Lesson 2 - European Exploration and Settlement. (9/28-10/2)

We have moved into lesson 2 for our first unit titled, "Our Colonial Heritage." Lesson 2 asks the question, "How did Europeans explore and establish settlements in North America?" 

Everyone in class has a hard copy of the interactive notebook, as well as the online version. 
You can access the hard copy by clicking right here.

9/28 - Today we answered the question: 

If you were looking for a place to establish a new community, what factors would you consider? Using this list and any other ideas you have, rank the factors from most important to least important. Then write a paragraph explaining your choice for the most and least important factors. 

• fresh water source 
• fertile land 
• friendly neighbors 
• mild climate 
• near a river or ocean 
• near a forest 
• an area suitable for defense or spotting enemies 

9/29 - We read section 2 and discussed how Spain claimed territories and established settlements.

9/30 - We discussed Spanish Mission Settlements, and read section 3.

For any QOD's - visit Google Classroom.

8 Cultural Regions (9/22-9/23)

Section 3 of Lesson 1 (The First Americans) discussed how the Native Americans adapted to their environments. The formation of cultural regions was also discussed. According to historians, 10 cultural regions once existed in North America. For Tuesday (9/22) and Wednesday (9/23), students will explore 8 of these cultural regions. 

Directions: 

1. Students will analyze 4 maps from Section 3 of Lesson 1.
2. Students will read Section 5 and study the artifacts on Placards (A through H).
3. After analyzing the maps and reading, students will determine which Placard (artifacts) pairs up with the appropriate cultural region.
4. Once the Placard is correctly selected, students will fill out the rest of the column for that cultural region.

Click here to access the 8 cultural regions chart.
Click Here for the Artifact Placards

9/16/2015 - 9/17/2015 - Vocabulary - Lesson 1 - First Americans

We are starting our first lesson in our unit titled, "Our Colonial Heritage." The first lesson is titled, "The First Americans." This lesson discusses the Native Americans who inhabited America before the Europeans arrived. The main theme of the lesson discusses how Native Americans adapted to the environment around them. 

Essential question for our lesson: 

How did the first Americans adapt to their environments?

Vocabulary for the first lesson: 

1. Environment  2. Natural Resources  3. Culture  4. Cultural Region  5. Migrate

Use this link to access the vocabulary sheet. 

1. Summarize the definition.

2. Use it in a sentence.

3. Draw a symbol.

Use this link to access the TCI, History Alive! website.

1. Use the lesson 1 glossary to lookup the words.

Evaluate Your Group Members

Click this link and HONESTLY evaluate your group members.

9/11 Video - Four Unlikely Survivors

Video Link 
Video Link 2

Annotated Map - Geography Challenge Unit 1 (9/10-9/16)

The first unit from our textbook titled, "Our Colonial Heritage," starts off with a geography lesson. It's important to understand how geography affects history, and how history affects geography. 

We are working in groups to create a map or North America showing land claims made by the different European powers. By the end of the lesson, you should be able to answer this question:

How was America affected by European exploration and colonization?

Click here for the link to the assignment.

It's due on Wednesday, 9/16/2015

Lesson Plan for 9/7/2015

This week we will finish historical thinking skills, and move into our first lesson entitled, "The First Americans."

Click here for Lesson Plan for the week of 9/7/2015

European Perceptions of Native Americans (9/8-9/9)

We started this historical thinking unit with a pre-assessment about analyzing a primary source from Christopher Columbus, and a secondary source from Ramon Rivera. Since this assessment, we discussed how to source, contextualize, close read, and corroborate multiple documents. We interpreted our information, answered questions, and used evidence to support our answers. Now, you are on your own. The link below wants you to analyze 3 sources, and answer the question:

What were European perceptions of natives in the New World?

Click here for the sources and questions.
Rubric Link

9/3/2015-9/4/2015 - Pocahontas and John Smith

Thanks to the Disney film, most students know the legend of Pocahontas.  But is the story told in the 1995 movie accurate? In this lesson, students use evidence to explore whether Pocahontas actually saved John Smith’s life, and practice the ability to source, corroborate, and contextualize historical documents.

The Central Historical Question we are trying to 

answer:

Did Pocahontas save John Smith's life?

Click the links below to access the materials for this lesson:

1. Graphic Organizer and Questions.

2. Primary and Secondary Sources.

9/3/2015 - Historical Thinking Skills

In class we created a historical thinking foldable. We took the skills from the historical thinking chart and condensed them.

Directions:

1. Add page 8......Historical Thinking Chart to your Table of Contents.
2. Turn to page 8.
3. Click the link below, print, then cut out the chart.
4. Glue the chart onto page 8.
5. Read and know the chart.

Historical Thinking Chart Link 

Evaluating Sources (9/3/2015)

Today we looked at how to respond to questions that ask you to analyze a source, make a claim, and use evidence to support your claim.

We discussed:

1. Using a topic sentence.
2. Writing your claim based on the question being asked, and information in the source.
3. Using a transition statement to set up your quote (evidence) from the source.
4. Adding extra information after the evidence (what does the evidence mean to you?).
5. Closing sentence.

We also discussed not getting caught up in primary sources being "better than" secondary sources. Instead, source the document and determine if the source is reliable or trustworthy. Below is the link to the paper we used in class to evaluate sources.............

Click here for the link to Evaluating Sources