28 & 29 April

Photo courtesy Johannes Jansson/norden.org

Today's starter was: Why do people often say that books are better than the movie?

After discussing the starter we watched a short video clip on how photographs were made during the Civil War era.  We then discussed the major events that occurred prior to the Civil War.

We finished today by working on pages 2 & 3 from The North and South Packet and we finished the "Strangers on a Train" comic.

24 & 25 April

Today's starter was: Tell me 2 ways that the North and the South were different from each other.

We read an Encyclopedia Brown mystery.  We then watched a short video on slavery and finished our discussion on slavery.

We worked for ten minutes on "The North and South" packet - we worked on pages 2 & 3.  This was not enough time to finish, and it is not yet homework.

We then watched another short video clip comparing the North and the South.

We finished off today by reading a short story from the graphic novel - "Strangers on a Train."  There is a short assignment that went along with this story.

21 & 22 April

Today's starter was: As you know, many Americans used to own slaves.  Why do you think that those Americans were OK with that?

After we discussed the starter, we spent 5 minutes or so finishing the blue "Comparing Farm & Factory" and the white "Industrial Revolution and Westward Bound" packets.  We turned these in and they have been recorded in Skyward.

We then finished the Westward Expansion Assessment - we graded these and they are in Skyward, as well.

We then started to look at life in the South before the Civil War - and we looked at slavery a little.

21 & 22 April

 
Today's starter was: Explain to me how Northern factories depended on the South-

After discussing the starter we watched a video clip reviewing the major events and inventions of the Industrial Revolution, as well as some of the advances that were made in transportation.  We then reviewed for next time's test on the Industrial Revolution.

We then took a look at the life-cycle of cotton.  We broke up into groups of four and looked at a cotton boll.  We then picked the cotton from the boll and removed the seeds and other plant material from the cotton ball, much as the slaves would have done in the South.  We then tried to "card" and "spin" the cotton by hand - similar to what would have been done in the North in the factories.

We finished off class today by finishing "Comparing Farm to Factory" and "Industrial Revolution & Westward Bound."


 

16 & 17 April

Today's starter was: Write down one positive and one negative thing about the Industrial Revolution.  Also, how do you think the Industrial Revolution affected families?

Today we read two short stories from the graphic novel.  The first, "From Sea to Shining Sea," reminded us of the major events of Manifest Destiny.  The second, "On Her Own," reminded us of some of the positives and negatives of life in the factory.

We then worked on three assignments.  We finished the Invention Advertisement - titled "Industry in the North."  We then worked on "Comparing Farm and Factory" and finished up "The Industrial Revolution and Westward Bound."

We turned in "Industry in the North."

14 & 15 April

Today's starter was: What do you think is the most important invention in the history of the world?  Explain why you think that-

This is the first starter in a brand new set of starters.

We looked at seven new inventions that came out of the Industrial Revolution - the sewing machine, steel plow, McCormick Reaper, telegraph, steam locomotive, steamboat, and clipper ship.  You need to memorize two of these for the test.  We also looked at a series of advertisements from the 1800s and created an 1800s style advertisement for one of these inventions.

We will only have 5 or 10 minutes to finish this assignment next time.

3 & 4 April

Image courtesy Phier

Today's starter was: Based on what you have seen of factories so far-  How were factories good?  How were factories bad?

We turned these starters in today.  If you were not here to turn them in you will want to get them in right after Spring Break.

We took a few minutes to review for the test - we then took the test.

After the test we read an Encyclopedia Brown - we then worked on pages 3 & 4 of a new packet.  There was no homework for the break!

1 & 2 April

Today's starter: As you watched "Mill Times," what changes did you see in the working conditions in the mill?  Give some specific examples-

We played Review Jeopardy - the questions in the game were very similar to the questions that you will see on the actual test on Thursday and Friday.

We finished watching "Mill Times" - we corrected the questions and turned them in.

We began our discussion on the Industrial Revolution.

28 & 31 March

Engraving courtesy PDART

Today's starter: Why do we value things that are hand made?

We began by wrapping up the test review for part II of the test - the test will be the 3rd and 4th of April - right before the Spring Break.  You should know the essential standards from both the Jefferson and Manifest Destiny packets.

We corrected and handed in the Manifest Destiny packets - I gave these back for you to study from.

We introduced the Industrial Revolution by beginning a video - Mill Times.