Want to know what is going on in our class?
Want to know what you missed on a day?
Each day one student will write a blog entry describing what happened in class on that day (each student will write one or two per semester).
After that, anyone can add in further comments about that day.
Wednesday, September 1st.
ReplyDeleteWe started the day with an overview of the history of the colonies. From the Mayflower Compact in 1620 to the First Continental Congress in 1775, we heard about the challenges the colonies faced and the growing frustrations with the British King.
For our look at the writings of Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine, we each chose a line from one of the texts then stood in circles to say them (or shout them) to each other as a dialogue. Our discussion looked at the different ways they made a case for independence.
Lastly, Mr. Kramer read the Declaration of Independence out loud. After that we got into small groups and answered questions about the Declaration and its language, ideas, and beliefs.
One key idea / theme from today was about the idea of power in government coming from the people and not from a monarchy. Jefferson called this the "consent of the governed" in the Declaration.
Personally I liked hearing the Declaration of Independence read out loud. The power of those words is still inspiring today. I have so much admiration for those who pledged their lives to help create this country.
Thursday, Sept. 2
ReplyDeleteWe started class by exploring blogs; what they are, what they can do, and how they look. We then embarked on the process of creating our own blogs which are going to be used as a place for us to post our thoughts and ideas about a variety of topics that relate to our American Studies (or don't!). We then read Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis" and used that as our first blog post.
One key idea/them from today was about the idea of communication, not just our communicating with each other via this new technology but also Washington's need to communicate Paine's message to his troops during the cold winter of 76.
Personally, I'm really excited about blogging. I feel like it's going to be a great way to make sure that my voice is heard, even in a class this big.