Class Recap 1/29, 1/30

Yesterday in class, we focused mainly on the Fourteenth Amendment, the amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed rights to freed slaves, like certain priveleges and citizenship, due process, and protected every citizen equally. The Fourteenth Amendment was really about equality and the right to certain natural rights, as well as being protected by the law. It is a really important amendment because it makes each person that is born in the United States more of an equal kind. After we learned about the Fourteenth Amendment, we, in our groups, had 15 minutes to design a magazine cover that talks about the 14th Amendment and why it was important. Our group focused on marriage. The Amendment allowed marriage between freedmen, so we put that on the cover as big news. It was cool to see how people interpreted the Amendment and how they presented it.
Today in class, we used our groups to learn about the plans that were introduced in the time after the war. We looked at three different plans- Lincoln's plan, Johnson's Plan, and the final Act made by the Congress. It was nice to see how three different ways to reunite the South into the Union were made into ideas and presented as plans. Many people had many ideas about how to deal with the South after they lost the war. We came up with our own ideas about how we would have handled it and then ended the class with a discussion about what each person would do.

Class Recap 1/25, 1/28

On Friday in class, we took notes on Abraham Lincoln's assassination. It was interesting to learn about because all I knew before we talked about it in class was that we was killed during a play. I had no idea that the assassin was a celebrity, or that he broke his ankle. I did not know about his run from the law and I did not know that Lincoln was not killed on instant even though he was shot in the head. It was like listening to a horror story, like something you would read in a story. After we took notes, we listened to two different pieces concerning Abraham Lincoln, his life, and his beliefs, it was cool to listen to them and put the events into music.
Today, we went to the computer lab and worked on some worksheets involving the Reconstruction of the United States. It was really helpful to look at the different states and to see who was standing where on the issue of freedmen. We thought about why the South would want to keep the freedmen under their control. The South did not want the freedmen to move to the North, which would give them a say and vote against them, which would leave them almost powerless in the United States. I really like going to the computer lab because it is a great way to learn the material.

Class Recap 1/23, 1/24

Yesterday in class, we focused on primary documents written between March of 1864 and March of 1865. They were from different viewpoints of people involved in the Civil War, including Davis, Sumner and Lincoln. We discussed why the North had the advantage and what the South did not have going for them. By this point in the war, it was pretty clear that the North was going to win, and this begins the ideas of reconstruction vs restoration. It was interesting to look at how the war had shifted over the years, and now looking at how Lincoln wants to stay in office and campaigning for his spot. Today in class, we talked about the articles we read last night at home. They were interesting to read because primary documents help to almost put you into the time frame itself. After talking about the rest of the documents, we listened to a podcast that talked about whether or not slavery was "the" cause of the Civil War or only "a" cause of the war. Even though it was a dry piece of listening material, the idea was sound. Was slavery the only cause of the war or just part of it? It is a debate still going on today, and even in our own history classes. The past two days were educational and revolved around reading documents.

1/23 Winnie The Pooh

If I were to choose which Winnie the Pooh character
 I am most like, I would probably choose Rabbit. Rabbit is always going in a thousand different directions and is a shameless perfectionist. Pooh's slowness clearly gets on Rabbit's nerves repeatedly, but they share a special friendship unlike any other in the Hundred Acre Wood. I think that even though Rabbit can seem a little cranky at times, his heart is always in the right place and he always makes time to help out his friends. Sometimes I think that my efforts to help can seem a little direct or even too indirect but my heart is in it, kind of like Rabbit. Rabbit is definitely a lover.

You are Piglet. You are timid, quiet, and like to stay in others' shadows. Though your shyness can irritate some, you are courageous when it counts and are always loyal to your friends. I think that Piglet can also apply to me, so I am not too surprised that the quiz gave me this. I think that I have some qualities of most all of the characters in Winnie the Pooh so it is hard to choose. Maybe I am more like Piglet than Rabbit. I am not sure, but this was a cool exercise even though some of the questions were really strange and did not seem to have anything to do with Winnie the Pooh or Piglet or Rabbit.

Class Recap 1/14, 1/15

Class periods have been devoted to reviewing for the midterm on Wednesday. Today and yesterday, the class helped each other study and make flash cards and things of that nature. We were also welcome to ask Mr. Boyle any questions that we may have had. I really hope that I do well on the midterm!

Class Recap 1/8, 1/9

Yesterday in class, we finished the Civil War unit by taking notes on what happened at the end of the war when the Confederates surrendered to Ulysses Grant. After we took notes, we studied with our class mates and asked Mr. Boyle any questions about the chapter. Today, we had the test. It was pretty easy and I really hope that I did well!

Class Recap 1/4, 1/7

On Friday in class, our class walked in to a packet of six journal entries that were written during the time of the Civil War. Reading these entries was supposed to put us in the mindset of a total war setting, and spark certain ideas to write about in our own journal entry. It was interesting to read firsthand experiences from other people from that time period. I was assigned to write in the voice of a Union soldier. It was tricky because there were not any entries that pertained exactly to a soldier, so I had to guess at what they would be feeling during the war. It was a considerably enjoyable class.
Today, we had the quiz on the Gettysburg Address. I got most of it right; I just forgot a few words to one of the sentences. After that, we took a lot of notes on the Civil War and how the Union was slowly gaining the upper hand by cutting off the Confederate's supplies and means of having any chance to win the war. After we took the notes, we started to watch a movie on the Anaconda policy among other pieces of information about the war, but myself and a few other kids got called down to the library to talk about Why Triton, so we did not get to finish watching the clip.

Class Recap 1/2, 1/3

Yesterday in class, I was not here for the first half because I was at the doctor's, but I am told we examined a picture. When we got back from lunch, we looked at the Emancipation Proclamation. Today in class, we took lots of notes on the Civil War and allowing African Americans to fight in the war. We also looked at a piece of art located in Boston that symbolized the 54th Regimant of Massachusetts, which is a pretty big deal.