US History Assignments

Feb 13 – Feb 17
 

Monday –Feb 13^th  

            The teacher will give a brief lecture on the hardships of the Oregon country and James Polk bid for the presidency. (p. 447)  He will talk about the promise of 54/40 or fight form Polk. 

            The students will read a letter written from the Oregon Trail by Narcissa Whitman.  The students will than complete a document analysis sheet on the letter and use it to “see” what life was like on the Oregon Trail. 

Tuesday – Feb 14^th     

            The teacher will give a brief lecture on Texas independence. (p. 451)  He will talk about Stephen Austin and colonization of Texas.

The students will create flash cards about the following people:

1.      Jedediah Smith                                        5. Davy Crockett

2.      Stephen F Austin                                     6. William Travis

3.      Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna               7. Zachary Taylor

4.      Sam Houston                                           8. Winfield Scott

They will answer the following questions about each person on the flash cards:

1.    How does this person pertain to the information in chapter 14?

2.   List an interesting fact about this person to help you remember him.

Wednesday – Feb 15^th  

The teacher will give a brief lecture about the fight for independence in Texas. (p. 453) He will talk about the defense of the Alamo

The students will read a letter sent to Sam Houston by William Travis in which Travis explains the situation at the Alamo before the attack.  The students will fill out a document analysis sheet on the letter in order to take a deeper look at those involved in the struggle.  

Thursday – Feb 16^th  

The teacher will talk about the Goliad Massacre and the Battle of San Jacinto as well as the end of Texas’ war for Independence.

The students will be given a blank map of the United States in 1853.  They will locate, date, and label the following territorial acquisitions:

1.      US in 1783

2.      Florida Cession

3.      Louisiana Purchase

4.      Texas Annexation

5.      Oregon Territory

6.      Mexican Cession

7.      Gasden Purchase

8.      Webster-Ashburton Treaty

Friday Feb 17^th    

The teacher will give a brief lecture on the Mexican American War (p. 457) He will talk about the annexation of Texas, the war as well as the Mexican cession after the war. (p. 560)

In order to ensure that students are retaining knowledge throughout the week and able to synthesize the information the teacher will display a concept map on the board .  In the center of the concept map will be the main idea of the week and students will come up to the board and, analyzing their notes as a guideline, fill in the connecting circles that lead to the main idea.

If time permits, the Students will participate in a teacher led debate on a pre-specified topic and create a podcast from the debate.  The students must then go to their assigned group on the myVRspot website and listen to their class’ podcast and participate in a discussion board on the topic. (For the safety and confidentiality of the students, this is a closed site with only the students, teacher, and parents have access to it via a password.)

Resources:

            promethean board, pencil, paper, textbook, Promethean board, encyclopedia, various software, historical websites, Audacity software, debatabase fact based debate website, classroom website, laptop computer, and portable microphone. Supplementary Text (America: the Last Best Hope by William Bennett)