10. According to Mary Tillman what are the reasons the Tillman family didn't sue the U.S. Government? Due Dec. 17th

Listen to the speech at the link below. I suggest you download it to your MP3 player, phone or ipod. If you cannot, listen to the speech on-line and if all else fails come to me after school I can help you.

http://wordforword.publicradio.org/programs/2008/06/13/

According to Mary Tillman what are the reasons the Tillman family didn't sue the U.S. Government? To sue or not to sue, what do you think would be the right decision?

9. Questions for the letters Due Fri. Dec 6th

For this week's question cycle you may read letters from any of the blogs. Be sure to include the class along with the name of the author you are questioning. Ask tough questions of the letters, they're going to the President and they are about your financial future therefor they have to be sharp.

http://727msfrederick.blogspot.com/
http://723msfrederick.blogspot.com/
http://724msfrederick.blogspot.com/
http://702msfrederick.blogspot.com/
http://703msfrederick.blogspot.com/

8. What will President Obama do about the economy? Due Dec 1st

In the last two web logs many students have written about greed, in class Yanek asked, "How much is enough?" This week we are going to take a jump from American History back into current events, you may find a connection.

In class you have been given two readings about Obama's proposals, which proposals do you think are most important and why. Do you have any other proposals for easing the economic crisis?

Your task for this web log is to draft a letter to the president-elect on the proposal that you favor (either Obama's, your own, or another student's).

After next week's revisions you are invited to prepare a final copy for mailing to president-elect Obama.

7. Questions for 6. Due Friday Nov. 6

Step 1- Read all the comments from the previous assignment.

Step 2- Choose one comment which is thoughtful.

Step 3-

First, paraphrase the comment you are responding to: For example: “Mr. Bello thinks that…”

Then, write a question about the chosen comment. The question must be: clear, sincere, useful and be the sort of question which leads to more questions. The question you write must complicate the comment’s argument, make the reader of the comment you are questioning think deeper. Stir up some intellectual trouble

6. Raymond Chen wrote, "Why didn't they [Natives and Europeans] share the land with each other?" Due Friday

Every civilization has at least one story of their creation. Read the following two creation stories.

From the University of Washington library the Iroquois' Story of Creation

From the University of Virginia library the Bible's Story of Creation

Read deeper: What is the greatest similarity between the texts? What is the most significant contrast? (I suggest taking notes in a venn diagram, think carefully about what your think is significant and why)

Question: From Thanksgiving in 1620 to King Philip's War in 1670, Why the slip from collaboration to conflict? Support your theory with specific quotes from the primary source links and the textbook.

5. Questioning, Due Friday

Step 1- Read all the comments from the previous assignment.

Step 2- Choose one comment which is thoughtful.

Step 3-

First, paraphrase the comment you are responding to: For example: “Mr. Baalbaki thinks that…”

Then, write a question about the chosen comment. The question must be: clear, sincere, useful and be the sort of question which leads to more questions. The question you write must complicate the comment’s argument, make the reader of the comment you are questioning think deeper. Stir up some intellectual trouble

4. Economic Inequality

Rubiyath wrote about the cycle of poverty, "If all the classes are equal. My question to Tara Mango is: how can families from middle and lower classes pay for all [these programs] expenses...huge amount of taxes...?" Rubiyath is smart to look at economic inequalities, all good historians do.

In 1492, why did the Western Europeans set sail to conquer the world and not the Native Americans, Asians or Africans? The Answer is not that Europeans were smarter, better looking or that God loved them more. The answer is in economic inequalities.

Your assignment is to focus on one of the advantages Europe had in 1492 or on one of the disadvantages facing Native Americans or African. Write about this single advantage or disadvantage: the how and why it lead to European ascendancy. Refer to your class notes, the textbook may or may not be useful I suggest pages 22 - 65, and the videos below are for college level but you may get much out of it. Comment Due Tuesday October 7th.


If you cannot watch this video you may read about it on http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/index.html