Social Studies and English

Both social studies and English Information

Friday November 9:  We worked in groups of 2 in order to look at three primary sources (diary, memoir, letters from Westward Migration Period) and determine who we thought had it the toughest.  Then we cited four examples of hardship to support our claim.
SOCIAL STUDIES CHAPTER 18 FOCUS QUESTIONS 
TEST WAS MONDAY NOVEMBER 5
ANY LATE GERONIMO (GREAT/BAD) DUE FRIDAY NOVEMBER 2 
(Geronimo Paper worth 10 Points)

Tuesday/Wednesday : Nov 6 & 7:  Reading three primary sources about hardships during the migration West.
1: Alvin Coffey: African American slave and diary writer, 1849 Ox train
2: Demas Barnes: Letter writer on an 1865 overland stage
3: Harriet Scott Palmer: 11 year old girl on ox-wagon west in 1852
These documents can be ffound in this blog in right column.
We will be selecting a variety of specific hardships to write about on Thursday November 8 in class. 

Thursday November 1: Finished Chapter 18 Section 1 and 2 and 3 COMPLETE: Up to page 605 in Section 3.  Returned the Train Quiz to students worth 2 points.  Anyone who missed the answer should be able to sketch out a basic map of the railway system in USA in 1870 to reclaim lost credit.   Also 2/3 of Sugarloaf believed that Geronimo was a GREAT MAN based on the movie and 1/3 believed he was a BAD MAN based on the video.  Discussed reasons in class on Tuesday.
Friday November 2: Will brainstorm in groups about hardships andd difficulties suffered by immigrants and pioneers heading out west!

CONTINUE TO ANSWER FOCUS QUESTIONS IN YOUR STUDY GUIDE.  AS WE READ SECTION 3, ANSWERS TO FOCUS QUESTION 1A WILL BE FOUND!

On Thursday, Oct 25, I briefed students on the Geronimo Activity we did on Friday Oct 26.  Basically, students watched a 1 hour 16 minute video on Geronimo and took notes on 4 questions about his life and legacy.  Anyone who was absent can use the link below to watch the video on HULU for free. 
Geronimo Video ONLINE
Anyone who did not watch the video and turn in the worksheet has two options:
1: Watch the video using the link above and answer the Geronimo Questions in the Geronimo Handout.
2: Use the internet (Britannica or other quality websites) to find answers to the four questions in the Geronimo handout.

Recent Summary:  we studied the US map to see how the trains looked in 1870.  They were busy and crowded in the North East, and less crowded in the South.  Then, around Omaha, one single line stretched out to the San Francisco Bay area.  That was known as the Trans Continental railway.  Students should be able to draw a general representation of the lines on the blank map.  They should understand why the trains were distributed in the manner they were.  Basically, North was more industrial and Lincoln was using (and expanding) the train network during the Civil War (1861-1865) to transport troops and supplies.  Also, General Sherman (Union) was actively destroying train tracks in the south.  They called the damaged tracks Sherman Neck Ties.  Anyway, the south was also primarily agricultural and was focused mostly on the growing of cotton, even after the war.  So that is why the North had an elaborate stem of trains and the south had fewer in 1870, just five years after the war.  Then the transcontinental railroad (inspired by Lincoln) stretched out following (generally) the path of the Pony Express.  It was joining the vast mining regions of California and Nevada with the East.  

 PARENTS SHOULD SIGN UP FOR PARENT TEACHER conferences:  See below:

Parent Teacher Confrences are being held on November 6th and November 8th from 

4:00 P.M.-7:30 P.M. To sign up for a conference with your child's teachers/team please click on the link below. 

Sign Up For Student-Led Parent Teacher Conferences

http://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Biddeford_Middle_School

Looking Ahead:  We are reading Chapter 18 about Westward Migration.  In order to better 'immerse' students in that time period, I will show a few choice clips from the movie Dances with Wolves.  My goal there is to show students what transportation was like back in mid 1800's, as well as what the West looked like.  We will also read some diary entries from various travelers in order to see some Primary Sources.
I expect to show a PBS special called Geronimo.  We will be discussing how Native Americans perceived our American Westward Migration.  If you would like to see the trailer or buy it yourself online, see the following link:
PBS Geronimo Video

Example of Resources:

Primary Source: Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study.

Example of Primary Source: Mary Boykin Chesnut's diary or court transcripts from a KKK hearing in 1869.

Secondary Source: Secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience.

Example off a Secondary Source: Our textbook or a PBS article summarizing KKK.  

For examples of each, see this link:

PBS Jim Crow Stories

The web page is a secondary source considered to be quite accurate, and in that website is a Historical Documents Account on the right.  Those court transcripts about the KKK attacks in 1869 as told by African American witnesses are considered primary sources.  

English:  HW: 
Working on the 8 parts of speech:
Nouns
Adjectives
Pronouns
Verbs
Adverbs
Conjunctions
Prepositions
Interjections
I AM FROM POEM AND PORTRAIT DUE MONDAY NOVEMBER 5
We are working on the "Where I Am From" Poem and Portrait activity in class thorugh Friday Nov 2.  Students are creating a poem and a portrait of themselves that reveal important life-guiding events from their lives.  See handouts.

Homework-Club (renamed: Pro-Active Thursday: PATH) has begun on THURSDAYS after school in One of our Academic Classrooms from 2 to 3:10.  Late bus can take you home.  Catch up on homework with teachers and friends!  We usually have healthy snacks too!

Washington DC Trip Information:

It is best to sign up by November

Should be paid for by February

Fundraisers are available: See Mrs. Potvin!