2/1: HOMEWORK: Revise your State of the Union/State of Wachusett addresses for Thursday (final draft assessment). Here's the grading criteria for the addresses.
In class: We talked about Korematsu and looked at (and wrote about) Japanese Internment photographs (Dorothea Lange, photographer). On the back of the Korematsu homework: choose two photographs that interest you. Write down the number and for each, decsribe what you see and make some comments about how Lange is portraying the internment. Plus, in class response and revision.
Works cited quick refresher (if any of the information is missing, skip to the next):
Author Last Name, First Name. "Title (of webpage, article, etc.)". Name of Website, Published Date, URL.1/31: HOMEWORK - Given what we talked about in class today, revise your body paragraphs for Friday. EVERYONE bring in a hard copy for Thursday.
In class: We talked about revising the body paragraphs of the State of the Union addresses by examining and giving feedback on some student samples. We used these to begin to revise our own.
Japanese Internment photographs (Dorothea Lange, photographer)
1/29: Both of the following are due in class on Thursday. You can choose to work on either during the class period and work on finishing them up at home.
1. Continue to work on your State of the Union (or State of Wachusett) address (if you are typing this in Google Docs, please share with me at cathy_nicastro@wrsd.net). A complete draft is due tomorrow at teh beginning of class.
2) Please go to the website and watch the video I’ve posted there about Fred Korematsu (you can also search for it on youtube “Fred Korematsu: A Civil Rights Hero or use this URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1UDNAgeppI). Fred Korematsu and his story matter to us for several reasons: its link to war, to the Supreme Court, to the idea of models and their importance and to what is going on right now in our country. As you watch: on a piece of paper you can hand in (not in the journals) take notes – write down important facts about the school and how they use Fred’s legacy as part of their core goals, about his case and his life, about the resolution of the case and what’s still unresolved. After you watch: react/respond to the video (thinking about the Supreme Court and the rights of citizens, about the guiding quotes, and/or about issues facing the country now, etc.). Write for at least 1/2 the page.
Both 1 and 2 are due on Thursday, so finish them up tonight for homework.
1/28: HOMEWORK: For Thursday: please go to the website and watch the video I’ve posted there about Fred Korematsu (you can also search for it on youtube “Fred Korematsu: A Civil Rights Hero or use this URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1UDNAgeppI). Fred Korematsu and his story matter to us for several reasons: its link to war, to the Supreme Court, to the idea of models and their importance and to what is going on right now in our country. As you watch: on a piece of paper you can hand in take notes – write down important facts about the school and how they use Fred’s legacy as part of their core goals, about his case and his life, about the resolution of the case and what’s still unresolved. After you watch: react/respond to the video (thinking about the Supreme Court and the rights of citizens, about the guiding quotes, and/or about issues facing the country now, etc.). Write for at least 1/2 the page.
Also, draft your own State of the Union address (or State of Wachusett letter) for Thursday.
In class: We met in groups to talk about the letters and the pulled together our list of issues from these letters.
1/25: In class, we worked together in groups on the letters and on lists of contemporary American culture concerns generated from these letters from our fellow Americans.
1/24: HOMEWORK: Read the packet of letters. These letters serve as primary source documents for what is on the mind of at least some of the people in contemporary America. As you read through the packet of letters and responses, make a list of the issues (both stated and maybe some implied) that you find in the letters (you can use tally marks for issues that repeat themselves). Choose two of the letters that you find particularly interesting (at least one should be because it challenges you for some reason) and react/respond to the letter (you can do this right on the packet). Write about your own feelings about the subject in the letter and why, about any disagreements or insights, about how you might propose to “fix” the problem, what you might say to a fellow American about what concerns him/her/them.
In class: We worked with the chapter, examining issues at the heart of the conflict for the family and talked about how the family dealt with those issues. We also paraphrased the 2nd essential quote.
1/23: Homework: Read and respond to the chapter from To Obama.
In class, we worked with the first of the guiding quotes on the syllabus.
1/22: HOMEWORK: Read the syllabus, grading policies and classroom rules (on our class home page) and sign the syllabus sign off sheet.
In your journals: Define for me contemporary American culture as you see it: who are we right now? What defines our culture and why? Who helps to decide what defines the culture? What issues are at the forefront of our culture right now? What are we wrestling with? Which seem most pressing, most important?
Also - think about this quote: “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.