S+Perkins,+Alexa

**Office: Room 207** **Office Phone: 012-345-6789** **Office Hours: Wednesdays 2-4** ** E-mail: Alexa.perkins@maine.edu **
 * Teacher: Ms. Perkins**

=Summary of Unit=

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The goal of this unit is for students to build a confident understanding of the Expanding Nation. The unit will provide familiarization with the time period’s events, people, geography and key terms. The unit will build these understandings though lessons, research, projects and essays. The understanding will be proved in projects that use sources such as iMovie, Google Earth, blogs and Skype. While studying this time in history the class will travel from the Tardif of 1812 and the opening of the first bank to the Compromise of 1850 and the California gold rush. We will watch the price of land change from $1.25 an acre to $1.64 an acre. The class will analyze events and determine their importance. They will create a setting for the 1800’s and figure out why time and place even matters. Women in the class will see how different their rights would be without the events that occurred in the 1800’s. The men will learn about the different wars they would of fought in. By learning about the past, we will now relive its mistakes. Together, we will work to figure out the importance of change and why it affects the world we live in today. ======

=Establish Goals= Maine Learning Results Content Area: Social Studies Standard Label: E History Standard: E1 Historical Knowledge, concepts, themes and patterns Grade Level: 6-8 "The Expanding Nation" Statement: Students understand major eras, major enduring themes, and historic influences in the history of Maine, the United States, and Various regions of the world. Performance Indicators: a, b, c, d

= = =Students will understand that= •major changes in the 1800's had huge effects. •the events of the 1800's effect our life today. •geography had a huge impact on the expanding nation

= = =Essential Questions= •Why did so many changes occur in the 1800's? •How did the expanding nation effect our lives today? •How did geography effect the events of the expanding nation?

= = =Students will know= •Vocab/events: political terms, places, dates, event names, and key terms applicable to the event •Important events:Fall of the Alamo, Presidential elections, Changes in taxes, The Indian removal act, Mexican American War, the Gold rush, The Missouri Compromise. •People: Nat Turner, Harrison, Johnson, Adams, Monroe, Jackson.

= = =Students will be able to= •describe how the gold rush effected the nation. •make sense of the tax changes and their effects. •propose a reason many South states were fought over. •analyze the past and relate it to present time. •imagine how challenging life would be for Native Americans with out the changes made in the 1800s. •realize the differences in women's rights through out the past.

**Performance Task Overview**

The world's first working time machine has been created. Everyone wants to try it, but no one know where to go. Commercials are being broadcasted on TV promoting and demoting the different time periods. CNN would like to advertise the 1800's as a travel destination. As a historian and advertiser it is your job to create a advertisement that will accurately depict what life in the 1800's was/will be like. CNN wanted the advertisement to cover the major events of the 1800s, so people will know what to expect. The advertisement needs to target specific consumers and explain to them why they should or should not travel to the 1800's. If CNN approves your advertisement you will get the chance to try the time machine for yourself! Good Luck!

=Expectations=

In order to excel in this class you are expected to attend nearly every class. Not only are you graded on class attendance, you will also fall behind if you miss a substantial amount of classes. Germs do exist and grandmothers do die, so if you do miss a class please keep up to date on the work you miss and with homework assignments. Classes will be summarized on the class wiki and all homework will be posted. Please feel free to visit me during my office hours or send me a email to set up a appointment. Your success in this class is my goal so I am willing to help as much as needed.
 * Absences-**

Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as your own. Students are expected to turn in their own work and to be truthful. All sources should be cited as well. If plagiarism does occur, student will be allowed one revision. After that they will face the school's consequences.
 * Plagiarism-**

All assignments will be given a specific date of when they are due to be turned in or presented. All due dates will be posted on the classes wiki. If something should happen, it is up to the student to meet with the teacher __before__ the due date to discuss the dates flexibility.
 * Assignments-**

It is expected that all students come to class prepared physically and mentally. Our class is here to help one another and work together to succeed. It is expected that students are respectful to one another and to the teacher. If we are respectful, we will be able to create a fun and relaxed environment to work together in. It is important that everyone contributes to the class in a positive way. Failure to follow the expectations will result in a lower participation grade.
 * Classroom Expectations-**

=Benchmarks=

In partners, create a cartoon of the Goldrush. Work together to create text, pictures, and other applicable enhancements to the comic. The comics must include scenes from before, during and after the Goldrush. I will be looking for accurate historical content in these comics. Please remember to cite all sources and pictures used. The partners will be chosen in class and you are expected to work together and have fun!
 * __Comic Life__** 20 Points

__**Skype**__ 20 Points In class, we will divide the class between the North and the South states. Together the two teams will create ideas and reasons why taxes should or should not be raised. You are expected to analyze the historical events in the 1800's that were effected by taxes. Place yourself in the time period and decide how you would feel. Once you have your arguments arranged, you preform a debate over Skype. You will record your debate and link it to the class wiki. We will go over in class how to use Skype.

__**Google earth**__ 20 Points You will be divided into groups and assigned a specific area of the US that was fought over in the 1800's. It is your job to observe the area of land on Google Earth and decide why you think the land was fought over. Compare your area to others and observe the distances between them. Embed your reasons why the land was valuable. You are required to embed at least seven comments.

__**Garage Band**__ 20 Points At the end of our unit, we will have a class review of everything we have learned. After you will be assigned a piece of music from the time period. It is your job to create a track on garage band that uses this song and a current song. Analyze the two songs and look for similarities and differences. Once your track is created write a one page paper about how the two songs represent their time periods and to each other. It may help to research both of the artists that created of preformed the songs and to see how they relate to the melody or lyrics.

__**Blog**__ 20 Points You are a Native American or a slave living in the 1800s. Create a series of blogs entries as if they were your journal. Write down specific events, places you visit, people you meet, or anything else significant. Maybe you are a Sauk Indian that is fighting to be able to grown your corn on your familie's land that was recently taken over by Abraham Lincoln and his band of new comers. Or maybe you are a slave living in Vermont when the Missouri Compromise is passed and you are set free. Either way, create a blog that is engaging and realistic. We will all share our favorite blog entries in class.

__**Imovie**__ 20 Points In groups create a timeline that highlights all of the events and changes regarding woman's rights in the 1800's. Collect facts, pictures, videos, music and text to use in your timeline. Your timeline will be presented on iMovie. Your timeline should be accurate and depict what life for a woman would of been like in the 1800's.

__**Imovie**__ 35 Points See performance tasks above


 * __​Total:__** ​155

__**Attendance and Participation**__ 45 Points You are expected to attend nearly every class. Missing a substantial amount of classes with out contacting the teacher will result in a lower attendance grade. It is important that everyone contributes to the class in a positive way. Failure to follow the expectations will result in a lower participation grade.

=Grading Scale= **A** (93 -100), **A-** (90 - 92), **B+** (87 - 89), **B** (83 - 86), **B-** (80 - 82), **C+**(77 - 79), **C** (73-76), **C-** (70 - 72), **D+**(67 - 69), **D** (63 - 66), **D-** (60 - 62), **F** (0 - 59).