Week 35 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

Angela Spraul and her daughter Ava, 4, sit at the grave of her
 husband, John Spraul, U.S. Navy, on Memorial Day at
 Arlington National Cemetery on May 25, 2015, in Arlington,
 Virginia. Photo: Gabriella Demczuk via Getty Images
courtesy of Huffington Post

Today we begin the weekend that typically marks the unofficial beginning of summer. It is a weekend that for many means camping, family gatherings, parades, bonfires, and other things that we've been waiting all winter and spring to do. Yet for thousands of wives, husbands, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, and friends, Memorial Day means something more significant. Memorial Day must remind us of more than a day off. We must remember those who, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, "gave their last full measure of devotion." As you go about your activities, take time to let the real meaning of Memorial Day occupy your time, thoughts, and prayers. If you're unsure yet what that is, let this photo set from Huffington Post help.

That phrase is one of the most memorable of Gettysburg Address. His speech marked the commemoration of the Battlefield at Gettysburg, PA, where the largest battle of the Civil War took place. One of our activities this week was to deconstruct the Gettysburg Address to understand how Lincoln looked forward at the unfinished business of the Civil War - particularly the repairing of the Union in a way that honors those who sacrificed for the same. Talk with your student about Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: ask them to share the gems we discovered between the lines of the address.

We also started looking at the period that follows the Civil War - this time called Reconstruction. Lincoln never had a chance to put into effect his plans alluded to at the inauguration of his second term. Lincoln ended his very brief second Inaugural Address with:

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

We end the school year striving to understand how, in his absence, Reconstruction failed to create such a peace, but rather resulted in one that established a century of racial discrimination, prejudice, and segregation that was supported by government of all levels: local, state, and federal.

I'd like to inform you all of the only opportunity I offer for anything related to "Extra Credit." It requires some work following Civil War Days of Branch County. If you are unaware, at Heritage Park in Coldwater, hundreds of actors, presenters, and reenactors spend a whole weekend bring this era back to life. I have provided their complete schedule and a description of expectations for receiving credit in the linked document: Civil War Days 2016 Extra Credit Opportunity. Strongly recommended for some.

Finally, let me remind you all of the email I sent yesterday. Next Friday we will be welcoming Kenneth Davis. Please talk about this over the weekend. Seats are still available. For more, see the Kenneth Davis Announcement.

Today we ended our school week with our Third Annual Staff vs. Student game and fundraiser. Our Student Council organized and facilitated a great event that contributed significant proceeds to Tommy's House. Tommy's House is a transitional house for women. The establishment of a transition house will give these women a safe, structured environment for learning skills enabling them to get a new start as a clean, sober, employable woman. Tommy's House will be a 24 hour supervised home which will include rehabilitation programs so that a woman can complete three levels before being released. These levels will provide spiritual guidance, personal counseling, a 12 step program, job skills and practical life skills, i.e. personal hygiene. Take a look below at a few pics of the event taken by our own Mrs. Knaack and student Emma Barve. What a great time!

Week 2 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and students,

Each of us took a piece of a puzzle
and attempted to put it together. 

I would have thought our first 5-day week of this school year to have felt a little longer than it did. Rather, it blew by...! At this rate it will be Thanksgiving before we know it.

We began with the follow-up presentation from the "My Three Artifacts" assignment that went home last weekend. These 60-second presentations allowed students a chance to share a piece of themselves to their classmates and what that object says about them. While this is a task directly aimed at making them see embedded into the study of history, it also allows us to build community.

This aspect of community is essential to learning history by "doing" history. We ended this week with our first glimpse into what history really is: the study of the past through questions, analysis of evidence, and constructing an interpretation of what we find. In order to introduce this extended definition of history, we use the puzzle as an analogy and each piece as an artifact. If puzzle pieces are scattered around in the possession of many individuals/owners, we must be able to communicate and collaborate in order to put artifacts together and construct the bigger picture. Consider discussing these questions at home:

• How is history like a puzzle? 
• What does each puzzle piece represent? 
• What do you think historians do when there are puzzle pieces missing (see the attached image)? 
• Is it possible to force a puzzle piece where it doesn't actually belong? What if a historian does this? 
• If history is like a puzzle, what makes a good historian? 

Next week we are going to extend this conversation and dip our toes in the water. That is, after we take a pre-test. Nothing to prepare for - just a way to create a baseline of data to compare students to themselves at the end of the year. We will be deep into doing history and ready to apply some new skills by the end of the month. Next week I'll be sharing more about what this process looks like on paper and how I will be assessing it. From there, you'll learn more about what content we will learn through this process.

Have you subscribed to Remind yet? Has your son/daughter? If so, awesome. If not, take literally 30 seconds and text @qms-ushist to 81010 and follow the instructions. Curious about the benefits? See Resources for Parents.

Shaping up to be a fantastic year!
Mr. Bruce

Week 1 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and students,

What a way to start the year! I am quite certain that this is going to be the best year ever and the evidence is in the 8th grade class that I have gotten to know this week.

We started with two days of "Boot Camp" where we re-familiarize ourselves with building norms, procedures, and expectations. But we also kicked off the year with some awesome guest speakers who helped us understand our building quote: "If you can dream it, you can achieve it; if you can imagine it, you can become it." Please ask your son or daughter about Zack and Gregory when you get a chance.

By Thursday, we were (I was) definitely ready to get started in to U.S. History. I have taught U.S.History for 9 years (7 in Union City). My pursuit with you and your son/daughter is to instill in them more than just an understanding about what happened in our past, but to actually become a young student historian. In this way, they will learn the processes of using sources to develop an interpretation of the past and compare that with what others have developed. Through this process, we will be building or constructing our understanding of our past in a community of learners, collaborating for collective success.

This process requires patience to get started... we begin with the basics. For this reason, I start with connecting students to history personally through the My Three Artifacts assignment. Please ask your student about this assignment which was sent home today to be completed no later than Tuesday. The assignment culminates in a 60 second live presentation or, alternatively, a video recording in which the student displays an artifact in their life and what that artifact tells a "finder" about them. I have attached the assignment sheet for your reference.For more, see the My Three Artifacts Lesson. I look forward to sharing some of these presentations for you at Open House this upcoming Tuesday evening.

Also, we are working to take some ownership in the classroom. Groups of students are collaborating to decorate the classroom walls and bulletin boards in a way that makes the room their U.S. History classroom. I look forward to seeing how that all turns out...

Finally, as I mentioned above, Tuesday is our Open House. Please come on in and see what we've got going on here at QMS.

Please consider staying connected with Mr. Bruce's History using Remind. Both parents and students are encouraged to sign up. This is a way for me to send updates and information via text without managing or collecting phone numbers. Super simple - super effective! See the image attached to this email for 30 second instructions. Again, it's best if both students and parents sign up to receive updates.

Well, that's enough for this week. Stay tuned for more. Much more. Have a great weekend!

Yours,
Mr. Bruce