Greetings!
My name is Dale Kern and I’m the High School Social Studies teacher and Senior Advocate. I received my Bachelor of Arts in History from Tennessee State University where I also minored in Political Science. While I was there, the emphasis of my studies centered around eras of social change in US history and the practices implemented by people who sought social justice. I earned my State of Colorado teaching license through the ASPIRE to Teach Alternative Licensure Program at CU Denver.
The 2023-2024 school year will be my eighth year of teaching and my fifth at Westgate. Before coming to Westgate, I taught US History and Music at Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center in Golden where I worked with at-risk youth who were in the custody of the Division of Youth Services. My time at Lookout gave me experience practicing trauma-informed care and guided me in adopting the principles associated with TIC; safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness and empowerment.
As a social studies teacher, I believe that it is imperative to not only develop the readiness of my students as critical thinkers and engaged citizens; but to also help facilitate learning experiences where they can find growth and personal enrichment.
In my free time I enjoy backpacking, traveling, and snowboarding. I'm also a musician and I play guitar in a few local bands around Northern Colorado.
Hey Folks!
This week we continue with Topic 7 Renaissance and Reformation.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
What factors set the stage for the Protestant Reformation?
Learning Objectives
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
This week we continue with Topic 14 WWII and take a look at the war in the European Theater and at home.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
Why did Roosevelt support a “Europe First” strategy even though it had been Japan that had attacked the US first in WWII?
Learning Objectives
Topic 14.4 A War on Two Fronts
Objectives: 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 14.5 The Home Front
Objectives: 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.
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks! This week we will do a News Review and Analysis for Media Journals on Tuesday. On Thursday we update Topic posts and discuss our individual topics.
Have a great week!
Essential Question
What are the subjective and objective factors that go into the transmission of world events to the public?
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
Welcome back for Semester 2!!
This week we will begin Topic 14 World War II.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
What were the reasons the allied countries chose to engage in a policy of appeasement?
Learning Objectives
Topic 14.1 Rise of Aggressive Dictators
Objectives: 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 14.2 America Debates Involvement
Objectives: 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.
Topic 14.3 The United States Enters World War II
Objectives: 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.
This Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
Welcome back for Semester 2!
This week we will begin Topic 7 Renaissance and Reformation.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
How did the printing revolution reshape European society?
Learning Objectives
Topic 7.1 The Italian Renaissance
Objectives: Describe the characteristics of the Renaissance and understand why it began in Italy. Identify Renaissance artists and explain how new ideas affected the arts of the period. Understand how writers of the time addressed Renaissance themes. Explain the impact of the Renaissance.
Topic 7.2 The Renaissance in Northern Europe
Objectives: Describe the themes that northern European artists, humanists, and writers explored. Explain how the printing revolution shaped European society.
This Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks! This week we will do a News Review and Analysis for Media Journals on Tuesday. On Thursday we update Topic posts and discuss our individual topics.
Have a great week!
Essential Question
What are the subjective and objective factors that go into the transmission of world events to the public?
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
This week we will finish Topic 6 Europe in the Middle Ages and have a quiz on Thursday.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
Can a religious leader also be an effective military leader?
Learning Objectives
Topic 6.3 Culture of the High Middle Ages
Objectives: Explain how technological innovations made Gothic cathedrals possible, while an intellectual revival led to the formation of universities. Explain the importance of medieval university students applying scholasticism to the study of theology. Discuss why troubadour poetry and the heroic epic poem were popular forms of vernacular literature in the twelfth century.
Topic 6.4 The Late Middle Ages
Objectives: Explain how the Black Death had disastrous social and economic effects, spreading throughout Europe during the mid-fourteenth century. Describe how the Great Schism of the Catholic Church caused great political conflict and left Europe divided for four decades. Cite evidence as to why England and France waged the long, violent Hundred Years’ War. Analyze the reasons why France, England, and Spain emerged as new monarchies by the late 1400s.
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
This week we will finish Topic 13 The Great Depression and the New Deal. We will also be taking a quiz on Thursday.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
What is the legacy of the Great Depression?
Learning Objectives
Topic 13.4 The New Deal Expands
Objectives: 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.
Topic 13.5 Effects of the New Deal
Objectives: 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 13.6 Culture During the Depression
Objectives: 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.
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
This week, Ms. Blinne is teaching about disorders and syndromes. You will also be given time to work on your end of the semester projects.
Have a great week!
Learning Objectives
Objectives: Discuss the impact of different mood disorders. Explain the risk factors of bipolar. Identify the causes of schizophrenia. Discuss the three different personality disorder clusters. Explain the symptoms and causes of Dissociative Disorders.
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
This week we will begin Topic 6 Europe in the Middle Ages.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
Can a religious leader also be an effective military leader?
Learning Objectives
Topic 6.1 Peasants, Trade, and Cities
Objectives: Describe the process of how new farming practices supported population growth, and the revival of trade led to a money-based economy and the rise of cities. Describe life under the manorial system of the Middle Ages in which serfs worked the lands of lords. Explain how the revival of trade during the High Middle Ages gave rise to a money economy and the growth of cities, which became centers for manufacturing and trade.
Topic 6.2 Medieval Christianity
Objectives: Describe how, under strong leadership, the Catholic Church reached the height of its political power and became a dominant and forceful presence in medieval society. Explain how new monastic orders emerged as religious enthusiasm spread through Europe. Describe the reasons why ordinary people observed the Church’s sacraments, venerated saints, and took pilgrimages to holy shrines.
Topic 6.3 Culture of the High Middle Ages
Objectives: Explain how technological innovations made Gothic cathedrals possible, while an intellectual revival led to the formation of universities. Explain the importance of medieval university students applying scholasticism to the study of theology. Discuss why troubadour poetry and the heroic epic poem were popular forms of vernacular literature in the twelfth century.
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
This week we will discuss and begin working on our final project for the semester.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
How does one put together a budget that aligns with a person’s needs and wants.
Learning Objectives
Identify the various types of income and expenses. Explain the purpose of identifying budget line items as fixed or variable. Construct a household budget.
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks! This week we will do a News Review and Analysis for Media Journals on Tuesday. On Thursday we update Topic posts and discuss our individual topics.
Have a great week!
Essential Question
What are the subjective and objective factors that go into the transmission of world events to the public?
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
This week we will begin Topic 13 The Great Depression and the New Deal.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
What are some of the contrasting theories as to what caused the Great Depression?
Learning Objectives
Topic 13.1 Causes of The Depression
Objectives: Identify how weaknesses in the economy in the 1920’s caused the Great depression. Explain why the stock market crashed in 1929 and the crash’s effect on the economy. Describe how the Great depression deepened in the US and spread overseas. Identify the causes of the Great Depression and discuss how historians differ about them.
Topic 13.2 Americans Suffer
Objectives: Examine the spread of unemployment in America’s cities. Analyze the effects of the Great Depression on Farmers. Analyze the impact of human and geographical factors that created the Dust Bowl. Describe how the Great Depression affected family life and the lives of African Americans and Mexican Americans.
Topic 13.3 Two Presidents Respond
Objectives: Contrast Hoover’s Approach to the economic crisis with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s approach. Describe the programs that were part of the first New Deal and the effect on the lives of Americans.
Topic 13.4 The New Deal Expands
Objectives: 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.
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks! This week we will do a News Review and Analysis for Media Journals on Tuesday. On Thursday we update Topic posts and discuss our individual topics.
Have a great week!
Essential Question
What are the subjective and objective factors that go into the transmission of world events to the public?
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
Hey Folks!
This week we will take the quiz for Topic 12 World War I and the 1920’s on Tuesday. We will finish watching War Horse and begin Topic 13 The Great Depression and the New Deal on Wednesday.
Have a great week!
Essential Question:
What are some of the contrasting theories as to what caused the Great Depression?
Learning Objectives
Topic 13.1 Causes of The Depression
Objectives: Identify how weaknesses in the economy in the 1920’s caused the Great depression. Explain why the stock market crashed in 1929 and the crash’s effect on the economy. Describe how the Great depression deepened in the US and spread overseas. Identify the causes of the Great Depression and discuss how historians differ about them.
Topic 13.2 Americans Suffer
Objectives: Examine the spread of unemployment in America’s cities. Analyze the effects of the Great Depression on Farmers. Analyze the impact of human and geographical factors that created the Dust Bowl. Describe how the Great Depression affected family life and the lives of African Americans and Mexican Americans.
This Week’s Assignments
Last Week’s Assignments
