The Cold War Begins

This week we concluded our study of World War II with your take home final assessment. You were to write three journal entries over the course of the war utilizing our vocabulary words. You had the chance to be creative by assuming a particular identity and then selecting the events, experiences, and memories that were most important to your character. You also had a choice as to what vocabulary words you wanted to use to make sure your entries had solid historical content. Since this was a take home assignment you had access to your notes and text so high grades should be earned by all.

Our next unit is the Cold War…a decades-long battle between opposing theories of government: communism versus democracy. While it is called the Cold War as it was mainly waged on the battlefield of words, with enormous build-ups of military might that was never used in combat, violent conflict did flare in Korea and Vietnam. We started the unit with vocabulary unique to this time period, including containment, Truman Doctrine, Red Scare, and Senator McCarthy. You had the opportunity to write down the definitions in your notes and you had readings that helped you better understand their meaning. If you missed any of the words, make sure you take the time to look them up for your notes. We also looked at a video “The Seven Stages of the Cold War” and took notes. Ms. MacRoberts showed you how to take Cornell style notes where you make one column of notes based on the video and use a second column to enter questions or make supplementary notes based on the text and other readings. Developing your own effective style of note taking is essential as you go on in school and have larger quantities of reading to accomplish and more difficult texts.

We also looked at the Truman and Eisenhower Doctrines. A doctrine is a policy that acts as a guiding principle for an administration and is public knowledge so that all countries know what our priorities are and how we expect to act under certain circumstances. Truman was very clear that he intended to provide financial aid to any country threatened by communism and Eisenhower broadened that doctrine to include military aid as well.

After World War II Germany was divided into East and West Germany and the capital, Berlin, was also divided. When the communist leaders of East Germany felt threatened by the Marshall Plan, they closed off all land routes to West Berlin, which was surrounded by East German territory, in hopes of discouraging the western Allies and thus allowing the communists to take over the entire capital. The Allies responded with a massive airlift, aptly named the Berlin airlift, and for over 10 months they flew hundreds of flights a day, bringing in everything the West Berliners needed to survive, including tons of coal to heat their homes. On the lighter side, we read a newspaper account of the mini-parachutes made by school children in Massachusetts that were used to drop candy to the children of West Berlin.

This week you also had an open note quiz on the early stages of the Cold War. If you were absent keep in mind you have five days to make up your work.

Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences

Thank you to all who came on March 20. There is no reason why a student can’t be successful in this class if they do the work and take the many opportunities for added assistance.

Short and Long Term Views

This week we had the opportunity to step back from the day to day battles of World War II and look at how this major historical event affected the country immediately and over time. Working in your groups and using multiple sources you filled out a graphic organizer that helped you sort the information into categories: military, economic, social and international. Your brain can become more efficient by grouping information…it makes it so much easier to recall specifics when they are placed in categories.

You quickly discovered that World War II was a turning point in our country’s history. After the war, the United States assumes the role of a major power…the balance of power has shifted from Europe to the US. We are now a super power along with the Soviet Union. Since our country was not destroyed by the war, we have a head start on rebuilding a consumer economy and we become the number one economic power house of the world. Lives at home continue to change radically as the men return home, take advantage of the GI Bill, buy homes, start families and attend college.

This single law changed how and where we live. With more families now living in single family homes in the suburbs, the car becomes a necessity. This leads to interstate highways, sold to the American people not just as an efficient way to move people but also as a defense-related necessity in case of future need to move troops and war material rapidly. This activity gave you a good understanding of how one event can have a ripple effect throughout the country and the world. Keep this in mind as we study future events.

This week you also had your assessment based on the three power-points: Women in the War, Financing War, and Economic Changes during the war. Many of the questions were open-ended which gave you the flexibility to respond in a variety of ways. Keep in mind that even open ended questions need to be grounded in historically accurate information.

You also received your final take home assessment. You are being asked to use some creativity and write three journal entries that could have been written during the World War II timeframe. You have vocabulary that must be incorporated into your entries. These assessments are due Monday or Tuesday (depending on your class period).

International Speakers

On Friday we heard from officers from India and the Philippines. Their power points were filled with interesting information about two very distinct and diverse countries. Our next and last session will feature officers from Italy, Chile and Argentina.

Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences

On March 20 from 5 to 7 we will be holding conferences. Please feel free to stop by so we can talk about your progress and what steps you need to take to make sure this is a successful year for you.

Scheduling

Don’t forget to bring in your course selection sheet. The sooner you get in your signed sheet the sooner schedules can be developed. Many interesting classes are being offered in the Social Studies Department including our new economics course, AP Human geography, European History and World History. If you need help selecting a course, please stop by and we can talk over your interests and find the right class for your Senior year.

Time to think about College planning

MHS is hosting a College application process evening on April 10 starting at 6:00 pm in room 212. If you are not familiar with the process or have questions about it, this is a great evening to learn more about how to get through the application process successfully.

Difficult Choices

This was another week of violence overseas: the killing of civilians in Syria continued, with scores more dead and no end in sight despite the efforts of former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. In Afghanistan, a U.S. soldier went on a shooting rampage and killed 16 Afghan civilians, including women and children. This latest incident is causing many to rethink the US role in Afghanistan and consider a more rapid withdrawal.

On the domestic scene, Super Tuesday was supposed to give the Republicans a clear front runner but instead there were enough “wins” for all of the candidates to stay in the race. Rick Santorum won the Kansas caucus on Saturday and with two southern primaries this week, Newt Gingrich is hoping for two wins. Meanwhile, President Obama, the presumed nominee of the Democrats, heralded the improving economy and expressed strong support for women’s health issues.

Modern America

We continued our study of World War II by looking at the internment of Japanese Americans. Even though they were citizens, the government was concerned that they could aid the enemy and therefore placed them in detention camps. These people lost all their property and rights for the duration of the war. Despite the obvious violation of civil rights, many young Japanese Americans joined the armed services to prove their loyalty. It is ironic that the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, consisting almost entirely of Japanese-American soldiers, won the most medals for bravery of any unit in US history.

We also did several readings on the dropping of the atomic bomb. Building the bomb was a monumental undertaking. You read arguments for and against dropping the bomb, as well as an eyewitness account of the bomb’s effects on the city and people of Hiroshima. The use of the bomb has had numerous political and economic consequences as the world today copes with the growth of nuclear weapons in countries we see as unfriendly to Western ways. The world community is worried that Iran is developing nuclear capabilities that could threaten Israel, a country Iran’s President has said should not exist. You had the opportunity to further explore the bombing of Hiroshima and its current implications through your accountable talk activity. Accountable talk gives you the opportunity to hear from your fellow students and share your own thoughts. To earn high points for this activity you need to contribute, cite the text, and be a good listener.

G period

Thank you to those who offered our three student presentations on financing the war, the changing role of women, and the retooling of production. More on these presentations in our next blog entry.

Lady Islanders are Number One in our Hearts

Congratulations to our Lady Islanders, who were Second in the State and Number One in our hearts. They provided us with a thrilling season and another trip to URI for the finals. Great job!!!

Task Time

Hope you’ve had a good break

We’ve had a week to celebrate President’s Day, catch up on sleep, and perhaps read a good book. I hope you took the time to do whatever you find most restful so upon your return you are ready to delve into our next units. While there was no formal homework over the break, I just know you were watching the news and keeping up with the outside world! So much has been happening… In Syria, the poor people of Homs tried to hold off a military assault on their town but eventually gave way to superior firepower as the international community was unable to come up with any plan to relieve the situation. Iran announced it would curtail oil shipments to England and France in retaliation for sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu met with President Obama to try to get the U.S. to take even more forceful action, possibly including military measures. Instability in the oil-producing region could play havoc with the world economy…just look at the price of gasoline over the past week. On the positive side of the news, North Korea offered to suspend its own nuclear efforts in return for food aid from the U.S., a possible sign that the new leader, Kim Jong-un, intends to moderate the regime’s harsh policies.

World War II

We started our new unit with a KWL. You quickly saw that our class knew a great deal about the war. When you have such a large and complicated event, it is useful to organize information into categories. We could use the tried and true “who, what, when, where and why” categories or we could use the two categories your text uses: the battles of WW II and life on the home front.

You read Prelude to War which gave you a quick overview of the events in Europe leading up to the conflict and ended with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which brought the US directly into the war. The power point allowed us to review some of the key information in the text.

We also read two primary source documents which helped us to better understand neutrality versus involvement. One reading was from Charles Lindbergh, a charismatic hero who became known affectionately as “Lucky Lindy” after becoming the first person, in 1927, to fly non-stop from New York to Paris. It is hard to find an example of someone today who could be compared to Lindbergh. Alan Shepard, the first American in space, John Glenn, the first American to orbit the globe, and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon come to mind, but their efforts were part of America’s massive space program, where Lindbergh’s was largely a solo performance. The other reading was an excerpt from an FDR speech urging Americans to help the British defend freedom and personal liberties in the face of the Nazi threat.

This led us to look at the Four Freedom illustrations of Norman Rockwell, works inspired by FDR’s speech to Congress. FDR wanted a world community that embraced freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These illustrations helped inspire people to buy over $130 million dollars’ worth of war bonds.

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the time for discussion was over and the US entered the conflict. We saw a power point that showed Japan’s aggression into neighboring countries and the U.S. island-hopping strategy to tighten the ring around Japan. The fighting was brutal with heavy losses on both sides. You read an eye witness account of how the Japanese fought to the death as a way to honor their country and family.

World War II Task Assignment

We also prepared and finished our second portfolio task for the year and this time we returned to Voice Thread. Your poster analysis assignment earned you 20 points and if you met standard, which I hope all of you did, the task will go into your portfolio and count as a technology task.

Heroes of World War II

As many of you know Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have produced two docudramas about World War II: Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Both mini-series tell the story of WW II from the perspective of the soldier and are based on actual interviews shown before each episode. Lynn, better known as Buck Compton, was one of the members of Easy Company and his role was featured in Band of Brothers. After his heroic service in Europe, he left the army and went on to become a lawyer and a judge. He was best known for his prosecution of Sirhan Sirhan, the man who assassinated Robert Kennedy. I mention him as he died this week. His obituary, which appeared in papers all over the country, is worth reading.