Finish reading Inherit the Wind tonight.

Tomorrow we are going to see the play! Remember to bring a lunch.

Over the weekend, write the definitions/ identifications to the words you underlined in the packet you were given yesterday. Put this list and definitions into your Nexus. (The words are listed in yesterday's blog.) If you would like to learn more about these terms and/ or the characters involved in this story, please click on the Monkey Trial link to the right.

Remember we will be going to see the play Inherit the Wind on Tuesday. Bring a lunch.

Monkey Trial

Read pages 1 through 4 in the handout you received in class today.
Underline the following keywords in the packet:
John Scopes
Charles Darwin
Origin of the Species
Evolution
Prohibition
Fundamentalism
William Jennings Bryan
ACLU
Clarence Darrow
Agnostic
Epperson Case

If you're interested, the link "Monkey Trial" to the right, has lots of interesting background, photos, and even songs relating to this case.

So, does the lemon oil work?

After that long and intense test in class, can you vouch for the efficacy of lemon oil? Did it work? Did you feel smarter?

Bring your copy of Inherit the Wind to class tomorrow.

On Tuesday, October 31, the entire eighth grade class will travel to the Northlight Theatre in Skokie to attend a performance of Inherit the Wind. We will read the drama in Humanities classes and engage in pre- and post-performance discussions of the play.

Students will need to pack a lunch for that day. We will bring our lunches with us and eat before we return to school for 2:35 dismissal. The schedule for the day is as follows:

8:00-8:10 – gather as usual in advisories for attendance and announcements
8:15-8:45 – Halloween costume contest in Upper Kovler Gymnasium
8:50-8:55 – return costumes to locker if necessary and gather on Blaine steps to board buses
9:00 – depart for Skokie
10:15 – arrive at Northlight Theatre
10:30-12:30 – watch performance of Inherit the Wind
12:30-1:00 – eat lunch
1:00 – depart for Lab Schools
2:15-2:30 – arrive at Lab for dismissal

Depending upon the weather, we may be able to eat outside. Otherwise, we will eat in a designated space at the theater.

Putting it All Together!

Tomorrow's test is a wonderful opportunity for you to put together a lot of what you have learned so far this year. This is a great chance for you to show me how much you have comprehended about a very important and critical period in our history.

Review the meanings of the keywords as they relate to what we have read and discussed. Review the pages listed for The Words We Live By to make sure you have all the background information you need (Article VI p118-120, Amendment X p.194, 196-198, Amendment XIV p. 212-214, 219-222).

The pieces of evidence you use in your short essays can be drawn from what you have learned from:
Warriors Don't Cry
The Words We Live By
Photographs of Elizabeth Eckford
Eyes on the Prize
"Fine's Story"
"Wilson's Story"
"Presdident Clinton Remembers Little Rock"
"Mending Wall" by Robert Frost
Obedience (Milgram's experiment)
"The Lottery"
NBC Roundtable Discussion

I look forward to reading your insightful and intelligent comments.

Questions to consider

In preparation for your test on Wednesday, look over the following questions. You will have some options of which questions you answer, but you should be able to respond to each. To get ready for the test, you can outline or "mind map" a statement which can answer the question in general, followed by a minumum of two pieces of evidence which support your first statement. The paragraph you write for the test needs to end with a closing statement.

What role did Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy play in the integration crises in Arkansas and Mississippi?

What role did Governors Faubus (Arkansas) and Barnett (Mississippi) play in the integration crises in their respective states?

What is the difference between desegregation and integration?

The North won the war, but the South won the peace. Do you think this was true at the time of Brown v Board of Education?

Discuss the legal and the psychological grounds for the ruling of Brown v Board of Education.

What role did the bystanders play at Central High? Why is the word “choice” so important in this story?

Why was the media so important on the “battlefield?”

How does religion impact this story?

What might have been done in Little Rock and in Central High to prevent “the battle?”

What role did the adults play in this story on both sides? Give one example from each side.

In terms of effect on students, is there a difference between legally mandated segregation and segregation due to other factors? What should national, state, or local governments do about this issue?

What is the legacy of Little Rock?

Remember to continue to review your keywords for the test, too.

Keywords

A good way to start preparing for the test on Wednesday is to review the keywords. Most of the definitions/ explanations for these words is located in The Words We Live By (Article VI 118-120, Amendment X 194, 196-198, Amendment XIV 212-214, 219-222).

Keywords:

Naturalized
Jurisdiction
Abridge
Immunities
"Equal Protection Clause"
Jim Crow Laws
Black Codes
Fourteenth Amendment
Plessy v Ferguson
NAACP
Brown v Board of Education (1954)
Brown II (1955)
Federalism
States' Rights
Nationalism
President Eisenhower
Governor Faubus
President Kennedy
Thurgood Marshall
"Supremacy Clause"
James Meredith
Governor Barnett
Interposition
Nullification
Tenth Amendment
Article VI
Legacy

Reminder for homework for Monday:
Personal Narrative draft II
Melba's letter
Review "Mending Wall"

Inauguration of my Blog!

This is my beginning of a fuller commitment to the 21st century. I can't believe I am actually blogging. What is exciting to me about this technology is that my students and I will be able to communicate more easily. And we will be able to share all our communications and feedback with each other. This also means that expectations and homework assignments can be as clear as possible.

I look forward to how my students will help me to grow in this technology and to shape the projects and work we explore in class.


Homework for Friday:

Review "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost. If you have misplaced the poem, it is readily available on the web.

Monday, October 23rd, your letter to Melba Patillo Beals is due and your next draft of your personal narrative is due.

Wednesday, October 25th......TEST.......