Week of 28 March-1 April

Freshmen US Government
Monday: Today we are taking an introductory look into Unit 2, which will focus specifically on the US Constitution and its creation. Homework is Lesson 8 Vocab (on vocabulary packet).



Tuesday: Today we're talking all about the Articles of Confederation, which was the new America's first attempt at a unified government. And we'll talk about why it FAILED! Unit notes are here. Homework tonight is the Shays' Rebellion WS.





Wednesday: Half-day! Today we will finish the Articles of Confederation chart from yesterday. Here are the notes to go along with it. Homework is Lesson 9 Vocab.



Thursday: Today we will explore Lesson 9 and talk about the Constirutional Convention. Notes here. For homework, students will read and complete the picture questions in the CC packet.

Friday: Today students will complete a jigsaw activity, where each student will focus on one of the three big issues at the Convention and become an expert in it, then present it to other students, who will be doing the same with their topic. By the end, you will all get to learn from each other! Homework is Lesson 10 vocab.

Sophomore Modern World



Monday: Today we will take a look into the beginning of the war in the Pacific. We'll begin with some Japanese history and the Way of the Warrior, bushido. We will also talk about the Meiji Restoration and the rise of Japanese militarism and imperialism. Homework is to read the article on the Rape of Nanking and answer the corresponding questions.





Tuesday: We will continue yesterday's lesson, focusing on bushido and the intial Japanese push through Asia. Notes here. Homework is the Pearl Harbor Speech Analysis. Speech is below.




Wednesday:  Today we will dicuss Japanese Imperialism, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the US mobilization, including the internment of all Japanese-Americans. Homework is to complete the reading about the Bataan Death March and Korematsu v. US and answer the questions.




Thursday: Today we will discuss the morality of war, and students will have a guided debate about Korematsu v. US. Does war change "right vs. wrong"? Was it constitutional for the president to remove habeas corpus in order to detain all Japanese-Americans? Should people be held accountable for what they do in wartime? Homework is to outline 16.1 and 2.



Friday: Today we will be conducting bombing runs. Students will conduct a bombing mission on various targets located within Wompatuck State Map in order to destroy the enemy's ability to effectively supply, support, and maintain their military strength. However, carpet bombing comes with a price - is the cost of civilian deaths an acceptable one? We'll start by looking at this map of the London blitz, which shows nearly every bomb dropped on London by the Luftwaffe. Remember the question Robert McNamara presents: Can something be moral if we win, but immoral if we lose? Homework is to finish the classwork and study for the quiz on Monday. 



Junior USII
Monday: Today we will talk more about President Hoover, and the transition America made to FDR and the New Deal. How did FDR attempt to "fix" the US? And what were the three goals of the New Deal? Relief, Recovery, and Reform!!! Notes are here. Homework is 23.3 WS.



Tuesday: Today we are talking some alphabet soup. No, really! Well, minus the soup part. We'll talk about the CCC, FERA, FDIC, TVA, PWA, SEC, SSB, and WPA. Don't mix them up!!! Homework is 23.4 WS.




Wednesday: Halfday! Today we will begin the Century series' edition on the Great Depression. No homework, but prepare for a quiz on Friday!



Thursday: Today we will continue the movie from yesterday.



Friday: Today we will finish the notes and review for the quiz, which will be on Monday. Study the Great Depression and the New Deal this weekend!!!

Week of 21-25 March

Freshman US Government
Tuesday: Today the Dragons have an assembly block 4, so our test will be moved one more day to tomorrow. Now you have no excuses not to have studied!!!!!

Wednesday: Test day!


Thursday: Movie Day!


Sophomore Modern World
Tuesday: Today students will begin by taking a quick pop quiz on what they've learned so far. Then we will be looking at the advancement of the Axis powers into the Mediterranean and North Africa, and finish up by speaking about Operation Barbarossa, when Hitler turned on Stalin and attacked the USSR. Notes here. Homework tonight is to read pgs. 444-446 and complete the corresponding worksheet.


Wednesday: Good luck on MCAS!

Thursday: Today we will talk about Operation Barbarossa, which would prove to be a mistake of "Napoleonic" proporitions for Hitler. We will also work on a map of the campaigns in Europe and North Africa. Homework is to finish the map.


Junior USII
Tuesday: Today we will be completing a stock market simulation as the first activity of our unit on the Great Depression. Students will get a stock prospectus and invest their money in companies of their choosing. We'll see who makes it out of the decade without losing their fortune!!!


Wednesday: Today we will finish our stock market activity and begin taking notes on the Great Depression. Notes are available here. Homework tonight is the 23.1 WS. 



Thursday: Today we will continue taking notes on the Great Depression, talking about Hoovervilles, the Dust Bowl (see song below). and the "New Deal." We'll also look at the intriguing Business Plot of 1933, a conspiracy in which the leaders of American industry planned to overthrow the president, but were stopped by a man named Smedley Darlington Butler (who also had two Medals of Honor!). Homework is the 23.2 WS.

Week of 14-18 March

Freshmen US Government
Monday: Today we will be covering Lesson 5, discussing the earliest settlers in America and the crude forms of government they set up to maintain some law and order. Here are the notes. Tonight's homework is to complete the Lesson 5 WS.



Tuesday: Today we will move onto Lesson 6, discussing the events leading up to the American Revolution. Tonight's homework is to complete the Lesson 6 and 7 WS.



Wednesday: Today we will have a heated discussion about the writ of habeas corpus, specifically in regards to Guantanamo Bay. Can the US government suspend habeas corpus, or is that unconstitutional? Homework is to study the vocabulary words from Lessons 1-4 and make flashcards in preparation for the upcoming Unit Test on Friday.



Thursday: Today we will finish discussing habeas corpus and review for the test tomorrow. Homework is to study for the test, and finish flashcards for lessons 5-7. Study hard!



Friday: Test day! You can do this!!!

Sophomore Modern World
Monday: Today we will finish our unit out and review for the big test tomorrow! Homework tonight is to complete the study guide.



Tuesday: Today is our test on the Age of Uncertainty and the Rise of Dictators. You've got this!!!


Wednesday: Today we begin our unit on WWII! Students will look at the events leading up to the outbreak of war. Could WWII have been prevented, realistically? We will also focus on the policies of Appeasement. Homework tonight is to outline 15.4 in your textbook.


Yeah, I'm sorry, kids.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso

Thursday: Today we will be revisiting the events leading up to WWII and the outbreak of war: the Phony War, Dunkirk, and the Battle of Britain. We will also look at the Spanish Civil War, which would prove to be a sort of proxy war before the outbreak of the World War. Notes are here. Homework tonight is to complete the worksheet on Appeasement. And here are some songs from the Spanish Civil War. Ay Carmela! Translated lyrics can be found here.



Friday: Today we will go back and look at the Axis momentum that gave Germany a strong foothold before the Allies could effectively react. We'll look at the evacuation of Dunkirk, the battle of Britain, and the Blitzkrieg. Notes are here. Homework will be a CHOICE between a worksheet on the London Blitz or the Evacuation of Dunkirk.

I see your Soviet tanks and raise you 8 reindeer.

Junior USII
Monday: Today we will be watching a video from the Century series on the Roaring '20s. No homework tonight.



Tuesday: Today students will complete the video from yesterday. Homework is to complete the Chapter 22.1 handout on the 1920s.


Wednesday: Today students will take some brief notes on the roaring '20s. Homework is to complete the 22.1 and 2 Study Guide handout. Quiz on the '20s on Friday! And here is my favorite jazz song of all time, in honor of the Jazz Age!



Thursday: Today we will go over 22.3 and 4, and hopefully have time to fill out the study guide for both! This will be the last day of our current unit on the 1920s. Homework is to complete the 22.4 WS and study for tomorrow's quiz!!!

Friday: Quiz day!!!

Week of 7-11 March

AWESOME VIDEO OF THE WEEK - 500 high school students sing the National Anthem.

Freshmen US Government:
Monday: Quiz today on Lessons 1-4. We will also be looking at the updated list of presidential candidates here. It's gone from 23 candidates down to 6! But who will make the Final Four??? Homework is the English Bill of Rights WS. 



Tuesday: Today we will begin working on a jigsaw timeline project on British Constitutionalism. Students will pair up and each group will learn about one event in British history, so that when we are all done, each group will present their event to the class and add it to the wall, thereby making a big, detailed timeline! Homework is to work on the timeline.

Wednesday and Thursday: We will be working on our projects all day, they are due at the beginning of class on Friday!!!

Friday: Today we will begin (and hopefully finish) presentations in class. Students will each have 2 minutes to present their event, and we will compile our class timeline. Homework tonight is Lesson 5 Vocab. 

Sophomore Modern World:
Monday: Today students will continue taking notes on the Rise of Fascism, looking at the three main facets of totalitarianism: Fascism, Communism, and Nazism. For homework, students will complete the Origins of the Nazi Party WS. Also, students will be completing a Current Events WS on an article regarding the presidential candidates. Due Friday!

Tuesday: Today students will be working on their notes a little more, then acting out a short play that depicts a German family during Hitler's rise to power. Could he have been stopped? We'll also look at a famous poem of Martin Niemoller and analyze it. Homework tonight is to complete the Fascism/Communism Venn Diagram.


Wednesday: Today students will finish talking about the Rise of Hitler. Could he have been stopped, or was his rise to power truly inevitable? Was it influenced more by appeasement or by the Treaty of Versailles? Homework is to complete the Fascism/Communism Venn Diagram.



CLICK FOR VIDEO

Thursday: Today we are going to look at and compare 4 of the main dictators of the Interwar Period: Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Stalin (Russia), and Hirohito (Japan). Don't forget to finish your current events tonight!


Friday: Today we will be visited by Cadet Tom O'Connell, a 2014 BHS grad who is currently in his second year at the US Military Academy at West Point. He will be visiting our class to talk about his experiences, and answer any questions students may have about the service academies. Did you know? Sylvanus Thayer, of Braintree, MA, the namesake of Thayer Library and Academy, was considered "the father of West Point" and once served as a superintendent of the school. Also, a 1793 cannon currently sits outside Thayer's original home on Washington St., a gift from West Point to the town of Braintree. Homework is to complete the Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini vocabulary chart. 



Junior USII:
Monday: Today students will debate the Schenck v. US case, its morality and legality. Your job is to persuade students on the other side to join forces with you! Homework is the Section 4 WS. 

A propaganda poster from circa 1919

Tuesday: Today will be the last day of our debate activity, and which ever side ends up with the most students (persuades the most to agree with them) will win a prize! We will also begin discussing the US after WWI. Homework is to complete the Section 4 study guide and begin preparing for a WWI Quiz on Friday!


Wednesday: Today strudents will work on analyzing documents regarding the Causes of WWI. We will then work on formulating theses for a DBQ. Homework is to complete the document questions.



Thursday: Today students will review for the WWI Test tomorrow! Study!!! Complete the study guide for homework!

Friday: