Week 20 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

February is in and with it was the prognostication of America's favorite weather "man" that there will be an early Spring. The sunshine today makes this feel like it might be a possibility, even though I'm not sure we had a winter in the first place.

The ambitions of this week were met with the realization that we were, for the most part, not ready for a competition of Constitutional understanding. The Bar Exam that we held on Tuesday revealed that too many of us didn't take the opportunities given in the previous week to learn about the Constitution and the government it creates to the extent that was expected. This was a little disappointing, but not outside the ability to recover. To be clear the work they were asked to do last week in preparation for the Bar Exam and Law Firm Competition was not easy, but was intended to be more manageable by pairing up with a buddy to whom we could be accountable. In the end, this activity was a lesson in how we work together and what happens when we don't do that well.

To remedy the lack of readiness, we endeavored to recover what was missed in their first time through. For this, we used in class direct instruction and note-taking. This is not usually as effective as paired/small-group work, but this time around it provided a base coverage of the expected content required for us to proceed. These notes can be accessed here.

Monday we will assuredly begin our Law Firm Competition (see image at right). Teams have been created and the work is finished. Finally we can have some fun as we end this unit. Over the weekend, I encourage you to work through the flash cards that were created for the Bar Exam as well as use the outline/notes (link above) to prepare for the Competition. No one wants to be the weak link on a team.

This leads to "what's next?" One of the first things that Congress did (and the States approved) once they convened for the first time was to follow through with a promise of adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution. We will end next week by discovering how the first ten Amendments were created and how they still protect us today.

Enjoy your weekend!

Until next week,
Mr. Bruce

Week 19 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

What a gorgeous sunny afternoon! Certainly a break from the gloomy weather we've had recently. As you may expect, I'm sad that this winter has not supplied a significant enough snow for sledding or snow fun. I'll get over it, I guess. As we end this week I'm astounded with how much your kids have learned about the Constitution and the composition of government that it creates.

We resumed a paired reading and discovery activity that lead students through the three Articles of the Constitution that created and defined our three branches (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial), as well as the amendment process (Article V) and two fundamental concepts of government limitation: Checks and Balances and Federalism.

As we finished this work we verified our answers and moved into some Law School Practice Problems. This assignment increased the challenge of seeking support for answers using the Constitution. For example, a city in Utah is producing a very unique product for selling overseas; due to its nature the government wants to tax it. Can they? In order to answer this question, students must investigate the powers of Congress in Article I, section 8 and rectify that with powers forbidden to Congress in the following section. Moving forward following this, students are to make flash cards or other study materials for the purpose of nailing this information down so it is second nature. An example of study card questions are attached to this email. I've even prepared a set of cards on Quizlet: quizlet.com/_1ydqqt (requires simple account creation). This is all preparation for the competition that is coming up.

Sample certificate for passing exam with
90% on first try. Students must make
corrections if they fail to reach 90%.

Next week, students are going to take what I am calling a Constitutional Law Bar Exam. And the scenario is that as they "pass the bar" they become eligible to practice as a part of a law firm. Once law firms (teams of 4) are created, they will compete in a competition to see which firm is the best. All is for fun and grades will be given for participation (even the bar exam), but it definitely engages even the most reluctant student and brings the entire class into seeking the depths of why our Constitution matters today.

Also, due to NWEA testing, labs were quite booked and so we postponed our video editing session. It gave our tech department more time to ensure that we would have access to the software we need for the task. So I've booked the computer lab for Monday and Tuesday. Hopefully we will end this unit with a fun and informative session of watching Preamble videos from all the classes. But that's for next week's email...

Until then, I remain yours,
Mr. Bruce


Constitution Review Cards

 

Week 18 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

Well things finally feel somewhat normal. Since Christmas Break it has felt as though we couldn't get anything going. Now that exams are over (mostly) and we are firmly in Semester 2, I think we are back to a good flow. I'd like to spend a little time here about exams, update you on the Preamble Video Assignment, and let you know what else we are working on/toward.

First of all, exams are almost all graded. There are still a few students who have not taken it due to outside circumstances. I anticipate spending Monday going over them in class. This will be as good for me as it is for you (students) because as I read through all of the great work that has been done on them, I want to share a bit about the documents and the theme to affirm and direct the work that was done on them. This will let you see the extent to which the documents take us in informing us about how the person and character of George Washington affected the creation of the new republic.

Our Video Preamble Assignment is still there, and I anticipate that around next Wednesday we will be in the computer lab editing and finalizing these videos. This process is somewhat stalled by the lack of video editing software on school machines. This is something that used to be standard on Windows, but since Windows 7, MovieMaker was a manual installation. While that gets worked out, or while I play with some online video editors, we have some extra time to make sure any recording that is yet to be done, gets done. This small video project is a precursor and de-bugger for a much larger video project that is in the works to come later in this marking period. Something I used to call the "Big Kahuna." Stay tuned...

Lastly, we are working on increasing and solidifying our efficacy with the Constitution. By the end of this unit, students will be able to use the Constitution to address and solve dilemmas of Constitutional law through a small group "Law Firm Challenge." Next week, they will begin "Law School" and will take a "Bar Exam" which will test their knowledge and grasp of this amazing document that has guided imperfect people to govern an imperfect population for 226 years.

FYI: Final grades for Semester 1 will be completed by Monday with report cards coming shortly after. I'll send Remind texts when I have entered Exam scores for your class.

Until next week, I remain yours,
Mr. Bruce

Week 16 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

Welcome back and Happy New Year! What a start we have had. I have to admit, the writing of this weekly update slipped into the dark parts of my mind until quite late, and here it is Monday afternoon... This email will be quick and to the point.

As we head into this week I want to provide expectations for exam week and let you in on a project we have embarked upon as open wide the ideas in the Constitution. This must be done because everything that follows in the story of America is driven by this document and how Americans have striven to uphold and maintain the ideals set forth in this revolutionary document.

As we progress through exam week we will continue with the Preamble Video Assignment we began last week. I find video production to be a very fun, engaging style of project-based learning because it combines the raw, creative, and critical thinking of filmmaking with the integrated inquiry-based historical thinking and interpretation. This small scale assignment introduces the necessary production components (such as screenplays and storyboarding) for use in later assignments. There are some logistic roadblocks that are still being worked out. See the Preamble Video Assignment page for details and let me know if you have concerns about any aspect. I take these projects quite seriously and demand that parental reservations be honored and placed above academic expectations.

As for the expectations for Exam Week here in Mr. Bruce's History, I give a process-focused exam. The content will be over what we have covered in class, but the focus is on how we have learned the process of "doing" history - that is, how much can we demonstrate of the methods historians use when adding to the body of knowledge that we call the historical record. In order to prepare for such an exam, students need to review the notes we took regarding these methods. All of them can be found at mrbruceshistory.wikispaces.com/TLH. These notes should be in student binders and complete. But it might be helpful to review the slides on the TLH page and the notes.

As for what we will do in class for this exam, I can say that we will have considerable time in class to complete what is called a "Document Based Exercise". We will spend an hour of "review" time going through the documents together in class and employing some analysis tools for the purpose of understanding the documents. From there, students will put pieces together on their own regarding the topic and what the documents tell them. A simple overview of this process my Thinking Like a Historian Guidesheet.

Until tomorrow (maybe...),

Mr. Bruce

Updated Exam Schedule:

Week 15 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! As of clicking "Publish", I am headed to the gym for a "12 Days of Christmas" WOD and then home for a needed break. A special thanks to those of you who offered gifts - a very kind and thoughtful gesture. I have many ornaments and decorations at home that carry the signature of these little rewards of teaching, though the "consumable" gifts are appreciated all the same :)

Our week was spent debating the key issues that arose out of the Convention in Philadelphia as our Founding Fathers drafted the new Constitution for the new nation. Please ask your son/daughter about our debates in class. For a recap, what we did was research one of the delegates to assume their identity as a contributing member of the debates that fateful Summer in 1787. I prepared lessons where we unpacked a key issue in the form of a question:

1. How should States be represented in the new government?
2. How should slaves be counted?
3. How should the Chief Executive be elected?

These questions were debated using some of the same arguments used by Madison (VA), Hamilton (NY), Sherman (CT), Gerry (MA), Wilson (PA), and others. When in doubt, or for guidance, we leaned on Madison's own notes from the convention. As you ask your son/daughter about OUR version of the debates, feel free to reference the "official" minutes of our proceedings. Once we came to a conclusion, we compared and contrasted our results to the real delegates. Some times we were real close, and other times, we were way off. Of course, it's not right to compare, but it involved us in the process to think critically about why the compromises fell as they did, both for better and for worse.

Finally, we completed our unit on Creating and Debating the Constitution. We wrapped that up today as we participated in an interactive quiz/test using Plickers. I asked them some tough questions and they got to see immediate feedback and immediate reflection on their answers.

As we look forward to the new year, we are going to begin January with a critical look at the Bill of Rights by probing the question that emerged from an article I shared with all students and now you as well. The question challenges us to assess our deeply-held views in the Bill of Rights, primarily freedom of religion. We must consider what is required of us as citizens if we expect to uphold the freedoms and liberties we hold so dear. The question is this: "Did the Founding Fathers envision/discuss the possibility of a Muslim president?"

I am looking forward to this lesson because I wonder about the contemporary challenge facing our nation as we become increasingly antagonistic toward a worldview, belief system, and civic order that we resist understanding. Please take time during these next few weeks and read the article together, keeping an open mind to what I challenged above. This is not required, but may provide for a richer experience in the classroom.

In the meantime, I wish you and your family a Very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! As well as a Happy New Year.

If we don't bump into each other until then, I remain yours,
Mr. Bruce

5th Hour Delegates from the various states meeting and
greeting as we open the Philadelphia Convention.

Week 14 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

We can begin counting on one hand the number of days left before a needed two-week break for one of the best times of the year - CHRISTMAS! I am looking forward to time with family, working on a few small projects, but most of all the celebration of the meaning of the holiday.

This week in class we finished some really awesome online timelines. Monday and Tuesday were devoted to the completion of a project that covered the bulk of all conversations that led to and through the creation of the Constitution. I explained more about this project in last week's email and asked that if you wanted to know more that you visit the Creating the Constitution page on the class website. These turned out really awesome and was a great use of a very neat web tool (though, some did not finish...). Please ask your students to see them!

Before we left the computer lab all students in each class selected (or was assigned) one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. According to the instructions on the Debating the Constitution page on the class website, we researched our chosen delegate with the intent of taking his place as we debate the merits of our Constitution the way they did 228 years ago. Over the weekend, you would to well to ask your student about their delegate. Particularly, you could ask:

• How do you feel about a strong national (central) government?
• What are your thoughts about how States should be represented in Congress?
• What are your beliefs about whether or not southern states should be allowed to count slaves as part of the overall population?
• How should the chief executive be elected?

These questions and more will be decided next week in class debates. I am considering recording some debates that I know will be "hot" and so if there is any opposition, please inform me via email. The intent is to have something to share for next year as a standard of expectation, but also to give you all a window into the classroom. 

Next week is devoted to concluding debates on the key issues from the Constitutional Convention. It will allow for a nice break before we come back in January to complete a short lesson on the ratification of this document by the people in State Conventions. 

Until then, I am yours,

Mr. Bruce

Week 13 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

I am sitting in the computer lab watching your kid work to complete a very cool timeline. It is so awesome how they take to new tools for creating and curating content as they learn. We finished this week leaving this project unfinished. I don't like doing that, but I apparently overloaded them with their "Creating the Constitution" project. Take a look at the Creating the Constitution page for details. Monday and Tuesday I hope to finish this project and usher in a new one, which I'll explain below.

Looking back at what we have done this week, it began with a video from PBS that explored the concept of federalism. We hear this word, or at least its commonly used relative, very frequently when we refer to our "federal" government. However, too few of us really understand the system that divides, separates, and distinguishes our federal system. We explored the typical and often used definition of federalism as a system of shared (or divided) power between a central government and several sub-units of government. If you were a good student, you would remember that from school. But our American system of federalism is little different in that it doesn't allow for a clear division of power or authority or explicitly define what or how much is shared. The result is a muddy debate or conflict between the States and the National Government that has shifted and twisted over the 227 years since the Constitution was written. This video did a great job connecting the views and desires of the Founding Fathers with the debate that still goes on today. I encourage you to view that this weekend.

This led to the transition and prep timeline project of "Creating the Constitution". It will set us up to debate the Constitution in a simulated format. The classroom will transform into the East Room of the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall). I may be asking your students to bring in things to help decorate this room to fit the mood such as candles, green cloth/sheets, etc. (see images below). We need to start by taking on the identity of one of the delegates and study his background and understand his views on the issues faced at the convention. Then we will debate the issues according to the delegates' historic positions and attitudes. As we debate, we will learn how compromise filled the air and how the Constitution we know today was formed by this group of extraordinary men we know today as the Founding Fathers.

Until then,
Mr. Bruce