Give me liberty or give me death!

In class today we read the text of the famous speech made by Patrick Henry while we watched the video below.  See if you can find examples of treason to the British government in the speech and think about how dangerous it was for Henry to make a speech publicly to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

America - The Story of US and the history of invention

The link in this post is a video presentation at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History (my former employer).  It was a presentation for high school students on the history of invention in conjunction with the video America - The Story of US which we watched in class.  It is a very interesting presentation so watch it when you have a few extra minutes.





http://edg1.vcall.com/docs/EastCoast/EastCoast-FINAL-300k.wmv

The Death of James Wolfe

This painting by Benjamin West depicts the death of James Wolfe at the battle of Quebec. The Native American warrior has been analyzed in various ways.  Some feel that he has his chin on his fist to show deep thought and intelligence.  The man in the blue coat is Dr. Thomas Hinde who is attending to Wolfe.  He is is blue because he is a doctor, not a soldier.  The man in green is Simon Fraser a member of a unit called the 78th Fraser Highlanders, a British infantry regiment from Scotland.  Fraser was actually not at the battle, but was recovering from wounds received in an earlier battle.  

Unit 6 Test Review Guide

French and Indian War Powerpoint

Battles can be confusing because there are so many people, events, and places involved.  In class we, only covered a few battles that served as turning points in the war.  The Story Mapping - History Frame graphic organizer we used in class to keep the events straight is in the post below.  You may print more if you need them.

ERB's this week so we will not have homework until Thursday night.

The UNIT 6 TEST is Tuesday/Wednesday, 3/20-21. 

Writing Graphic Organizers

All sixth grade students are working diligently on their first five paragraph essay.  In class yesterday, we talked about how to compose an introduction.  We brought up the following points:

• The introduction is the hardest part of the paper to write.  We talked about several strategies for writing an introduction. 
• In a history paper, you must transport the reader from their own lives into your topic.  You must provide background and do not assume that the reader is familiar with the topic you are covering. 
• You have to "hook" the reader and then provide the evidence. 
• You must convey a tremendous amount of information in a short space including; your topic, why it is important, and you thesis statement. (A thesis statement is your answer to a debatable statement.) 
• Suggestions for an "attention grabber" opening sentence
• an intriguing example 
• a provocative quote 
• a puzzling scenario 
• a vivid or unexpected anecdote 
• a thought-provoking question 

THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE ESSAY IS DUE THURSDAY!  

Unit 6 - Was George Washington really a hero? You decide.