr. Boyle said, "everything came full circle". Today in class we had our second "Quest" which included identifying ten of the thirteen colonies, writing two sentences about seven terms, and answering three short answer questions.

Timeline

Values in my Nation

Class Update: 10-24-12 and 10-23-12

Yesterday in class we went on a technological scavenger hunt! We split into five groups with each group having about 3 people and exactly one "device". Then we ran around the bottom floor of the school, scanning a total of ten QR codes that were scattered about. Each one described a battle of the Revolutionary War, and we had to write down the description of the battle and then decide which battle it was and what the date was. The first group to get all the battles, dates, and descriptions in the correct order won! Our team ended in third. Today we watched a VoiceThread that Mr. Boyle created which described 8 paintings by four artists. Each painting had something to do with the Revolutionary War, such as showing famous battles. WE heard about some very famous paintings such as the one depicting the meeting of delegates constructing the Declaration of Independence and the painting showing Washington crossing the Delaware. One thing I found interesting was how often the paintings were full of historical inaccuracies. I understand artistic license and that it may have been hard for them to know how things actually looked, but it really is a shame that the paintings are spreading false information to the people viewing them. 

Class Update: 10-18-12 and 10-19-12

On the 18th we had a substitute teacher. While Mr. Boyle was gone we read an essay by Thomas Paine which began with the lines "These are the times that try men's souls". We each had to write an essay on whether or not we believed that this sentence applied to modern times. I wrote that it does. I think that because of the tough economy and the wars overseas, many family's souls are being tired. Some are having trouble simply putting food on the table and others are seeing their loved ones killed in battle. Today in class we discussed our opinions after taking notes on the crossing of the Delaware and the battles in Princeton and New York City.

Class Update: 10-16-12 and 10-17-12

Yesterday in class we read the Declaration of Independence. Then, we were put into groups and each group was assigned a section of the Declaration. My group had the closing. The authors stated that they were now separate from Britain and gave themselves full right to act as their country and make all their decisions with the consent of the King. They closed by declaring that they would give everything (such as their fortunes and sacred honor) to make it work. They would rather put their lives on the line for treason and loose everything than break their promise to give the colonies liberty. The next day we were put into groups with people we were not with the day before. We each told each other about what we learned the yesterday. Then, as a class, we talked about what it means that each man signed the Declaration as opposed to the conspirators in Julius Caesar who simply gave each their word. We also discussed what it means to trust people- that to everyone trust is different and may be easier or harder to give out. I really don't blame the signers for wanting their promise in writing; they had a lot to loose if they weren't able to win the Revolution and I'm sure some of them would consider going back on what they said. But, this document was more than just about a promise. It was also showing King George III that they were serious and 56 highly respected men wished for independence and were willing to do whatever it takes. Also in class, we talked a little bit about the debate and how the government has changed and how we can still use our rights to change what we don't like.

Class Update: 10-12-12 and 10-15-12

On Friday we went into groups and each group had a different document pertaining to the revolution. My group had "The Plain Truth". It was written by James Chalmers, who was a loyalist. He wrote this 70 page pamphlet to convince other people that the colonies should not try to gain independence from Britain. He said that democracies and republics such as Rome and Greece would always come and go, and it was not a stable way to run a government. He thought we would not be able to find a better way to run the colonies than what Britain was already doing. This was written in response to a pamphlet called "Common Sense" which came before. It was written by Thomas Paine, who was a patriot. Paine explained that it was time for the colonies to distance themselves from Britain. The next document we talked about was the Olive Branch Petition. This was a letter written by the Second Continental Congress to the King. It was in hopes that they could find a way to solve their differences without bloodshed. It was ignored, and the colonists could see that war would be necessary. Today in class we presented our Revolutionary Replica projects in front of the class by explaining who our person was and what was in their "pocket".

Revolutionary Replica VoiceThread

Class Update: 10-9-12 and 10-10-12

And the revolution has begun! Yesterday in class we discussed how eyewitness accounts are not always as accurate as they may seem. we then saw that first hand in two ways. We watched a very interesting video on the science of eyewitness accounts and we took notes on different accounts of "The Shot Heard 'Round the World". It was pretty funny because every British (Regular) person said the Americans (Patriots) started it, while every American said it was the British. It reminded me of two children saying "He did it! Not me!". Today in class we talked about the Battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill. It was amazing to see how many British casualties there were when they were the most powerful army in the world. We put together a video based on things we thought each side would have been "Googling" during the Battle of Lexington and Concord. For some reason the embed code isn't working but the link to our video is here.

Class Update: 10-4-12 and 10-5-12

Yesterday in class we had our second Ed-Cafe to discuss events that led up to the Revolutionary War. It wasn't as good as the first Ed-Cafe, as it was mostly having the person tell you about what happened and then taking notes. There wasn't much to discuss, and usually by the time you were done taking notes you had to move on to the next topic. Today we did more discussing the events that led up to the revolution. After that, we read the poem about the ride of Paul Revere and talked about the actual events that occurred. Then, we wrote our own sonnets in pairs about the ride of Revere, Dawes, and Prescott. It was fun and very different to do something like that.

Class Update: 10-2-12 10-3-12

Yesterday in class we talked about the French and Indian war. It was interesting to see that the Indians got involved and that different tribes took different sides. Also, I couldn't believe that colonists endured harsh winter conditions, low rations, wounds, and even death for the land west of the Appalachians. I don't think anyone can blame them for being outraged when King George said that they couldn't live there. He said that he cared about the safety of the colonists, but in actuality he would have never let them die for it if he cared at all. Today we prepared for the second Ed-Cafe by reading our packets of information and making a slideshow on it. I liked going to the library and doing the slideshow, but Google Docs was really frustrating! It kept "updating" and forcing us to refresh the page, sometimes loosing what we were working on. But, it was nice to do something outside of the classroom.