Final exam review

Here is our final exam review document!

See you on the 26th at 9 am!

Reconstruction Bonus

Hi Everyone!

I'm experimenting with some new technology for the future and used "Zaption" to create this video (technically PBS created the video and I added the questions). Your questions are "scored," but I won't actually record them.

I also annotated a short essay by James Oakes about Lincoln's beliefs on racial equality through Actively Learn. To read the essay, sign in as a student- you can sign in with an existing google account- and add a class. You can find the class titled "CUNY history" by entering class code d03c8.

Both the video and the essay will enhance and complicate your understanding of Reconstruction, which will be beneficial to you in preparing for the final exam. I am test driving these tools to see if they would be valuable to future classes so your feedback is extremely useful to me. Feel free to post anonymously if you prefer- your honest assessment of the experience is greatly appreciated. If you have used Zaption or Actively Learn in another class, I'd love to hear your positive/negative feedback as well.

Thanks for your help!

Chapter 15

Post your questions/comments on Chapter 15 and the Blight essay here.

This post will be available for comments until Thursday, May 26.

Chapter 14

Post your questions/comments for Chapter 14 here.

Please bring your textbooks (digital or other) to class on Thursday, May 5.

For class on Monday, May 9:
Text of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Audio file (mp3) of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Articles of Agreement

This post will be available until Monday, May 16.

Chapter 13

Post your comments/questions for Chapter 13 here.

This post will be available until Monday, May 2.

Chapter 12

Post your comments/questions for Chapter 12 here.

We'll discuss one or more of these documents by Catherine Beecher, Angelina Grimke, Frederick Douglass and David Walker in class.

This post will be available for comments until Monday, May 2.

Chapter 11

Post your comments/questions for Chapter 11 here.

Please make sure to bring your essay to class on Monday, April 18.

This post will be available until Thursday, April 21.

Chapters 3 and 4

Post your questions and responses to the readings for Monday, April 11 here.

Remember that I'll ask everyone to say what two primary documents and one secondary source you've chosen for your essay in class on Monday. Please be prepared!

This post will be available for comments until Monday, April 18.

Chapter 10

Post your questions and responses to classmates' questions here!

This post will be available until Thursday, April 14.

Chapter 9

Post one question from the textbook reading and/or the class discussion. As always, feel free to respond to each other's questions.

This post will be available for comments until Thursday, April 7.

Class Canceled

Hi Everyone,

I have to cancel Monday's (3/28) class due to illness. Feel free to continue posting questions and responding to you classmates questions on the Chapter 8 questions post. We'll discuss the essay as well as the schedule readings for our next class meeting.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Best,
Mariel

Chapter 8

Before class:

Post one question you had about the material covered in the chapter (try to avoid factual or yes/no questions that can be answered in a single word). 

After class:

Reply to at least one question. Make sure to refer to the specific page (or other source) where you found your answer.

This post will be available until Monday, April 5. 

A time to reflect...

We've passed the mid-point of the semester! Hooray!

Take a moment to review the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the semester. How are you doing? What's working for you? What isn't working? What will you do differently for the second half of the semester? Any tips/tricks you can share with your classmates?

Apple/FBI debate follow-up

Based on today's in-class activity:

Did you agree or disagree with the "court's" findings? Why or why not?

Do you think it is easier to explain your argument when you write or when you speak? How did this activity challenge you?

This post will be available for comments until Monday, March 21.

The Bill of Rights and the Constitution

James Madison, President of the United States, from the Library of Congress

Watch "The Story of the Bill of Rights" created by the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics. 

Why was the Bill of Rights so important to "saving" the Constitution? Is the Bill of Rights still important today? 

This post will be available for comments until Thursday, March 16. 

Nash and Enlightenment notes

Hi Everyone-

Here is a link to the google doc we worked on in class including the outline of Nash's essay, and some notes on the Enlightenment and Great Awakening.

Many of you are starting to think about the midterm exam, so here is a list of things to start thinking about:

• Key terms: I'll provide a list of about 10 terms on the exam, you'll choose 5 to identify who, what, where, when and significance for each. The Key Terms for each chapter are listed at the end of the chapter in the chapter review materials (older editions may not have this- check the 4th seagull edition before the exam if you are using an older edition).
• Studyspace has flashcards of the key terms for each chapter that you may find useful to use online or print. Be aware that the "definition" they provide is not as thorough as the who, what, where, when and significance that I'll be asking for on the exam.
• I'll only use key terms from the material we've covered- so for Chapter 4, I'll only draw a key term that was in the sections that were assigned before the midterm. The rest of the terms will be fair game for the final exam.
• The essay will be based on documents that I will provide. It is likely that you will have seen at least one of the documents before. 
• Bring any questions you have to the midterm review on March 16. We'll spend the whole class period answering your questions and reviewing examples. 
• NOTICE in the notes linked above how important identifying the who, what, where, when and significance for the Enlightenment and Great Awakening was in being able to write a thesis statement. Interesting...

If you want to try your hand at writing a thesis statement for the Nash essay that 1. presents an argument and 2. outlines the essay in the comments below, you are welcome to do so but it is not required. Comments will count as bonus participation points, should you choose to post. This post will be open for comments until Monday, March 21. 

Nash thesis statements

Post ONE of your remaining discussion questions in the comments.

REPLY to at least one question someone else posted.

This post will be available for comments until Monday, March 14.

What a Paine!

Thomas Paine, 1737-1809

Thomas Paine's Common Sense played a pivotal role in convincing Americans to break with the British and form their own nation. Given our class discussion, if you were a British colonist in the winter/spring of 1776, would you have found Paine convincing or not? Explain your position.

This post will be available for comments until Thursday, March 10. 

Enlightenment and the Great Awakening

Please share the thesis statements you worked on in class in the comments below.

Question from class: "In what ways are the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening related?"

This post will be available for comments until Monday, March 7.

Ch-ch-ch-changes in North America

Thinking about Breen as well as our discussion of Whitefield and Edwards, what were some of the ways that British colonial society was changing in the mid-18th century? What were the consequences of those changes?

This post will be available for comments until Monday, March 7.

Breen discussion questions

Post ONE of your remaining discussion questions in the comments.

REPLY to at least one question that someone else posted.

This post will be open for comments until Thursday, March 3.

Good news about quizzes!

Hi Everyone,

The online gradebook seems to be back up and running like normal, so we'll be able to return to our regular system for future quizzes- no need to print anything for future quizzes.

If you did your Chapter 2 quiz, then I'll be able to access your scores even if you didn't bring a hard copy to class on Monday.

And I'll still give everyone credit for doing the Chapter 1 quiz.

The next quiz will be for Chapter 5, due Monday, March 7.

Thanks for your patience with this!

-Mariel

Letter to the Town of Providence

We discussed examples of the Pilgrim's and Puritan's beliefs in the founding of their New England colonies in class. Read Roger Williams "Letter to the Town of Providence" from 1655. In what ways do Williams' beliefs differ from those discussed in class?

This post will be available for comments until Monday, February 29.

Additional Source Challenge!

You and your group concentrated your analysis on a single source during today's in-class activity. Now consider how your position changes when you look at one more source. Choose any source from class (other than your original source) and examine it as we did in class, but on your own. Do you need to revise your thesis or is your original interpretation still accurate?

Why do you think it is so important for historians to examine a wide variety of sources before developing conclusions? How did this experience influence your perspective?

This post will be available for comments until Thursday, February 25.

New New plan for quizzes

Ok, so here's our new plan:

Please print ONE PAGE of your email receipt (I do not need to see every question you answered) and bring it to class on Monday. Make sure it includes your name, the score, and the time stamp.

We'll see how this system works, then re-evaluate.

Thank you for your cooperation!

-Mariel

Comparing secondary sources

So far this semester, we've read two different scholars writing about the native peoples of North America. What similarities or differences did you notice between the Richter reading (Facing East from Indian Country) and the Calloway reading ("New Worlds for All")?

This post will be available for comments until Monday, February 22.

Primary Sources

We looked at three different primary sources in class today, and I'd like you to consider the following three questions in your comments.

How was examining the primary sources similar to or different from reading the textbook? 

What did you learn from the primary sources that you did not learn from the textbook? 

Why is it important for scholars to use different kinds of sources in their analysis? 

This post will be available for comments until Thursday, February 18.

Cahokia

Cahokia, Central Plaza

Read the National Geographic article by Glenn Hodges about Cahokia, America’s Forgotten City. Why is Cahokia “forgotten?” How does the story of Cahokia confirm or challenge what you previously knew about Native American peoples and the settlement of North America?

This post will be available for comments until Thursday, February 11.

Goooaaal!

Welcome everyone!

What would you like to accomplish in class this semester? Would you like to gain more confidence speaking in class? Read and recall information more efficiently? Practice writing formally? Write your goal for the semester in the comments below- the more specific you are about what you would like to achieve, the easier it will be to work together and meet your goal!

Welcome, Spring 2016!

Greetings!

This is the course blog for History 151, section 014. We'll meet officially on Monday, February 1, 8:10 AM, but feel free to review the course policies and assignments as well as the schedule of readings (links in right sidebar) to familiarize yourself with the expectations for the course.

We'll use Eric Foner's  Give Me Liberty! Volume 1 Fourth Seagull Edition, by Eric Foner. ISBN 978-0-393-92030-7 as our main textbook. The book is available in new and used copies from Shakespeare and Company, located at 939 Lexington Avenue. You may purchase alternative versions of the book (ebooks are permitted, older editions are also acceptable) from a different seller. Please make sure to have your book in time to complete the first reading assignment (due Thursday, February 4). If you purchase an alternate edition, make sure that your reading corresponds with the assignment since the page numbers don't always match. Readings are based on the 4th Seagull edition pages.

I look forward to meeting you in class!

- Dr. Mariel Isaacson