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Ms. Parisi, US History

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Week 21 2/23-2/27

Hi people! This week we will wrap up Topic 8 Postwar America and begin Topic 9 The Civil Rights Movement. 
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 8 Quiz on 2/23
-Topic 9.1 The Civil Rights Movements Strengthens
-Topic 9.2 The Movement Surges Forward
-The Sixties docuseries
 
Objectives:
Topic 9.1 The Civil Rights Movements Strengthens
  • Describe efforts to end segregation in the 1940s and 1950s. Explain the importance of Brown v. Board of Education.
  • Describe the controversy over school desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas.
  • Discuss the Montgomery bus boycott and its impact.
Topic 9.2 The Movement Surges Forward
  • Describe the sit-ins, freedom rides, and the actions of student protests in the early 1960s.
  • Explain how the protests at Birmingham and the March on Washington were linked to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • Summarize the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Due:
-Topic 9 assignments due 3/9
-9.0 I Have A Dream Speech Analysis due 3/11

Week 20 2/17-2/20

Hi people! This week we will continue Topic 8 Postwar America. 
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 8.2 The Korean War
-Topic 8.4 Prosperity, Mass Culture, and Social Issues of the 1850s
 
Objectives:
Topic 8.4 Prosperity, Mass Culture, and Social Issues of the 1850s
  • Describe how the United States made the transformation to a booming peacetime economy.
  • Discuss the accomplishments and leadership qualities of Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
  • Explain the causes and effects of prosperity in the 1950’s on consumers.
  • Describe the rise of new forms of mass culture.
  • Summarize the arguments made by critics who rejected the culture of the 1950’s. Explain the problems that many minority groups faced in the postwar era.
Due:
-Topic 8 assignments (8.1-8.4) due 2/20
-Topic 8 Quiz on 2/23

Week 19 2/9-2/13

Hi people! This week we will begin Topic 8 Postwar America. 
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 8.1 The Beginning of the Cold War
-Topic 8.2 The Korean War
-Topic 8.3 Cold War Intensifies
 
Objectives:
Topic 8.1 The Beginning of the Cold War
  • Trace the reasons that the wartime alliance between the US and USSR unraveled.
  • Explain how President Truman responded to Soviet aggression in Eastern Europe.
  • Describe the causes and results of Stalin’s blockade of Berlin.
Topic 8.2 The Korean War
  • Explain how Mao Zedong and the communists gained power in China.
  • Describe the causes and the reasons for US involvement in the Korean War.
  • Identify the long-term effects and outcomes of the Korean War.
Topic 8.3 Cold War Intensifies
  • Describe how Cold War tensions were intensified by the arms race between the US and USSR.
  • Describe how Cold War tensions were intensified by the space race.
  • Explain how domestic spy cases intensified fears of communist influence in the US government.
  • Analyze the rise and fall of Senator Joseph McCarthy and the methods of McCarthyism.
Due:
-Topic 8 assignments due 2/19
-Reading homework #7 due 2/19

Week 18 2/2-2/6

Hi people! This week we will conclude Topic 7: World War II and the Holocaust. 
 
This week's assignment:
-Schindler's List Film Analysis
 
Objectives:
Schindler's List
  • Students will analyze how the Holocaust is represented in film, including historical accuracy, perspective, and the experiences of victims, perpetrators, and bystanders.
  • Students will evaluate the actions and moral choices of individuals during World War II, using examples from Schindler’s List to discuss themes such as resistance, complicity, and rescue.
  • Students will interpret film techniques (cinematography, symbolism, music, and narrative structure) and explain how these elements shape historical understanding and emotional impact in a written film analysis.
Due:
-Schindler's List Film Analysis due 2/9
-Topic 7 Reading Assessment due 2/9

Week 17 1/26-1/30

Hi people! This week we will continue Topic 7 World War II and the Holocaust.
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 7.6 The Allies Win the War
-Topic 7.7 The Holocaust
-Schindler's List
 
Objectives:
Topic 7.6 The Allies Win the War
  • Analyze the planning and impact of the invasion of Normandy. 
  • Understand how the Allies achieved final victory in Europe. 
  • Explore the reasons president Truman decided to use the atomic bomb against Japan.
Topic 7.7 The Holocaust
  • Trace the roots and progress of Hitler’s campaign against the Jews. 
  • Explain the goals of Hitler’s “final solution” and the nature of Nazi death camps.
  • Examine how the United States responded to the Holocaust.
Schindler's List
  • Students will analyze how the Holocaust is represented in film, including historical accuracy, perspective, and the experiences of victims, perpetrators, and bystanders.
  • Students will evaluate the actions and moral choices of individuals during World War II, using examples from Schindler’s List to discuss themes such as resistance, complicity, and rescue.
  • Students will interpret film techniques (cinematography, symbolism, music, and narrative structure) and explain how these elements shape historical understanding and emotional impact in a written film analysis.
Due:
-Topic 7 assignments due 1/29
-Reading assessment due 2/9
-Schindler's List due 2/9

Week 16 1/20-1/23

Hi people! This week we will continue Topic 7 World War II and the Holocaust. 
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 7.3 America Enters World War II
-Topic 7.4 A War on Two Fronts
-Topic 7.5 The Home Front
 
Objectives:
Topic 7.3 America Enters World War II
  • Explain why Japan decided to attack Pearl Harbor, and describe the attack itself. 
  • Outline how the United States mobilized for war after the attack on Pearl Harbor. 
  • Summarize the course of the war in the Pacific through the summer of 1942.
Topic 7.4 A War on Two Fronts
  • Analyze the reason for and impact of the Allies’ “Europe First” strategy.
  • Explain why the battles of Stalingrad and Midway were major turning points in the war.
  • Discuss how the Allies put increasing pressure on the Axis in North Africa and Europe.
Topic 7.5 The Home Front
  • Examine how the need to support the war effort changed American lives. 
  • Analyze the effects of the war on civil liberties for Japanese Americans and others. 
  • Explain how WWII increased opportunities for women and minorities.
Due:
-Topic 7 assignments due 1/29
-Reading Assessment (pgs. 407-427) due 2/9

Week 15 1/12-1/16

Hi people! This week we will begin Topic 7 World War II and the Holocaust.
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 7.1 The Rise of Aggressive Dictators
-Topic 7.2 America Debates Involvement
 
Objectives:
Topic 7.1 The Rise of Aggressive Dictators
  • Explain the rise of dictatorships in the Soviet Union, Italy, Germany, and Japan in the 1930’s. 
  • Summarize the acts of aggression by Italy, Germany, and Japan. 
  • Analyze the responses of Britain, France, and the US to the aggressive regimes.
Topic 7.2 America Debates Involvement
  • Understand the course of the early years of WWII in Europe. 
  • Describe FDR’s foreign policy in the mid-1930’s and the great debate between interventionists and isolationists. 
  • Explain how the US became more involved in the conflict.
 
Due: 
-Schindler's List permission slip due 1/26
-Topic 7 assignments due 1/29
-Reading Assessment due 2/9

Week 14 12/1-12/5

Hi people! This week we will wrap up Topic 6: The Great Depression and the New Deal. Our summative assessment is a DBQ essay.
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 6 DBQ Essay
 
Objectives:
  • Students will be able to construct a well-organized 5-paragraph DBQ essay.
  • Understand the key policies and responses of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration to the Great Depression (1929–1941).
  • Analyze how the Great Depression and New Deal changed the role of the federal government
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of federal responses to the crisis, using evidence from both primary sources and historical context.
Due:
-Topic 6 DBQ Essay handwritten in class on 12/4 and due Monday 12/8 at the start of class time.
 

Week 13 11/17-11/21

Hi people! This week we will continue Topic 6 The Great Depression and the New Deal. 
 
This week's assignments: 
-Topic 6.4 The New Deal Expands and Its Effects
-Topic 6.5 Culture during the Depression
-Reading #5
 
Objectives:
Topic 6.4 The New Deal Expands and Its Effects
  • Analyze the ways that the New Deal promoted social and economic reform and its long-term effects.
  • Explain how New Deal legislation affected the growth of organized labor. 
  • Evaluate Roosevelt’s plan to increase the number of US Supreme Court justices on the course of the New Deal.
  • Identify the social and political contributions of Eleanor Roosevelt, Frances Perkins, and other women involved in New Deal programs. 
  • Explain how the New Deal expanded economic opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities. 
  • Analyze how the New Deal changed the shape of American party politics and lessened ethnic and social divisions with American society.
  • Evaluate the effect of the New Deal on the historical role of the federal government and FDR on the presidency.
Topic 6.5 Culture during the Depression
  • Trace the growth of radio and the movies in the 1930’s and how both mediums reflected the characteristics and issues of their time. 
  • Explain the relationship between the New Deal and the arts.
  • Describe the major themes of literature of the Depression era.
Due Dates:
-Topic 6 assignments (6.1-6.5) due 11/20
-Reading #5 due 11/20
 
Past due but will still accept:
-Topic 5 assignments (5.5-5.7) due 11/6
-Topic 6 Project due 11/6

Week 11 11/3-11/7

Hi people! This week we will continue Topic 5 World War I and the 1920s. 
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 5.5 An Unsettled Society
-Topic 5.6 The Roaring 20s
-Topic 5.7 The Harlem Renaissance
 
Objectives:
Topic 5.5 An Unsettled Society
  • Compare economic and cultural life in rural America to that in urban America.
  • Analyze how foreign events after World War I and nativism contributed to the first Red Scare.
  • Analyze the causes and effects of changes in US immigration policy in the 1920’s.
  • Describe the goals and motives of the KKK in the 1920’s.
  • Analyze the intended and unintended effects of Prohibition.
Topic 5.6 The Roaring 20s
  • Describe how increased leisure time and technological innovations led to a widespread shared popular culture in the 1920’s.
  • Analyze the changing role of women in the 1920’s.
  • Describe how the concept of modernism shown in art and literature reflected postwar disillusionment.
Topic 5.7 The Harlem Renaissance
  • Analyze how the Great Migration and the philosophies of Marcus Garvey affected African Americans in the 1920’s.
  • Trace the development of jazz and its impact on American society and the rest of the world.
  • Discuss the themes explored by writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
Due:
-Topic 5 assignments (5.5-5.7) due 11/7
-Topic 5 Project due 11/6
 
Past due but will still be accepted:
-Topic 5 assignments (5.1-5.4) due 10/29

Week 10 10/27-10/31

Hi people! This week we will continue Topic 5 World War I and the 1920s. 
 
Important: 
I will be attending a conference on Whole Child Education from Tuesday to Thursday this week, and there will be a substitute on these days. Parents, please email me if you have any questions. Students, you may email or Teams chat me if you need anything. Directions for class on Tuesday-Thursday will be clearly explained during class on Monday.
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 5.4 Economy and Government in the 1920s
-Topic 5 Assessment
 
Objectives:
Topic 5.4 Economy and Government in the 1920s
  • Describe the economic problems the US faced after WWI.
  • Explain the economic growth and prosperity of the 1920’s, including how Henry Ford and the automobile industry helped spark the boom.
  • Analyze the consumer revolution and the bull market of the 1920’s.
  • Compare the different effects of the economic boom on urban, suburban, and rural America.
  • Analyze the policies of Presidents Harding and Coolidge encouraged economic growth and prosperity in the 1920’s.
  • Discuss the effects of political scandals, including Teapot Dome, on Harding’s presidency.
  • Explain the role that the US played in the world during the 1920’s.
Topic 5 Assessment 

  • Explain the causes of World War I, including militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism, and describe how these factors contributed to the outbreak of the war in 1914.

  • Analyze the impact of new military technologies and tactics (such as trench warfare, poison gas, tanks, and airplanes) on the experiences of soldiers and the outcomes of major battles.

  • Evaluate the role of the United States in World War I, including the reasons for its entry into the war and its contributions to the Allied victory.

  • Describe the global and domestic consequences of the war, including the collapse of empires, redrawn borders, the rise of new political movements, and debates over America’s role in world affairs.

  • Synthesize historical information creatively by producing an artistic summary that visually represents major events, themes, and impacts of World War I using at least five identifiable components.

  • Demonstrate comprehension and critical thinking about Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, Chapter 14 (“War Is the Health of the State”), by answering reading questions in complete sentences that reflect an understanding of the author’s arguments and perspective.

  • Communicate historical understanding through multiple formats—visual art and written analysis—showing both factual knowledge and interpretation of historical meaning.

Due:
-Topic 5 assignments (5.1-5.4) due 10/29
-Topic 5 Assessment due 11/6

Week 9 10/20-10/24

Hi people, welcome back! This week we will start Topic 5: World War I and the 1920s.
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 5.1 America Enters World War I
-Topic 5.2 The Home Front During World War I
-Topic 5.3 The End of World War I
 
Objectives:
Topic 5.1 America Enters World War I
  • Identify the causes of WWI.
  • Analyze the impact of technological innovations in weaponry that resulted in WWI stalemate on the Western Front.
  • Analyze reasons behind isolationism and neutrality in the United States before 1917.
  • Explain why the United States entered the The Causes of World War I conflict on the side of the Allies
  • Analyze the reasons behind isolationism and neutrality in the United States before 1917.
  • Explain why the United States entered the conflict on the side of the Allies.
Topic 5.2 The Home Front During World War I
  • Analyze how the US government mobilized the public to support the war effort. 
  • Describe opposition to WWI and how the federal government responded to it. 
  • Analyze the causes and effects of migration and social changes that occurred during WWI.
Topic 5.3 The End of World War I
  • Understand the contributions of the American Expeditionary Force to the Allied victory in WWI.
  • Describe the issues raised by President Wilson’s Fourteen Points.
  • Analyze the decisions made at the Paris Peace Conference and included in the Treaty of Versailles.
  • Evaluate the pros and cons of US participation in the League of Nations.
  • Explain why the US Senate did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles.
Due Dates:
-Topic 5 assignments due 10/29
-Topic 5 project due 11/6

Week 8 9/29-10/2

Hi people! This week we will conclude Topic 4: The Progressive Era with one final lesson and then a Political Cartoon Assessment. 
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 4.5 The US Emerges as a World Power
-Topic 4 Political Cartoon Assessment
 
Objectives:
Topic 4.5 The US Emerges as a World Power
  • Analyze how economic concerns influenced the Open Door Policy and US relations with Japan. 
  • Examine what happened to Puerto Rico and Cuba after the Spanish-American War. 
  • Analyze the effects of “Big Stick” diplomacy and “Dollar Diplomacy.” 
  • Compare Wilson’s “Moral Diplomacy” with the foreign policies of his predecessors.
Topic 4 Political Cartoon Assessment
  • Identify and explain common techniques used in political cartoons (symbolism, caricature, irony, labeling, exaggeration).
  • Interpret the main message or argument presented in political cartoons related to the Progressive Era.
  • Connect political cartoons to key historical themes.
  • Evaluate whether a cartoon supports or criticizes a particular reform, policy, or historical event.
  • Demonstrate critical thinking by drawing connections between visual sources and broader historical contexts.
  • Construct a well-organized written response that uses evidence from the cartoon and historical knowledge to support an interpretation.
Due:
-Topic 4 assignments (4.1-4.5) due 10/1
-Topic 4 Political Cartoon Assessment due 10/2

Week 7 9/22-9/26

Hi People!  This week we will start a new topic, Topic 4: The Progressive Era. 

This week's assignments:

-Topic 4.1 Progressives Drive Reform

-Topic 4.2 The Striving for Equality

-Topic 4.3 Reforms in the Whitehouse

-Topic 4.4 American Influence and the Spanish-American War

Objectives:

Topic 4.1 Progressives Drive Reform

  • Analyze the role that journalists and novelists played in the Progressive Movement. 
  • Evaluate some of the social reforms that Progressives tackled. 
  • Explain what Progressives hoped to achieve through political reform.

Topic 4.2 Striving for Equality

  • Analyze actions taken by women to address social issues affecting workers and families. 
  • Evaluate the tactics reform leaders used to win passage of the Nineteenth Amendment
  • Analyze Progressives’ attitudes toward minority rights.
  • Describe the political organizations formed by African Americans to promote civil rights. 
  • Examine the actions taken by minority groups to expand their rights.

Topic 4.3 Reforms in the Whitehouse

  • Analyze how Theodore Roosevelt influenced the changing relationship between the federal government and private business. 
  • Explain the impact of Roosevelt’s actions toward managing the environment. Compare Roosevelt’s policies with Taft’s and Wilson’s. 
  • Describe Wilson’s efforts to regulate the economy.
  • Assess the legacy of the Progressive Era.

Topic 4.4 American Influence and the Spanish-American War

  • Identify the key factors that caused Americans to want to take a greater role overseas. 
  • Explain how the US took its first steps toward the position of a world power.
  • Evaluate the acquisition of Hawaii by the US. 
  • Explain the causes of the Spanish-American War. Identify the major battles of the Spanish-American War. 
  • Describe the consequences of the war, including the debate over imperialism.

Due:

-Topic 4 due 10/1

-Political Cartoon assessment due 10/1

Week 6 9/15-9/19

Hi people! This week we will continue Topic 3: Challenges in the Late 1800s. 
 
This week's assignments:
-Topic 3.3 Corruption Plagues a Nation
-Topic 3.4 Farm Issues and Populism
-Homework reading #3
-Start Topic 3 essay
 
Objectives:
Topic 3.3 Corruption Plagues a Nation
  • Analyze the issue of corruption in national politics in the 1870s and 1880s. 
  • Discuss civil service reform during the 1870s and 1880s. 
  • Assess the importance of economic issues in the politics of the Gilded Age.
Topic 3.4 Farm Issues and Populism
  • Analyze the problems farmers faced and the groups they formed to address them. 
  • Assess the goals of the Populists and explain why the Populist Party did not last.
 
Due Dates:
-Topic 3 assignments due 9/18
-Homework reading #3 due 9/17
-Topic 3 essay due 9/25