Thursday / Friday 8/9 December

On Thursday Ms. Robbins led the class in a role play on "The Homestead Strike" and a follow up analytical discussion.

Mr. Zartler did the same thing on Friday.

Mr. Zartler will be in the "New Cafeteria" / Maker Space for flex on Friday.

Tuesday / Wednesday 6/7 December

Much of class was spent analyzing images depicting american attitudes towards immigrants during the "Progressive" era. Students practiced sketching quick notes to remind them of the relevant image.

The class also began exploring how to construct a narrative.

Mr. Zartler will have a substitute on Thursday, and will be in the New Cafeteria / Maker Space for flex on Friday.

Friday, December 2nd and Monday, December 5th

Class began by finishing up an analysis of the "Fee to Think, Talk, Listen, Sing" document. Class focused on how various quotes would be used in an essay (including the use of brackets and ellipsis), and on summarizing the main ideas and arguments of the piece.

Then the class reviewed three additional scenarios of production from links on the previous entry.

Some classes began analyzing images that reflect American attitudes towards race an immigration at the turn of the century (link on previous entry). 

Labor & Progressivism Links

Candy Making: Ball

Grand Candy Making

Don't Laugh, Just Snickers

Progressive Era & Race Slide Show

Immigration in the 90s


Previously we have viewed:

Will Ferreby Knife Maker in Sheffield Video

November 30th and December 1st

Students turned in their Reconstruction Unit Summative Assessment; students began studying a hand out called "Free to Think..." The big question kept in mind as students read this handout is, "How was the world of work changing?"

Self-evaluation activity for Reconstruction Essay
Circe the Key Words in your Thesis

Circle every place those key words (or synonyms) are repeated in a topic sentence.

Circle the name / title associated with textual evidence. Number each unique source in order (e.g. 1,2,3...)

What are the specific strengths and weakness of your essay?

What could / should Zartler have done to help prevent these weaknesses?

What could you have done to prevent and / or eliminate these weaknesses?

(Optional) What did Z do that helped you?

What was the most interesting (to you) or important thing you learned (relearned) in the unit? (Why?)

What do you wish more people knew / understood (from the unit)?

What grade did you earn? Provide a rationale for this grade.

Be sure a scoring a guide (with your last name and period is stapled to the back of your essay.

Monday / Tuesday November 28th

Class began with discussing individual and student needs for the essay due next class.


The next unit is on Labor & Progressivism.

The class began by thinking about the term Labor, and Mr. Zartler suggested that one antonym for "Labor" in this case is "Capital."

The unit will include several role plays. Role plays are a kind of narrative, and the class discussed ways to take notes from narratives in the final activity of the day.

The summative assessment for this unit will be a narrative. (Kindred is a narrative that reflects knowledge of history.) The topics and scoring guide for this assessment are as follows:

  

Role	Action / Conflict
Andrew Carnegie Samuel Gompers East / Southern European immigrant Scab Unskilled “American” Union organizer Politician (local or state) Strikebreaker Skilled worker African-American moving “up south”	Concerns about strike Concerns about competition Jobs / wages / joblessness Concerns about assimilation Union meeting Standing on the picket line at a strike Negotiation (to resolve strike) Back-room dealing (to break strike)

  

Exceeds	Meets	Developing
·       Vivid description of setting ·       Uses variety of sensory words to create strong sense of place and time	·       Narrative has setting for story	·       Setting unclear or missing	Setting description
·       Unique details of character provides clear mental image ·       Characters are different ·       Descriptions of character allude to personality (characterization)	·       Narrative includes description of characters ·       “Shows” character (rather than “tells”)	·       Description of characters vague or missing ·       “Tells” about character	Character description
·       Creative word choice in describing movement ·       Character movement alludes  to personality (characterization)	·       Narrative  shows how characters move ·       Blocking clear	·       Blocking vague, repetitive or absent	Blocking
·       Each character has own “voice print” (characterization) ·       Uses two or more styles of writing dialogue	·       Narrative includes dialogue ·       Dialogue properly punctuated	·       Missing dialogue ·       Dialogue not properly punctuated	Dialogue
·       Plot is compelling and interesting to read ·       Catharsis reveals something about labor / immigration / urbanization	·       Conflict moves story forward ·       Conflict is resolved	·       No discernable conflict ·       Conflict unresolved or story left open-ended	Plot and catharsis
·       Narrative includes internal monologue			Internal monologue
·       Nuance and complicated nature of issues around labor / immigration / race / urbanization demonstrated in narrative ·       Catharsis honest to historical events	·       Narrative demonstrates understanding of issues around labor / immigration / urbanization in 19th century US history ·       Depiction of events realistic to the time period studied	·       Narrative shows misunderstandings of issues around immigration / urbanization / labor in the 19th century	Historical content
·       Demonstrates mastery of conventions of standard written English with few or no errors	·       Demonstrates understanding of conventions of standard written English with some minor errors	·       Does not demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of standard written English	Conventions of standard written English

We viewed this documentary about a knife maker in Sheffield, England, to practice taking notes from a narrative. Notes focused not only on character and setting, but in particular on conflict / tensions shown in the film.

Essays Due Next Week and Happy Thanksgiving

New Due Date for Unit Essay! November 16 and 17

First the due date for the Reconstruction Unit Summative Assessment Essay is changed;

new date: November 30th or December 1st

Class today was devoted to ensuring that all students were up to date in note taking and analysis of the black codes.

Students were also given a packet of information on small business loans; incarceration rates; and housing practices / red lining . Students were to summarize; analyze; and create a personal response to each of these three documents.

Students were encouraged to think about the following quotes in the Crossley essay in Kindred:

Time damages as well as heals, and genuine historical understanding of human crimes is never easy and always achieved at the price of suffering. (267)

Butler has been eager to avoid using her fiction as a soapbox. “Fiction writers can’t be too pedagogical or too polemical,” she told one interviewer. The route she pursues to her readers’ heads is through their guts and nerves, and that requires good story-telling, not just a good set of issues.(274)