Assignments due for the week of September 26th, 2022
Quick Looks at Great Books
Great reports and information today on the French Revolution! We all learned a lot! We reviewed the study guide and all the information there. We did run out of time to take our quiz on the French Revolution and to watch the condensed version of the History Channel documentary on the revolution. I love for the students to get to see the dress of the day and the characters portrayed.
For next week, begin reading A Tale of Two Cities by completing Book 1 “Recalled to Life” Chapters 1-6. (All three “Books” are within the book itself.) It takes place in Paris and introduces some of the book’s major characters. Answer the study guide questions on pages 40 and 41 to make sure you are understanding the main events that take place. Have your questions ready as we discuss what you read. We will go over in detail anything you did not understand.
PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP
We worked today on practice sections for the PSAT Reading Test. We went over all the correct answers and, hopefully, you will benefit from any mistakes for the practice 60-minute test we take in class next week. For next Monday, finish the questions on “Washington’s Farewell Address” and read the last passage on “The Great Seal” and answer the questions that follow. We will go over the correct answers and any questions you have before we begin the practice Reading Test in class. I will return the scored tests to you the following week.
American History
We covered the stories of the explorers to the New World in Chapter 1 and listed each date, person, and event they would need to know for the quiz. We began Chapter 2 and will continue going through it next week and pointing out what will be on our first quiz. For next week, read Chapter 3—Life in Colonial America. Answer the questions at the end of each section. We will go over Chapter 3 and review for the quiz on Chapters 1 and 2. You will meet some familiar characters in Chapter 3!
U.S. Government
We had another great class today, and the students seemed to understand the first two lessons. Do you know what holiday is this month? September 17th was Constitution Day! It’s an important date in our history, September 17, 1787, and, believe it or not, it is celebrated in our country today! We will talk more about the Constitutional Convention next week after the students do Lessons 3 and 4 in their notebooks on the Constitution. (Assignment for next Monday) We discussed a lot of important facts about the convention and will continue with that as well.
As promised, here are the answers to pages 9 and 13 in the notebooks. (I will always give you the answers to the Crossword pages.)
Lesson 3 The Constitution
ACROSS DOWN
1. Bill of Rights 2. Implied
7. Rhode Island 3. Federalists
8. Delaware 4. Supreme Court
10. Madison 5. Amendments
11. Expressed 6. Confederation
12. Concurrent 7. Ratified
9. Reserved
10. Morris
Lesson 4 The Constitution (Bill of Rights & Amendments)
ACROSS DOWN
1. Liquor 2. Income
4. Black 3. Women
5. Congress 4. Bails
9. Criminal 5. Civil
11. Religion 6. Eighteen
12. Soldiers 7. Trial
8. Warrants
10. Arms
Watch this brief video about Constitution Day.
Watch this video about the Constitutional Convention.
Complete pages 10-12 and pages 14-16 in your notebooks based on the Crossword answers above. (Transfer the answers above to your notebooks.) Also, your student should ask you a question and, hopefully, be able to give you the answer if you don’t know it.
Question: Who is the most important founding father that no one has ever heard of?
We’ll discuss this man more next week as well as try to catch up on all that you’ve done in your workbook. Let me know if you have any questions at all.
Adventures in American Literature
We went over what the students had done in their notebooks and what we covered last week. In all the fifty states, we began our list of personal associations and will add to the literary associations throughout the year. They all did a great job analyzing the Senecan legend and its purpose. Sometimes, we forget that the Native Americans really contributed to the start of our literature.
For next week, read the journal writings of John Smith and William Bradford who had very different leadership styles. (pages 9-13) Then answer the questions on page 14 about the two accounts. Read Edward Taylor’s poem on page 15 and answer the five questions that follow. We will further discuss Taylor’s metaphors in our next class. Lastly, read the poem of America’s first female poet Anne Bradstreet on pages 17 and 18. Answer this question about her poem:
How are Mrs. Bradstreet’s Puritan beliefs evident in the reaction to the loss of her house?
You can watch the following video, which reads Anne Bradstreet’s poem to you with illustrations.