US History II

Today’s workshop concerns the Iran-Contra Affair (scandal, controversy, crime, pick your title).

Our task:
Figure out what happened
Use evidence to revise an existing narrative
Reflect on the process of writing/revising history

In groups, you’ll be working with 4 different accounts of this event in Google docs, and with the textbook’s collection of documents. Study your documents; discuss and decide what’s important and what’s not; and edit the account I’ve provided for you WITH A PARTICULAR AUDIENCE IN MIND. In your Google doc, avoid changing the text in red, that’s the original; scroll down for the same text in black, which is the one you should change.

Our 4 versions:
Digital History online textbook
Boyer, The Enduring Vision (an AP HS textbook)
Wikipedia as of yesterday
Hewitt / Lawson (our textbook)

Our last course unit deals with recent American history; during this unit you will write one last SkillBuilder and you will have a chance to “make history” yourself in the History Now final project. The 4th exam takes place during final period but it is not a cumulative final. Since your lowest exam grade is dropped, you can opt out of the last exam if you are satisfied with your previous three grades. Remember to complete the third online Constitutional module by April 25th – allow extra time for this one, as it is more reading and writing intensive than the other two.

Mon 4/14 Conservative Ascendancy. Reading: Ch 27
Photos from today’s whiteboard – (click each to enlarge to full size)

Legacies of the 1960s

Continuing the 1960s Legacy

Efforts to Roll ’60s Back

Wed 4/16 Workshop Day on Chapter 27 – bring textbook

Fri 4/18 Discussion Day: The US Constitution in Political and Social Movements. SkillBuilder #6 is due.
Links: Vote (Mass.gov), League of Women Voters, Rock The Vote

Mon 4/21 No Class – Patriot’s Day

Wed 4/23 Ending the Cold War. Reading: Ch 28
Link: 20 Years Since Breakup of the Soviet Union (The Atlantic, 2011)

Fri 4/25 Workshop: Who Won the Cold War? – bring textbook to class. Complete the Constitutional Module #3 by this date (remember it has two components: the online quiz and the learning journal response)

Mon 4/28 History Now Workshop – you will receive your packet on this day and begin working on the project. You will find laptops to be helpful on this day.

Wed 4/30 Challenges of a New Century. Reading: Ch 29

Fri 5/2 Workshop Day on Ch 29 – bring textbook. Exam #4 study guide will be given.

Mon 5/5 Discussion Day – come prepared to share what you learned in the History Now Project, which is due in class (no electronic submissions)

The last exam (Chapters 27-29) will take place on May 12th from 8:30 – 11:30 am in our regular classroom. It will be the equivalent of the other three exams. It is not designed to fill the full three hours, but you should expect it to take longer to complete than our other exams. As before, you may bring one 8.5×11” sheet of notes.

Wed 4/2 Troubled Innocence. Reading: Chapter 25. Primary Source paper is due

Links for class:
Duck and Cover (1951)
See the USA in Your Chevrolet (1953)
Two Ford Freedom (1956)
Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
Camel News Caravan nightly newscast from 1952
Crisis in Levittown (1957)
In the Suburbs (1957)

Fri 4/4 Liberal Consensus. Reading: Chapter 26, up to p. 836. Exam Study Guide will be given out.

Mon 4/7 Workshop Day – bring textbook. Reading: Documents from Chapter 25-26

Wed 4/9 Discussion Day on Postwar America. Reading: Rest of Ch 26 and Review Ch 23-26

Study Guide Google Doc for Exam 3’s Terms

Fri 4/11 Exam #3 (Chapters 23-26). As before, you may bring a prepared double-sided 8.5×11″ sheet of paper