Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

Our agenda today:

• Completed our binder check for the Colonial America unit.
• Handed out copies of Johnny Tremain for any students interested in extra credit.
• GRADUATION from the War College of the French and Indian War!
• Students received their ranks according to points earned.
• Students chose their "fates" - what happens to them after they "graduated"!  Fun stuff!

The fate of one of our cadets! The headless officer of Charleston! Scary!

Wednesday, April 24th-Friday, April 26th

• The final task at War College was to refight the Battle of Quebec! Groups did a great job! This took place on Wednesday and Thursday.
• Friday, the 26th, was the Colonial America Test!
• Monday, the 29th, is Graduation!  Everyone will choose their fate!

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013

Our agenda today:

• Began with looking at student goals for the fourth quarter. Mr.M handed back their ideas/choices for goals with his comments. 
• Reviewed Robert Rogers - the man, the legend. Discussion of the what was learned yesterday and Mr. M added a little. Talked about the Battle on Snowshoes and some of his "Rules for Ranging".
• Final lesson #6 - The British win the war! Discussion about the strategy to win including a closer look at the Battle of Quebec.
• Introduced their final challenge - Re-fight the Battle of Quebec!

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

Welcome back! 

• Today you will learn about the man who is considered to be the hero of the French and Indian War. His name is Robert Rogers and he was born in the colony of Connecticut. During the French and Indian War, Rogers rose to the rank of Major in the British Army. He was not a regular soldier, but was called a "Ranger".  These rangers were responsible for "ranging" around looking for trouble. They would go deep into French and Indian territory and create mischief. They were an early kind of "special forces" like we have in our military today. 
• Read this first. 
• Read this second.
• After reading these two accounts, in your notes in the black notebook write down three things that Rogers should be remembered for!  Title this, in your notes, Roger's Rangers. 
• Next, ask Mrs. Samolyk for a copy of the Battle on Snowshoes. This is a great example of a typical small scale battle fought in the "Le Petite Guerre" way. Pay attention to the personal account of Thomas Brown written after the battle. Make a bullet point list of all the negative things which happen to Thomas. We will discuss it later. Just write it below his account.
• Finally, retrieve the handout, "Rogers Rules of Ranging" from Mrs. Samolyk. Major Rogers and his Rangers were living legends in their day. Rogers rules on being a ranger are still used in some shape or form today.  Four have been selected for you to rewrite.  Please rewrite them in language we can easily understand. What does each "Rule" say?

Friday, April 19th, 2013

Today we:

• Reviewed what happened in the early part of the French and Indian War.  We looked at a timeline of events and discussed.
• Mr. M spoke about Vauban and his style of fort building. This led to a discussion about Fort Ticonderoga, America's fort. It is in the Vauban style. 
• Next, we spent some time looking at examples of "Le Petite Guerre" and a the siege of Fort William Henry. Good stuff!

Surrender of Ft. William Henry

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

Okay, Cadets, our plan of the day was:

• Began by looking at their fort placements from the day before. How close did they get to identifying the actual locations of the French forts. Teams averaged 4 out of 7 spots correct! Not too bad.
• Next, was the quick test of identifying the ranks of British officers in the 18th century. 
• Moving along, the lesson for today was #3 La Petite Guerre. Students should fetch their copy on Edmodo to place in their dropbox.
• Re-enactment of Braddock's Defeat - the Battle of the Monongahela. Fun!

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

Here was the plan for the day:

• Cadets lined up for inspection outside of the classroom. Colonel Markwald made sure each had his cadet insignia on in the right place. Cadets learned their special ID numbers.
• Inside the classroom, Mr. M collected goals from the remaining students.
• Then, students were given their first challenge. Handing them a copy of an 18th century map of the Lake George, NY area - students were told they need to outline the route they would take if they were the officers in charge of resupplying some British and Colonial soldiers near by. Most chose the slow and dangerous land route. Some selected the faster water route. Discussion.
• Lesson #2 of the War College of the French and Indian War - An Officer Must Have an Understanding of Geography.  Mr.M explained how the rivers and lakes were the "highways' of the F & I war. Good roads were practically non-existent. 
• Challenge #2 - Students were given 10 questions about the rivers and lakes around North America. Every point they earned goes toward graduation.
• Challenge #3 - The pretended to be like "Frenchy" and selected 7 areas they thought the French would build strategic forts.  Tomorrow they will learn if they right in their selections...

Lake George area

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

Yo! Here was the plan for today:

• Students quickly got into Plantation groups. They learned how they did. We debriefed some, too. 
• Students handed their goals for the 4th quarter.
• Ten hut! Students then began the War College experience to learn about the French and Indian War.
• Students assembled in the hall at attention!
• Mr.M explained what they will be doing for the next 10 days in class. Plus, other important info for the new recruits.
• We reassembled in the classroom and began our first lesson.
• Students fetched the map of North America 1750 from edmodo and we analyzed it!
• Students fetched the Background info from the French and Indian War off edmodo. 

Monday, April 15th - Happy Tax Day!

Our agenda today was:

• To get organized! A lot of items were handed back. Students had the opportunity to check what was needed in their dropbox account and their black binder. Work is starting to pile up!
• Finish the Plantations! Working in groups students completed their mock plantations. 
• Mr. M also spoke to Mrs. Reimer's classes today about his trip to Auschwitz - genocide unit.

Thursday, April 11th - Friday, April 12th

These two days were given over to looking at the Southern Colonies.

• Had our Southern Colonies reading quiz.
• Began a look at what plantations were. Students studied maps of plantations. Mr. M talked about the plantation lifestyle.
• Students created and built their own southern plantations. 

Wednesday, May 10th, 2013

Okay, we are way into the colonial regions now. Today, we:

• Wrapped up the New England colonies by looking at the USM Primers the kids created. Pretty funny stuff and they did a nice job. 
• Had our quiz on the Middle Colonies, graded, and discussion.
• Talked about colonial life and students were given the "chore" of making a candle. Fun! 

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013

Hi there, our agenda today was to:

• Find out who lived or died in the Salem Witch Trial simulation from last night. This lead to a discussion about the trials, what to take away from it, and how it all came to an end.
• Mr. M showed a couple of clips from The Crucible. There are two good examples of the "spectral sight" in there. We discussed and Mr. M answered questions. 
• Students took the reading comprehension quiz about the growth of the New England colonies. We graded them in class and had discussion.
• Finally, Mr. M introduced the USM Primer homework.

Monday, April 8th, 2013

Welcome Back! Here is what we did today:

• Began by getting organized. Students showed Mr. M their dropbox folders on the computer. Quick check to see if all are up to date and doing work. 
• Review of Friday's courtroom theatrics and further explanation of the "New England Way."
• Introduced one of the most fascinating topics of early colonial history - the Witch Trials of Salem in 1692. Mr. M gave some background and we watched part of the History Channel clip on the topic. Stopped to take note of what "spectral evidence (sight)" was and how the accusations changed during the time of the witch trials! Scary stuff!

Reverend Cotton Mather's book on the subject of the Witch Trials after the event...

Friday, April 5th, 2013

Happy Friday! Our agenda today:

• Began by looking at the growth of the New England colonies.
• Discussion of King Phillip's War - causes, what happened, and the result.
• Closer look at Puritan life in the early New England colonies - did the Puritan Day in Court simulation. We punished some people for gossiping and gambling! Fun!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

In class today:

• Reviewed a little about what the students read and watched last night on the Separatists. Focus on Calvinism and that these beliefs were embraced by Separatists. Thus, it is easy to understand their disagreement with the Church of England.
• Watched Part 1 from Desperate Crossing, a movie/documentary by the History Channel dramatizing the Pilgrim Story. It's pretty good! We looked at the time in England before Separatists left and the decision years later in Holland to move to America.
• Began our look at the Mayflower Compact - the "cornerstone of Democracy in America."

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

Hello, our agenda today was:

• Viewed how students did as leaders of the Jamestown colony. Some were promoted, many made poor choices, people died, one student was fired!
• To finish our look at Jamestowne, Mr. M showed some dead bodies. Yes, the bones of the early settlers tell many stories. We examined some of these early settlers at Jamestown.  In conclusion, Jamestown really was a miserable place in its early history.
• Finally, we turn our attention to the real "symbolic" birthplace of the USA - Plymouth. It's story will be very different from Jamestown. Mr. M began by sharing the story of where the "separatists" comes from...a look at the Protestant Reformation and the birth of the Church of England. 

This man really had 6 wives??

Monday, April 1st, 2013

Welcome back everyone from Spring Break!  Today we:

• Got organized and students had a few minutes to make sure they had all their work where it needed to be in the dropbox binder or their black binder.
• Everyone finished the Jamestowne and Werowocomoco activity. 
• Mr. M met 1-1 with students to update grades and check in with everyone now that it is the end of the 3rd quarter!