2nd 9 Weeks, 3rd Blog

This week you will be learning about yellow journalism (Page 559). I want you to create your own story using yellow journalism. This is a two part assignment. The first part is you telling me a story that is truthful. The 2nd part of the blog is you using yellow journalism to tell me one side of the story.
+
Your story can be based on something in U.S. History (this is the preferred method), but you can use a personal story as well. Remember, I need both the original story, then the 'yellow' version of the story. This blog will be due on MONDAY, December 14th.

Blog November 30-December 4

This week we will be talking about the United States at the turn of the 20th Century and the events that occurred within our beautiful country. You will have Monday to work on these and your essay will be do first thing on Friday. You can also choose to work on your essay Thursday, but that time is going to be reserved to work on your study guide. 3 weeks until Christmas Break, let's make them count!
+
Option 1: In this chapter, we will discuss immigrants and their experiences coming to the United States and landing in Ellis Island and Angel Island (If you want to know more, turn to Section 1 of Chapter 15 on page 488). I want you to tell me what you would do when you first landed in the United States as an immigrant.
+
Option 2: Urban planning was a major concern for many city developers in the early 1900s. They wanted to keep certain areas beautified by building parks. I want you to design your own park. Your paper should describe to me (in writing!) your park. You have unlimited funds to build your park, so be creative.

2nd Nine Weeks 5 Paragraph Essay

Short Civil War Essay

Your Assignment:

Write a five paragraph essay on what you think was the greatest cause of the Civil War. Your paper will have an introduction, a three paragraph body, and a conclusion. Each paragraph of your body should discuss a different point of persuasion. Your typed short essay will be due on Tuesday (November 17^th)

You must use outside sources for the basis of your essay. You must use a minimum of one source, but the more sources you use, the easier your paper will be to write. This is not an opinion paper, you must use facts as your method of persuasion. Your opinion can be one of your persuasive paragraphs. You can either use footnotes at the bottom of each page of your essay or you can make a works cited page.

Possible Topics:

- Expansion of Slavery into Territories

- States Rights vs. Federal Rights

- Tariff issues

- Sectionalism

- Expansionism

- Economics

- Party Politics

Blog Response: Oct. 19-23

John Brown’s capture of the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia,
electrified the nation.  Many southerners viewed Brown’s actions as an act
of terrorism that revealed how far northerners would go to end slavery.
Many northerners saw Brown’s attack as a violent but necessary step in the
process of ending slavery.  Both sides saw the raid as another step towards war.  Looking back at John Brown's raid, I want you to write about... 
+
Option 1:  Was Brown’s attack an act of terrorism, or a reasonable attempt to end
slavery?
+
Option 2: What was the role of sectionalism in the growing antagonism between the North and South during the years before the Civil War?
+
As usual, write around 2/3 of a page (200 words). It is due at the beginning of class on Friday. Good luck!

1st Nine Weeks Essay (Due Oct. 15th)

Your Essay is going to be about yourself. You are going to write about the 'history' of yourself. You will be writing a 5 paragraph essay discussing a day in your life over the past 2 weeks. You will pick one day and discuss 3 important aspects of that day. Each aspect will be one of your 3 body paragraphs.
+
1st Paragraph: Introduction
2nd Paragraph: 1st Aspect
3rd Paragraph: 2nd Aspect
4th Paragraph: 3rd Aspect
5th Paragraph: Conclusion
+
Your introduction should include information about yourself. This information should come from your experience in high school. (I do not want to know where you live, where you were born, how old you are... etc). I am more interested in information like, "How your school year is going? How does this day compare to others this year? Was it a good day? A bad day?"
+
Make sure you have a strong thesis statement.
+
Each aspect should be its own paragraph. Make sure to use transition sentences to make your paragraphs flow.
+
Your conclusion should add no new information. It should summarize/evaluate/give a different take as if you were looking back on your day. You will have an opportunity to type these in the computer lab on Tuesday, October 13th. They are due at the beginning of class on Thursday, October 15th. I will not accept papers that are not typed. Good luck!!!

Sept 28 - Oct 2 Blog

This week we are going to try something different.  The focus of this blog is going to be on your spelling and grammar.  You are going to have some free reign on your response this week.  I want you to make sure you are writing well thought out sentences, and STAY ON TASK.

+

We are going to learn about Manifest Destiny this week.  Your assignment is to write about a location WEST of Thorntown, IN that you would want to live.  You need to explain why you want to move there and how would go about moving.  Give me details on the location you want to live.  

+

I don't want "I want to move to Hollywood because movie stars are out there."  Why did Americans move West in the 1800's?  What opportunities would you have if you moved West?  What challenges would you face?  Give me details! 

September 21-25 Blog

We are finishing True Women this week.  You most likely did not realize this, but it is based off a true story.  The movie is based off a book by the same name, written by Janice Woods Windle.  I want you guys to answer these two questions:

+

Why do you believe Janice Woods Windle felt it was so important to indulge people in stories of women throughout this time period?

+

After watching the movie (or part of the movie if you were absent), what did you think was the most difficult aspect of life in the early 1800s?  How did it appear characters responded to these hardships?  

As usual, a 200 word goal is set for this week.  

September 14-18 Blog Response

This week's blog is going to deal with President Obama's speech to students.  We are going to watch the speech in class today.  After the speech, I would like you to answer a few of these questions.  You don't have to answer them all!  The minimum word count this week is 200 words.  Think positive when answering these questions and really evaluate yourselves and the speech!!!

+

We heard President Obama mention the importance of personal responsibility.  

+

In your life, who exemplifies this kind of responsibility?  How?  Give examples.

+

How are the individuals in this classroom similar? How is each student different? 

+

Is President Obama inspiring you to do anything?  Is he challenging you to do anything?

+

What do you believe are the challenges of your generation?

+

What ideas do we associate with the words “Responsibility, Persistence, and Goals?”

+

What are your strengths? 

Week 3 Blog

On pages C20-C21, Read the Bill of Rights and tell me...
- What do the Bill of Rights mean to you?

- How do you think these Amendments have evolved with time?

- Do any of them not apply today?

- Which do you believe is the most important and why?

+

As usual, this is due on Friday.  Make sure that you spend time answering all of these questions.  Write a short paragraph (around 50 words) for each of the above questions.  The Bill of Rights will come up a time or two towards the end of the week.  Make sure you know them by Friday!!!

Week 2 Blog (August 24th-28th)

I want you to read each of these quotes and write a response to one or two of them.  I want you to focus on how each of these quotes pertains to democracy and our government.  You can compare and contrast two quotes (your response to each would be shorter) or you can just write about one.  These will be due Friday at the beginning of class.
+
1. Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind...War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.  - John F. Kennedy 
+
2. No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.  - Abraham Lincoln 
+
3. Finishing second in the Olympics gets you silver. Finishing second in politics gets you oblivion.  - Richard Nixon 
+
4. People ask the difference between a leader and a [political] boss. . . . The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives.  - Teddy Roosevelt
+
5. Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of resistance. - Woodrow Wilson 
+
6. No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of minorities.  The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.  - Franklin Roosevelt 

+

This week, we are shooting for 200 words.  A little shorter, but you have a project to worry about come Friday.  I highly recommend getting this done in class by Tuesday.  Some of you may have work to do at home for your project.  

Week 1 Blog (August 17th-21st)

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening everyone.  Welcome back!  This week we will starting our discussion of U.S. History and I have two questions that I would like you to look at.  You pick one of these to answer.  Don't forget, your response must be around 250 words (one page hand written or one to one and a half typed pages.)  This is due at the BEGINNING of class on August 21st.  No late work will be accepted unless you have an excused absence on the 21st.  

+

Option 1:  You are in charge of creating a new society.  What features would your society have?  How would you develop an identity for your society?  What would you do with dissenters within your society?

+

Option 2:  You get to move out away from your parents!  They told you that you can continue to live in Boone county and go to Western Boone.  They are going to move to Chicago.  Only rule is, they get to tell you what to do, how to spend your money, and when your curfew is.  How do you respond to your parents?  Could you come to a compromise with them where you would be happy?  What would this compromise consist of?

1st Day of School

I hope you guys had a great 1st day of school!  The school year is long and you will have your good days and bad.  Keep your heads up and keep plugging away and you will do fine!  

Don't forget, if you want some easy extra credit points, have your parent or guardian read over the syllabus and sign the back page by Monday, August 17th!  Here is a link to download the syllabus if you lost it!

http://www.easy-share.com/1907331829/USHistorySyllabus.doc

*The above link is to a free download site.  Do NOT pay for anything, it is free and easy to download.  Copy and paste the link into your browser and wait the 20 seconds to download.

Welcome

Welcome to Mr. Cunningham's blog for U.S. History at Western Boone Jr.-Sr. High School. You can find important information concerning your question of the week, homework assignments, due dates, and even study guides on this blog. If you are absent, then this blog will be essential for finding your missed work.

I hope you guys enjoy the class! Good luck and as Thomas Edison once said,

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work."