US History– Ms. Ulfers' ClassroomDearborn Public Schools

Mar 27th Thursday, March 28th!

Happy Thursday! 2 days until SPRING BREAK.

3/28 Quick Write:

Today we are taking our knowledge of the four presidents that we have discussed in this unit (Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison) and you are showing me how they each contributed to establishing the US’s place in the world. You will show me by selecting one type of Thinking Map: a Brace map, a Circle map, or a Tree map.

On your map, you are to include at least one action from each president’s time in office that helped establish the US as the nation is it today. Use your Quick Writes from this week to remind yourself of presidential actions and their significance. You must also include a summary on your map, completing the sentence stem:  America established its place in the world by… (list 3 ways)

This is due AT THE END OF CLASS and is SUMMATIVE. This assignment is our finale for the unit, since it accumulates knowledge from the entire unit and demonstrates what you have learned over the last 2 months. Put time and energy into this, as it helps me know how well you’ve understood this unit. Plus, this assignment will greatly effect your grade for this card marking period (which ends tomorrow!!)

Reminder: your Current Event due tomorrow!

Mar 26th Wednesday, March 27th:

Halfway to Spring Break!

3/27 Quick Write:

Today we are continuing our work on the War of 1812 Wrap Up activity. Remember, whichever option you picked (poster, diary entry or poem), it needs to show me what you know about America before, during and after the war!  This is a summative assignment and since the card marking ends on Friday, the effort you put into this assignment will directly reflect in your final grade for the marking period.

When you’re done with the Wrap Up, get out today’s Quick Write and add the following:

• Next to each presidential accomplishment– write WHY this was important to the US

If you are done early, this time is also a chance to make corrections on your Lewis & Clark Flow Map, if necessary.

Reminder: Current Event due on Friday!

Mar 26th Tuesday, March 26th:

Happy Tuesday! Just remember, FOUR DAYS until Spring Break 🙂 🙂

3/26 Quick Write:

Today we are WRAPPING UP the War of 1812. Make sure to bring all of your notes, readings, and handouts on the war today. You will have three wrap-up options and, whichever one you pick, it will show me what you have understood about the War of 1812 (including the causes of the war, an overview of the events during the war, how Americans felt about the war, and the consequences of the war).

Please note: this is a summative assignment and, therefore, you need to demonstrate to me what you have learned (not just regurgitate your notes to me in another form). Here are the Learning Goals that we have aimed for throughout this topic:

Let’s make this week as productive as possible!

Reminder: Current Event due on Friday!

Mar 24th Monday, March 25th:

Happy Monday!! 5 days until Spring Break!

Heads up, Friday is the end of the card marking!

3/25 Quick Write: (Be sure to turn in your Current Event if you did not turn it in on Friday)

Here is our agenda for this week:
Please note– Make Up Work Day is on Friday… be sure to bring notes etc to class. Furthermore, the War of 1812 Wrap Up and the Unit Finale are both summative assignments, so use your time and energy well!

Today we are reviewing the 3 main causes for the War of 1812, and re-familiarizing ourselves with an overview of the battles and outcome of the war. Then as a class we will consider the following questions:

• The War of 1812 [was/was not] a victory for the United States because …
• The War of 1812 changed the way other nations saw the US because …

After group discussion, you will create two CERs– one for each questions. Use evidence from the annotated reading, circle map, your textbook, and your notes. Each CER needs to be about 2-3 sentences long and MUST INCLUDE REASONING.

Have a very nice, and very safe, evening!

Mar 21st FRIDAY, March 22nd!!

YAY Friday! Let’s get through this day smoothly!

3/22 Quick Write: I am collecting FIVE quick writes today, plus your CURRENT EVENT.

We will continue to annotate the reading, The War of 1812 Reading_Qs, and answer the questions as a class.

Please note: I do not expect you to remember all of the battle names, Generals, dates etc– I want you to know an overview of a few battles (like the one that happened here in Detroit!) but I am less concerned with battle details. I do, however, want you to walk away feeling like you have a basic understanding of how Americans felt about the conflict, and the outcomes (or lack thereof) of the War of 1812.

After we collaborate on the multiple choice questions, you will create an Exit Ticket answering the following two questions:

Have a SAFE and FUN weekend!! 😀

Mar 20th Thursday, March 21st!!

Happy Thursday! 7 school days until a little vacation.

3/21 Quick Write:

Yesterday we were unable to get to the actual war annotations. But no fear! That is what today will be for!

We will annotate the reading, The War of 1812 Reading_Qs, and answer the questions as a class.

Please note: I do not expect you to remember all of the battle names, Generals, dates etc– I want you to know an overview of a few battles (like the one that happened here in Detroit!) but I am less concerned with battle details. I do, however, want you to walk away feeling like you have a basic understanding of how Americans felt about the conflict, and the outcomes (or lack thereof) of the War of 1812.

Remember: Current Event is due TOMORROW.

Mar 19th Wednesday, March 20th!

Wednesdays are so much better than Mondays, and 8 school days left until Spring Break is pretty nice too.

3/20 Quick Write:

Today for the first chunk of class we are reviewing the 3 main causes for the War of 1812. Then we are digging into the actual events and battles. Slides on the 3 causes for the war can be found here: Causes of War 1812

To dig into the actual war, we will annotate a reading (The War of 1812 Reading_Qs) and answer the questions as a class. Please note: I do not expect you to remember all of the battle names, Generals, dates etc– I want you to know an overview of a few battles (like the one that happened here in Detroit!) but I am less concerned with battle details. I do, however, want you to walk away feeling like you have a basic understanding of how Americans felt about the conflict, and the outcomes (or lack thereof) of the War of 1812.

Remember, all of the work we do in class (annotations, class discussions, Quick Writes, Exit Tickets…) are meant to help prepare you for summative assignments– they’re not busy-work, they are preparation-work.

Current Event this Friday!

Mar 18th Tuesday, March 19th

Happy Tuesday… 9 days of classes before Spring Break 😀

3/19 Quick Write:

Today is our introduction to the first war that the US has ever declared… and one of the easiest wars to forget about… the War of 1812! It had been 30 years since we were at war, and while many hoped to continue to follow Washington’s precedent of neutrality, in 1812 we declared war against Britain… again.

We will be examining the causes of this 3 year war with Britain today, namely: issues with international trade, impressment of US sailors, and how the British were supporting Native Americans. Throughout class you will be completing a circle map where you will document the causes (see Circle Map template here). The intention of this lesson is for you to be comfortable explaining what tensions and issues triggered this international conflict. All information presented in class can be found here: Causes of War 1812

As we work through this week, here are our Learning Goals for this topic:

Reminder: your Current Event is due on Friday!

Mar 17th Monday, March 18th

And the count down begins…. 10 school days before Spring Break! Happy Monday!

3/18 Quick Write:

Today in class we are wrapping up the Louis & Clark Flow Map. This is a summative assignment, so I have allowed most of today’s class time to be devoted to completing your work. On the back of the Flow Map you are to summarize the Expedition using the sentence stems:

• One positive way Lewis and Clark established the US’s place in the world was … because …
• One negative effect of Lewis and Clark’s Expedition may be … because …

Make sure to use evidence and explain your reasoning for both topics.

This Flow Map must be completed by the end of class.

Mar 14th Friday, March 15th!

YAY FRIDAY!!

3/15 Quick Write: I am collecting these today… there should be FOUR! Also, your Current Event is due.

Today we will debrief on the Cornell Notes you took on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Once I have checked off you’ve completed them (notes for each paragraph, 4 test questions, and completed the summary), I will hand you a Flow Map. This Flow Map/Timeline will analyze the positive and negative effects the expedition. You will use the 5 events from the textbook (see the instructions below) that occurred throughout the expedition and write a brief summary of each event (1-2 sentences) on your map. You will add the date, color and pictures to each event as well.  On the back of the sheet you will summarize the entire timeline/flow map by completing the sentence stems:

• One positive way Lewis and Clark established the US’s place in the world was … because …
• One negative effect of Lewis and Clark’s Expedition may be … because …

Flow map template here: L&C Flow map

I will collect these at the end of class, and then give them back to you on Monday to be completed.

Have a beautiful weekend!