Thursday, September 29, 2016

Clinton - Trump Debate


Last time, students watched and discussed the first debate. They looked at some of the fact checking resources and polls.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Methods of Interrogation

Agenda 9/26:
  1. Students brainstormed different methods of interrogation.
  2. Students evaluated a list of terms about torture [see below].
  3. Students learned about and presented different methods of interrogation employed by the US in the War on Terror.
Methods of Interrogation:

Thursday, September 22, 2016

The War on Terror: Methods


Students read about the United States involvement in the War on Terror. They debated legitimate and illegitimate methods employed by the US government including: Secret Prisons, Torture, Drones, Targeted Assassinations, and Guantanamo Bay.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Iraq

Students finished watching clips from the documentary, Bush's War about the Iraq war. After watching, they wrote a paragraph response to the prompt: Describe how the United States came to attack Iraq. What was the purpose of the Iraq invasion? What was the result?


Thursday, September 15, 2016

The Beginning of the War on Terror

Agenda 9/14:

  1. Students put themselves in the position of president Bush after 9/11. They worked on the following scenario. After, I played the role of president Bush and read excerpts from the 2003 state of the union speech, laying out the case for the invasion of Iraq. Students listened and acted as reporters in a follow-up mock press conference.
Consider this scenario and respond to the questions.
The United States was attacked by terrorists. The World Trade center towers have collapsed, the Pentagon has been damaged, and thousands are dead. Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network, Al Qaeda are responsible. You are the president. How do you respond?

  • What will you do to keep Americans safe at home?
  • What will you do to punish those responsible?
  • Monday, September 12, 2016

    9/11 - Reactions

    Agenda 9/12:
    1. Students shared an discussed their 9/11 interviews.
    2. Having learned about individual people, students began looking at the response of the government to 9/11. They watched a clip of President Bush at Ground Zero and a speech he gave on September 20.
    3. Students then began looking at the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which granted President Bush the power to conduct the war on terror. They listened to the first 25 minutes of this podcast, providing background for the AUMF. 

    Thursday, September 8, 2016

    9/11

    Agenda 9/8:
    1. Students finished watching the documentary, 9/11.
    2. Students researched and wrote about victims of the 9/11 attacks using the New York Times feature, Portraits of Grief.
    3. Students listened a series of audio stories and took notes on this sheet of paper.
    DUE:
    9/11 Interviews - Monday 9/12

    Wednesday, September 7, 2016

    9/11

    Students brainstormed a list of words and terms that came to mind when thinking about September 11, 2001. They then began watching the Naudet documentary about the terrorist attacks, 9/11.

    Perspective, Truth,and History

    We started class by looking at the example of a lunchroom fight. Students played the role of a principal trying to figure out responsibility and consequences for the fight. This is an illustration of the jobs historians have in recording and interpreting history.