“Twas the week before holiday break and in American History, the students participated in a mock trial for all to see. The Boston Tea Party, Coercive Acts, and Declaration were shared, and a “Spirit of Independence” exam must be prepared.” As you can see I am not a clever poet, but the students did participate in one of my favorite activities and continued to examine the events that lead to the American Revolutionary War. A test on the “Spirit of Independence” will occur on Tuesday, December 22nd to accumulate the hard work that the students have put in this year. A special shout out to my homeroom for an awesome effort in the door decorating competition. The students created a real fireplace and used the Aurasma Augmented Reality App to wish everyone happy holidays. In addition, several students created an EFMS Twelve Days of Christmas song that was linked with a QR Code. Be sure to check out the door in the images below! The students created a fantastic representation of an “EF Christmas” and were rewarded with top marks in the Craftsmen ship category! Great job 212! Monday: Students continued to work with their groups to create their arguments for the Boston Massacre Mock Trial. Both the Prosecution and Defense Lawyers created their opening and closing statements, and worked on developing scripts for their witness interviews. These lawyers consulted several primary and secondary sources to draft their statements and questions for their witnesses. The witnesses researched the individual they would be portraying and continued to work with the lawyers to develop the question-answer scripts. The members of the jury remained very busy analyzing several primary sources related to the Boston Massacre and other events that formulate the “spirit of independence”. Some of these sources include real testimony from the actual trial, excerpts from Common Sense, and propaganda created by Paul Revere and other members of the Committee of Correspondence. Tuesday: Tuesday marked the day of the Boston Massacre Mock Trial. While I wore my judge’s gown and colonial wig, many students dressed the part to participate in the trial. With my gavel in hand, I listened to some of the best arguments pertaining to the Boston Massacre! Students did a great job emerging themselves in the characters that they played. The lawyers were not only convincing, but also were able to appeal to the members of the jury through a series of arguments and questioning of the witnesses. In the end, two of the class periods found the British soldiers to be guilty and two class periods found the soldiers to be innocent. Once again, Team 8-1 students continue to impress with their creativity and enthusiasm! Well done everyone! Wednesday: The Boston Massacre was wrapped up and new topics such as the Boston Tea Party were discussed. Students were introduced to the Tea Act, The Boston Tea Party, and finally the Coercive Acts. Students also analyzed the decisions of the First Continental Congress, and had a short debate on whether these decisions were valid for the time period. To cover this information, Near Pod was used and students used eBackpack to complete their guided notes. At the end of the class period, students were able to identify cause-effect relationships with the information above and then predicted what would occur next in American History. Thursday: Thursday’s class marked the beginning of the War for Independence. Students were introduced to the Second Continental Congress and the influential members behind some of the major decisions to come out of the Congress. The battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill were also discussed during Thursday’s class. Students also examined the famous portrait titled The Death of Dr. Joseph Warren and read about how Dr. Warren’s death at the Battle of Bunker Hill was one of the first times in American History that forensics were used to identify human remains. Friday: Students read a portion and discussed one of the most important documents in American History, the Declaration of Independence. Prior to the Declaration of Independence, students were presented the arguments for and against independence. The students voiced their own opinions on whether or not the colonies were ready to make the break from Great Britain. In addition, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was also reviewed during Friday’s class. In past years, I used to pretend to have found a break-up letter and then read the break-up letter to each class. The students always want to know who wrote it, expecting the author to be a peer. When I announce the writer to the class as The American Colonies, the students begin to put the pieces together. This is how I teach the Declaration of Independence… as a break-up letter. Unfortunately, many students have heard about this activity from previous students, so the surprise was unable to take place. However, students still have the opportunity to create their own break-up letter as a bonus assignment.
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Mr. Steve Hartnett
Mr. Hartnett will update the Room 212 Blog with classroom updates on a regular basis. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @ MrHartnett212 Archives
July 2019
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