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#112 Process-Based Writing: From Evidence to Outline

9/29/2016

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Structure

Discuss possible organizational strategies
A few words on writing strong paragraphs:
- Led by a strong, argumentative topic sentence that logically advances your thesis.
- Contain robust supporting arguments, analysis, and supporting evidence.
- An average of 8-10 sentences in length (note that this may be different from other types of writing you have done).

Academic honesty

Take 5-7 minutes to read the full Humanities and Social Sciences Department Statement on Academic Dishonesty (Google Doc).
Thoughts:
- Any surprises here?
- What points you think are relevant for this paper?
Students sign indicating that they have read and understood the document before proceeding.

Outlining

Build an outline in Noodle Tools, including:
- Your working thesis
- Topic sentences for each body paragraph, and
- The evidence used as support in each body paragraph (i.e. notecards).

Homework: #113

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#111 Process-Based Writing: Working with Evidence

9/28/2016

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Introducing Noodle Tools
A special thanks to Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Gnerre, and Ms. Davis from the library for leading this session.

Signing In: Are there any problems?
How to share your work with Mr. Hall
Your sources: How to list them
How to create a notecard
How to create an outline
How to create a citations and bibliography and what is Chicago style?

Gathering evidence

At the end of last class and last night, you began considering possible evidence to respond to the question. Now is the time to take an informed position.
Use Noodle Tools to begin creating notecards from your evidence. In this process we will be emphasizing quality and relevance over quantity, so you will not be assigned a specific number of notecards. That said, it is recommended that you consider preparing 10-12 notecards to give yourself flexibility further along in the process. Be sure to complete all three boxes in Noodle Tools:
- Direct quotation: What does the text say?
- Paraphrase/summary: Put it in your own words?
- Relevance/significance: How does it relate to your argument?

Feedback

As students dig for evidence and create notecards, Mr. Hall will provide individual feedback on thesis statements and answer questions on evidence collection.

Homework: #112

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#110 Process-Based Writing: Introduction

9/27/2016

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Introduction:

We are going to dedicate next week to writing our first essay (three pages in length).
Goal is to reduce anxiety and improve outcomes.
For next week, class will be conducted as a workshop.
As a unit assessment, this will be a good way to see how all the pieces of the hard work we’ve been doing come together. As questions about the materials we have covered or the writing process come up, please ask!

Process:

Overview the process (link to Google Doc): invent → compose → revise
Our motto: “Good product depends on good process.”
We are systematizing the process adopted by many prolific writers, including the philosopher Slavoj Žižek:

I have a very complicated ritual about writing. It’s psychologically impossible for me to sit down, so I have to trick myself. I operate a very simple strategy.... [U]p to a certain point I’m telling myself, no, I’m not yet writing, I’m just putting down ideas. Then, at a certain point, I tell myself, everything is already there, now I just have to edit it. So that’s the idea, to split it into two: I put down notes, I edit it. Writing disappears.
―From Žižek! (2005)

Dissect the essay prompt/question:

Together on board based on last night’s homework:
- Interpret the question: what is the question asking?
- Essay prompt:
  - Using the American Revolution lessons from this unit, answer the following prompt in an academic essay: “How well did the United States Constitution address the ideals of natural rights and liberty voiced in the Revolutionary era?”
Pair and share:
- Envision a proper answer:
  - What essential parts will your essay need to completely answer the essay prompt?
  - What decisions will you need to make in order to answer this question?
- Diagram the relationship between these essential parts
  - Visualize out what you have found.
  - Explain your diagram.

Remaining tasks:

Log in or register on Noodle Tools (external link).
Use remainder of class time to begin searching for evidence.

Homework: #111.

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#109 Securing Rights

9/25/2016

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Bill of Rights depicted in cartoon format from 1971 Young Citizen teacher’s guide. Syracuse University.

Front matter:

CIQ reports
Presidential debates
Choose notetaker

Opener:

Class poll: List amendments 2-10 on the board and tally who chose which amendments in response to last night's discussion question:
- "Aside from the First Amendment, identify an Amendment in the Bill of Rights that you think is most significant for safeguarding civil liberties?"
Share your response to the discussion question. Be sure to support your choice by drawing on evidence (past or present).

Background:

The Constitution was ratified in several states with clear expectation that a Bill of Rights would be added as a series of amendments. This was especially the case in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York.

The first federal elections were held in 1789 and Congress took up the Bill of Rights shortly after taking office.
Rep. James Madison selected 39 amendments from the states that had Bills of Rights, like the Virginia Declaration of Rights (text from the National Archives). However, he carefully avoided amendments that would seriously compromise power of national government.
- Ratification requires passing legislation through both houses of Congress and then ratification in three-fourths of the states.
- 12 amendments were passed by Congress; 10 ratified quickly; 1 was not ratified until 1992 (27th amendment); 1 remained unratified.
- The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of Rights (link to Google Doc).

Close reading:

This means reading the text carefully to understand the meaning not just of the text as a whole, but each clause and even each word.
In this case, I propose we examine each amendment with two questions in mind (other questions welcome!):
- What is the specific right articulated in this amendment in your own words? What are some of the different ways of interpreting this particular amendment? Focus especially on terms or phrases that are unclear or not a common part of English vernacular today.
- Do you think this amendment should be included in the Bill of Rights? Why or why not?

If time allows:

What rights would you add to this list as essential protections that citizens should be entitled to? Note: This might include or be in addition to the 17 later amendments -- not all of which are guarantees of specific civil liberties.

Homework: #110

Notes:

HH250-01 notes prepared by Annabelle Duval.
HH250-09 notes prepared by Ellie Farrington.
HH250-10 notes prepared by Casey Mason.
HH250-15 notes prepared by Saskia Penfold.

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#108 Questioning the Constitution

9/21/2016

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Select notetaker.

Opener

With a partner, consider the claim that history is written by the winners. Who were the Anti-Federalists? To what extent is this idea relevant to their story?

Critical reading skills: reading with and against the grain

Read the text “with the grain”: see as the author sees
- Why? To understand author’s arguments and logic.
- How? Tentatively accept author’s point of view. Focus on comprehension and empathizing with the author.
Read the text “against the grain”: raise questions
- Why? To gain “critical insight” on the text.
- How?
  - Test the text for contradictions, silences, and faults.
  - Find the limits of the text, including biases and unstated assumptions of the author

Discussion

Practice this approach in our reading of Winthrop: With the grain:
- What are Winthrop’s main arguments? In his view, what are the main failings of the proposed Constitution? Why does he claim that the “leading principle of the revolution” is violated by the new Constitution?
- Can you think of present-day examples that might illustrate some of his arguments?
- What does he mean when he says that “Large and consolidated empires may indeed dazzle the eyes of a distant spectator with their splendor, but if examined more nearly area always found to be full of misery” (121). In what times and places might this have been true?
- What is Winthrop’s view on protection of natural rights?
- Why might people at the time have thought as Winthrop did? What contemporary events or historical examples might people be drawing on?
Against the grain
- To what extent do/should the immediate challenges of the Articles of Confederation color some of Winthrop’s arguments.
- Interrogate Winthrop’s claim that smaller governments are more just.
- Is the analogy Winthrop draws between the Constitution and pre-1776 British rule a fair one?
- Is it important, as Winthrop argues, to explicitly identify protections for citizens, or by outlining some protections are we simply making it easier to take away other essential freedoms?

Closing remarks

Would you have found Winthrop’s arguments ultimately convincing enough to give you pause over the ratification of the Constitution? Why or why not?

HW #109.

Notes:

HH250-01 notes prepared by Eleanor Gray.
HH250-09 notes prepared by Julian Bahramipour.
HH250-10 notes prepared by Chris Lukens.
HH250-15 notes prepared by Axel Bhandari.

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#106 Examining the Constitution

9/20/2016

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Digital history: Mapping the Constitution

Begin by opening this digital copy (Google Doc) of the Constitution as it was passed in 1787. (Note that through the amendments process, several points in this text have been altered).
Use this table (Google Spreadsheet) to digitally “map” the Constitution. To complete this task in a time-efficient fashion, use the Google Docs word count feature (link to Google Support page) to catalog the number of words in each article and to calculate the percentage of the whole it represents to determine how much of the text was dedicated to each structure or power.
Consider the following questions based on the table and pie chart you have created:
- Which topics received the most attention in the Constitution?
- Does the map suggest hypotheses about the relative importance to the Founders of the powers of the new government?
- To what extent do the powers of each branch of government displayed in the pie chart match how the federal government works today?

Interpreting the Constitution

In the time remaining today, students will divide into small investigative teams (pairs or triads) to consider five significant concepts embedded in the Constitution, and draw on evidence from the document in support of both potential positions. After gathering evidence, we will use our research to frame our next class discussion.

Concept #1: Republicanism

Question: What should be the role of citizens in creating public policy?
Position A: Public policy should reflect the opinion of voters.
Position B: Public policy should be created by officials who are most informed about the issues involved.

Concept #2: Federalism

Question: How should power be divided between the federal government and the states?
Position A: The federal government should retain the most power because it is best positioned to ensure fair treatment, safety, and equal protection for all Americans.
Position B: The states should retain the most power because they are closer to the people, better informed on local issues, and best positioned to exercise authority for their residents.

Concept #3: Limited Government

Question: To what extent should the federal government be involved in economic issues?
Position A: The federal government's powers over taxation as well as international and interstate trade allow significant latitude in directing economic policy.
Position B: The federal government should only act to remedy unfavorable economic conditions for business activity.

Concept #4: Separation of Powers

Question: Once Congress declares war and the President assumes the role of Commander-in-Chief who decides how the war ends?
Position A: Congress, the policy making branch which represents the people, should determine peace terms.
Position B: The President as Commander-in-Chief is in the best position to determine appropriate actions.

Concept #5: Checks and Balances

Question: When the President makes a nomination, what should be the nature of the Senate's "advice and consent?"
Position A: The Senate should defer to the President's choice of who he wants working under him.
Position B: It is the Senate’s duty to make an independent judgment of a nominee's suitability for a position serving the American people, even if that means denying the President his choice.

Homework: #107

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#105 Confederating States

9/15/2016

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The Meeting House, Salisbury, Connecticut, 1752-1985.

Background

To start class, spend 3 minutes to address the following question in your journal:

How was the loose structure of the Articles of Confederation influenced by the grievances voiced in the Declaration of Independence? Try to draw on specific evidence to support your answers.

In our brief follow up discussion, we will review how the Articles of Confederation worked and why the former colonists were inclined to organize themselves as a loose association of states.

Local history

With a new structure that made politics feel close to home for citizens in the colonies, it is a good opportunity to think about what was going on right here in Salisbury, Connecticut.

Take a look at an engraving of the Salisbury Town Meeting House (image) where the meeting would have taken place. Consider:

Who might have attended the meetings here?
What do you think the rest of Salisbury looked like at this time?
What do you think daily life would have been like?

Proposal from the Salisbury Town Meeting (6 May 1783) (Google Docs links for: HH250-09, HH250-10, and HH250-15).

Divide into 5 groups. Each group will read the selection from the proposal assigned to your group. Then, in the box to the right, provide the following information in blue:
- Provide a summary by providing a brief statement of the content in your own words.
- Provide context by drawing connections to other documents or readings from Foner with the goal of showing the meaning of this statement in this particular time and place.
Discussion questions:
- Very briefly review the summary and context for the proposals recommended by the town. (Review silently and then highlight any points that stood out for you).
- What assumptions do you think the people of Salisbury had about what politics and society would be like after independence?
- Explain what would have happened to these proposals under the Confederation government. Who would have decided on them? How?
- What do these proposals tell us about the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

Concluding remarks (if time allows):

Why did the political framework in place in 1783, the Articles of Confederation, ultimately fail to create a lasting political structure for the new nation?

Homework: #106

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#104 Declaring Independence

9/14/2016

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The opening of the original printing of the Declaration, printed on July 4, 1776 under Jefferson's supervision.

Agenda:

Select notetaker.

SOAPSTone-based discussion:

Use SOAPSTone analysis to guide first part of discussion.

Open discussion:

This portion of class can address many different issues, among the possibilities:
- Why were Americans, who were loyal to King George III in 1760, now in favor of independence in 1776?
  - How were Americans defining themselves?
- Consider the grievances discussed in the latter part of the document.
  - What events do they reference? (Think back to your group research).
- If you were a member of the British parliament tasked with responding to these grievances, what would you say?
  - As a third-party observer, do you think the case for independence was made strongly in this document? Why or why not?
- What strikes you as the most important belief in the preamble?
- What are “unalienable rights”?
  - Where might they stem from?
  - What is a truer type of freedom: the freedom for individuals to be able to choose to give up ones own rights or the protection of some fundamental rights as "unalienable"?
- What is consent important for the authors of this document?
  - To what extent to Americans today consent to governance? For example, does it matter that most Hotchkiss students cannot vote even though they pay sales taxes?
- What questions might you have for Thomas Jefferson about this document?
- Who were the “Americans” represented in 1776?
- To whom exactly does “men” refer?
  - How has that definition expanded?
- Should the Declaration of Independence be celebrated on July 4th?
  - What did the Declaration of Independence accomplish? Who gained liberty? Who did not?
  - What did it leave unresolved?
- Does this document hold up looking back from the 21st century? – more or less than you might have remembered or its reputation in history books?

Discussion Self-Reflection

Save 5-6 minutes at end to complete “Discussion Self-Reflection”

Homework: #105

Notes:

HH250-01 notes prepared by Ginny Barnes.
HH250-09 notes prepared by Ashley Spark.
HH250-10 notes prepared by Firas Kora.

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#103 Common Sense

9/12/2016

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Thomas Paine (right) and his pamphlet, Common Sense (left), published 1776.

Quiz (depending on section).

CIQ report back (depending on section).

Brief discussion: When did the American revolution begin?

Brief intro to Tom Paine

Common Sense was a pamphlet published 9 January 1776; went through 25 editions within a year
Reached hundreds of thousands of Americans at time when colonial population numbered only 2.5 million
- “Totally unprecedented in eighteenth-century America” (Foner in Tom Paine and Revolutionary America, 1976).
Paine was one of the co-creators of a new political language:
- Helped redefine “revolution” from cyclical in nature to its modern sense
- One of first writers to save “republic” from being a term of abuse

SOAPSTone analysis

SOAPSTone (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone) is the acronym behind a useful strategy for analyzing primary sources. This process will help you examine the different dimensions of a text, which can then be used to employ the text as evidence in discussion or writing.
Students access SOAPSTone Analysis of Common Sense (link to Google Doc) activity guide.
Activity procedure:
- Use the chart to guide your analysis of the document. Complete the chart individually and then consult with a partner (or two) to compare your answers. Once everyone is done we can use the time remaining for discussion.
- Read and annotate the excerpt of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense on page 156 in Foner.
- Complete the “Speaker” box together as a class.
- Next, create an editable copy of this document for your own Google Drive by selecting “File” and then “Make a copy…” After you make the copy, be sure to place it in your shared HH250 class folder.
- First, review the lefthand column here and/or the SOAPSTone page on Discovering History for a brief introduction to what SOAPSTone is and how to use it.

Homework #104.

Notes:

HH250-01 notes prepared by Scott Lewis.
HH250-09 notes prepared by Gemma Tung.
HH250-10 notes
HH250-15 notes

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#102 Road to Revolution

9/9/2016

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Assign notetaker. Notetaking template has already been created for our group. We will work together to fill it out. Notetaker can focus on discussion.

Introduction

If you think about it, the move to independence for the American colonies was an unusual – even a strange – moment in world history.

As Foner points out: When George III came to power in 1760, nobody would have thought colonies would be independent within two decades
Fought as together side by side in Seven Years War aka French and Indian Wars (1756-63)
282 years since European colonization began in Americas; 169 years since British settlement
100+ years of self-government in some of the 13 colonies
In all this time, no European settlement colony had sought independence

So why revolution? Why at this time?

Investigation teams

Each group will be given 3-4 events to examine in the textbook. You are also welcome to look online to see what sources you can find. Your group will record your findings in the common Google Doc that will be sent out to everyone. Please provide:

a) a brief description of the event,
b) identify the significance of the event to the process of moving from a colony to a nation, and
c) identify at least one source you used to locate the information above.

Note: You may use any citation format as long as it is easily locatable by one of your peers who might be curious to learn more about the even.

Example:

Albany Plan of Union 1754

Description: A proposal by Ben Franklin to provide a federal Grand Council that would have power to levy taxes, deal with Indian relations, and provide for common defense.
Significance: Although it was not enacted, it provided the model for united government under the later Articles of Confederation.
Source(s): Encyclopedia Britannica http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/12580/Albany-Congress

Group 1:

French and Indian War (1754-1763) (includes Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) in Europe)
Proclamation of 1763
Sugar Act 1764

Group 2:

Stamp Act 1765
Stamp Act Congress 1765 in New York
Repeal of Stamp Act; “Declaratory Act” 1766

Group 3:

Quartering Act 1765
Townshend Duties 1767
Partial repeal of Townshend Duties 1770

Group 4:

Boston Massacre March 5, 1770
Tea Act 1773
Boston Tea Party - December 16, 1773
Intolerable Acts 1774

Discussion

Each group presents:

Which event that you have researched do you think is most crucial to understanding the road to revolution? (We will leave open the possibility of combining multiple events together if you can make a logical case for doing so).
Why is this event significant? What can it show us about the broader shifts happening at this time?

Focus points:

What happened between 1760 and 1776 that caused the thirteen colonies to declare independence from Britain?
What important broader transformations occurred in the colonies during this time?
What arguments might have been made in favor of independence based on the events discussed? How might skeptics have responded?

Homework: #103

Notes:

HH250-01 notes prepared by Abby Hillebrecht.
HH250-09 notes prepared by Ellie Farrington.
HH250-10 notes prepared by Bradford Rawlings.
HH250-15 notes prepared by Jack Wolf.

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