z+Summer+School

=Summer School (2011)= On the following link (Summer School Information 2011), you will find the basic information for this class. It includes my instructional goals, classroom expectations, course at-a-glance and daily format, information on the culminating project, and finally a grading rubric. Please refer to this document as you find it necessary. Note, the plan for the first day will be the same for both classes (American Cultures I and American Cultures II). I will post all information regarding this class on the wiki as it comes up.



9th Grade American Cultures I






media type="file" key="School House Rock - Shot Heard Round the World America Rock.flv" width="360" height="270"

**Information about Presidents:**
The following links have been added to this wiki in an attempt to help students find quality information about the President they have chosen to research and report on. Students are **NOT** limited to the use of these websites.

White House American Experience - The Presidents of the United States (PBS) Presidential Libraries Presidential Timelines U.S. Presidents (History Channel) Miller Center - University of Virginia ipl2 Presidents of the United States



Gettysburg Address Multimedia

Gettysburg Address Text

Interpreting Documents of American History - (Gettysburg Address)
1. Who wrote/delivered the document and when did that occur? 2. Read the document and write down any words you don't understand. 3. Using a dictionary, look up those words and write out the definitions; if you understand every words, select at least five key terms (not common terms) to define. 4. Using between one and five sentences, answer the following question: What was the purpose of this document (what issues did it address)? 5. In your own words, how do you think that this document impacted America (two to five sentences)?

Select one of the following documents and interpret the document; demonstrate your understanding by completing the above-mentioned five tasks:

The Mayflower Compact (R39), Second Treatise of Government (R42), The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (R40), The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (R43), The Federalist Number 10 (R44), Washington's Farewell Address (R46), The Monroe Doctrine (R48), The Seneca Falls Declaration (R48), The Emancipation Proclamation (R49),

Aftershock Beyond the Civil War (Series)

Important Supreme Court Cases (Legal Review) -
Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) Marbury v. Madison (1803) Martin v. Hunter's Lessee (1816) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Worcester v. Georgia (1832) Wabash v. Illinois (1886)

Select a case from the list above and write a short review of the case that you will share with the class. Your written project should have the following three parts followed by your opinion: 1. Facts of the Case 2. Major Question(s) Addressed 3. Conclusion

Your Opinion - Why was this case important?

The following website may be helpful: The Oyez Project

Dred Scott v. Sandford -


There is a link on the above PDF to Lincoln's speech in its entirety. You can use the link below instead as it will take you to a summary of the speech which is much shorter. This should make the assignment much more reasonable. Lincoln's Speech about the Dred Scott Case (Summary)



KKK -
Read the background of the KKK as well as the first-hand account of a former slave. Write about his story... What do you think of it? Can you imagine what it must have been like to be in his shoes during this time in history? Write a paragraph...

The Klu Klux Klan, 1868

Immigration (at or around 1900) -
Immigrating to America, 1905 1. For what reasons did people typically immigrate to the United States during this time period? 2. Write a paragraph which summarizes the life of Sadie...

10th Grade American Cultures II


The first assignment that was worked on was a research assignment on the __industrial revolution__ that took place in America shortly after the Reconstruction Era. There were some assigned readings, follow-up questions, and each student gave a presentation to the class about their topics.

From here out, the 10th grade class will be //self-paced// and //project based//. The students have chosen to work jointly on a large project which highlights the __key events of the Holocaust__, __the response of America to the Holocaust__, and the __long-lasting effects that the Holocaust has had on the American people__ (both native-born as well as immigrants). Their work will then be presented to the class at large. The Holocaust has impacted the United States (directly and indirectly) from the late 1930s to the modern day which justifies this in-depth study.

After concluding a wonderful project about the Holocaust and American influence, the class has continued to student contemporary issues in the United States. This time, however, they are working on different projects. One student decided to research and write about the __Vietnam War__ and another has focused her attention on the __Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s__. The students then compared their research and expanded on each others work.