Class Update: 10/29 & 10/30

Yesterday, we did not have school due to a hurricane that flooded coastal areas and left many of us without power. Today, we continued in-class work on our Integrated Projects, which are due on Thursday. I had already written my script and declaration for Act 5 of Julius Caesar, so I worked on editing them. It was interesting to think about how written agreements versus oral agreements can reverse the outcome of a situation.

Class Update: 10/25 & 10/26

Over the past week, we had been assigned to memorize a section of the Declaration of Independence. Yesterday, we took a quiz in which we had to write down the section we memorized. Afterwards, we quickly covered some of the closing battles of the American Revolution in preparation for the test today. Some of these battles included the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Yorktown, both of which were important victories for the colonists that moved them closer to freedom. This morning, we took the unit test, which covered geography, definitions, memorization, and short answer questions. Now, our class is done learning material about the Revolution, and will have time in class next week to work on our American Revolution/ Julius Caesar integrated projects.

Class Update:10/23 &10/24

Yesterday, the class split into five groups for a scavenger hunt. We were to find QR codes around the first floor of the high school. Each QR code was linked to a clue about a battle. Each group then used class resources to find which battle the clue described as well as the date. My group was the first to finish. Then, we had a few minutes to review our notes for the upcoming test.

Today, we discussed art of the American Revolution, including works by John Trumbull, John Singleton Copley, Emanuel Leutze, and Grant Wood. It surprised me how many inaccuracies were in each painting. Instead of historical representations, the works were more like pieces of propaganda. My favorite painting was the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, because I could see how it related to the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, with Paul Revere racing through the towns yelling the news that the troops were approaching. Both the poem and the painting are inaccurate. This presentation of Revolutionary art will hopefully expand my knowledge of the time period during the war.

Timeline

Civic Values VoiceThread

Class Update: 10/18 & 10/19

Yesterday, Mr. Boyle was not at school and instead left an assignment for us with our substitute. The assignment consisted of reading an essay, "The Crisis, No. 1" by Thomas Paine, who lived during the Revolutionary War. He promoted the war, and was calling the colonists to action to fight against the British soliders. The most famous line reads, "These are the times that try men's souls." In an essay of our own, we had to decide whether current times "try men's souls" and support our belief with examples.

Today, we discussed our ideas about "The Crisis" with Mr. Boyle. I believe that these are the times that try men's souls because the economy is worsening, but people have not truly taken action yet to improve the problems. Next, we used an interactive map on the projector to learn about the battles in New York City and New Jersey. I had never realized that German soldiers were hired to fight for the British. Maybe they did this to increase their numbers over the colonists. This series of battles was truly a turning point for the colonists, renewing their determination with a few important wins, and helping them to overcome "the times that try men's souls".

Class Update: 10/16 & 10/17

Today in class, we used the summaries of the Declaration of Independence we created yesterday. We had worked in groups to read the Declaration, and were assigned a section to summarize. Afterwards, we had to shorten the summary into 140 characters, so it could be made into a fake "tweet." My group was assigned the 3rd and 4th sections, which pointed out the issues with the king, including the limitations he put on government in the colonies and his refusal to answer their petitions.

Using our knowledge about the Declaration of Independence today, we had a class discussion about the significance of the signatures on the Declaration. We decided that the signatures not only legalized the document, but were written proof of the committment of the delegates to a revolution. This brought up the idea of trust in government. Though many people trust another until the person breaks that trust, there may not be enough trust in our government. We must trust the people we elect into office, but we also need to speak out if we do not trust them for some reason, whether it is through voting or through petitioning. The concept of trust was present in the Declaration, and has grown more complicated over time.