U.S. History 8-2
Beware the Superlative Demon!
Oldest, best, most, first, worst
– you get the idea.
We live in a society obsessed with extremes. Not only can this focus thwart deeper learning, it can cause us to misunderstand and ignore some very, very important facts and truths.
Here are some very handy links.
Back to Mr. Robbins' home page.
Email Mr. Robbins
If you are trying to email me from a computer where you do not have a webmail account, copy and paste the above linked address into your email program.
Class starter handouts
Emergency supplies
Please, use these only if needed occasionally.
Before registering for any web tools, I strongly suggest you read my guidelines.
Web tools for your use
This is a very handy and simple poster creation tool that includes some pretty sophisticated tools.
This may be the largest selection of clip art on the web - and it's free.
Click here to open a copy of the timeline I passed out in class.
Timelines we use in class
Overall Class Plan 1800-1860
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The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Assignments
The Course Assessment
Due Mar. 4
One, The Washington Presidency
Due 3/12
Two, New Nation in a World of Conflict
TBA
Three, Thomas Jefferson & Lewis and Clark
TBA
Four, The Second Term of Thomas Jefferson & The War of 1812
April 4, or TBA
Five, The Market Revolution in America
April 8 or TBA
Six, America's Rapid Expansion & Conflicts Over Slavery
April 23
Seven, Westward Migration and Antebellum America
April 29
Eight, People Who Changed Antebellum America
May 7
Nine, The Beginnings of the Civil War
May 10
Ten, Key Events of the Civil War
May 14
Eleven, Reconstruction
May 22
Book Reports
Due, TBA
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Journal Items
Remember -
We read and summarize a reading selection for your journal every day.
You will submit your journal entries from each week Friday. Please, submit only the items for that week each Friday.
You will keep your journal entries on 8 1/2" x 11" three hole punch paper.
When your journal entries are returned, keep them in your class binder.
The links to the journal entries we use for each day are found in the right hand column of this table. There are also extra copies of the articles from each day in the blue out box.
If you want to see an example of how your journals should be formatted, click here.
To view the PowerPoint about plagiarism and journal entries we used at the beginning of class, click here.
Links to the Daily Articles
For the week ending 03/08
03/05 Excerpts from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
03/06 School closure, no article
03/07 Texas Wildfires
03/08 Sweden Joins NATO
Vocabulary word(s) for the week: Deprecate, Malice, Cold War
For the week ending 03/15
03/11 History of Daylight Savings Time
03/12 Ancient Bread
03/13 U.S. Food Delivery in Gaza
03/14 Pi Day
03/15 Ides of March
Vocabulary word(s) for the week: déjà vu, motif, deprecate, rudimentary, malice
For the week ending 03/22
03/18 Stolen Artwork Returned to Japan
03/19 Spring Equinox
03/20 HMS Tyger Wreckage Explored
03/21 Ghost Army Honored
03/22 Russia Again Attacks Ukraine
Vocabulary word(s) for the week: Patrimony, Repatriate, Infrastructure
For the week ending 03/29
03/25 Terrorist Attack at Moscow Theater
03/26 Neolithic Canoes
03/27 Key Bridge Collapse
03/28 James Neelly to Thomas Jefferson, Lewis Suicide
03/29 Must Farm Archeology
Vocabulary word(s) for the week: Incendiary
For the week ending 04/05
04/01 Spaghetti Plants - No article
04/02 Solar Eclipse
04/03 Earthquake in Taiwan
04/04 Indiana School Cell Phone Ban
04/05 Organ Transplants
Vocabulary word(s) for the week: Eclipse, Bipartisan
For the week ending 04/10
04/08 Man Awarded for Saving Friend from Grizzly Attack
04/09 Lee Surrenders to Grant
04/10 Henge Found in England
Vocabulary word(s) for the week: Fortitude, Henge
For the week ending 04/19
04/16 Recent Discoveries Found in Pompeii
04/17 Experiments Conducted Regarding Clovis Points
04/18 Jawbone of Giant Reptile Found in England
04/19 Anniversary of Battles of Lexington and Concord
Vocabulary word(s) for the week:
For the week ending 04/26
04/22 Supreme Court to Consider Homeless Ordinances
04/23 Possible Location of Augustus' Villa Found
04/24 Mount Vernon Cherries
04/25 Oregon Trail Journal Entries
04/26 Grizzly Bear Reintroduction in the Northern Cascades
Vocabulary word(s) for the week:
For the week ending 05/03
04/29 Weekend Tornadoes Strike the Midwest
04/30 Protestors Take Control of Campus Buildings at Columbia
05/01 A Brief History of May Day
05/02 Location of Plato's Grave Found on Scroll
05/03 New Theory About Sphinx Formation Tested
Vocabulary word(s) for the week:
For the week ending 05/10
05/06 Ancient Roman Dodecahedron Found in England
05/07 Germany Surrenders Twice to End WWII in Europe
05/08 Starving Sudanese Refugees Resort to Non-Foods for Diet
05/09 President Biden Stops Some Weapons to Israel
05/10 Anniversary of Transcontinental Railroad
Vocabulary word(s) for the week: Enigma, In Situ
For the week ending 05/17
05/13 Northern Lights Shine Over Weekend
05/14 Anniversary of Lewis and Clark Leaving St. Louis
05/15 Americans Unconcerned Over Low Birth Rates
05/16 23,000 Human Footprints Found in New Mexico Confirmed
05/17 70th Anniversary of Brown v. The Board
For the week ending 05/24
05/20 First Black Astronaut Finally Makes it to Space
05/21 Charles Lindbergh Flight Anniversary
05/22 Most Everest Climbs
Vocabulary word(s) for the week:
Books for class reading
The books listed below are already approved for your extra credit class reading.
If you want to use another, that's fine, but you need to have Mr. Robbins approve it. Generally speaking a book needs to be set close to the time period we will cover in class, be well written, and be moderate length.
You may use these books in any form you can find. You may check one out from the school or public library, or purchase it from an online source such as Amazon. These books are all in the public domain and are not very expensive.
You may use the links below to access your book as an ebook.
Some books have audio files. You may use the audio file for your book reading if you choose.
To view a printable copy of the book report handout you will receive in class, click here.
Roughing It, Mark Twain
Print - Click here. Audio - Click here.
Best Humorous American Short Stories, Assorted Authors
HTML only (for now)
Eight Cousins, Louisa May Alcott
Print - Click here. Audio File - Click here.
Up From Slavery, Booker T. Washington
Print- Click here. Audio - Click here.
Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain
Print - Click here. Audio - Click here.
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Print - Click here. Audio - Click here.
Rose in Bloom, Louisa May Alcott
Print - Click here., Audio - Click here.
Eight Cousins, Louisa May Alcott
Print - Click here. Audio - Click here.
Little Men, Louisa May Alcott
PDF - Click here. Audio - Click here.
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe *
Print - Click here. Audio - Click here.
* These books qualify for extra credit.