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MR.ORTOPAN'S CLASSROOM WEBSITE
SINCE 2014
MR.ORTOPAN'S CLASSROOMS
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Parents and students,
Welcome to my classroom. Below you will find both courses that I'm currently teaching at Bolich Middle School. You will find information about the course and links to each unit we will be covering throughout the year. In addition to the course information, I've included the Edmodo codes for creating an Edmodo account. This is an online classroom resources that allows for more student communication, student bloging, quizes, videos and online assignments.
Any questions, never hesitate to contact me.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
8th Grade US History is designed as a survey course through American History. This course will focus on the period of American History from the discovery of North America through Reconstruction (after the Civil War). Students taking this course will attain a mastery of US History with special focus on the geography, economics, political and historical perspectives throughout the 1400’s – late 1800’s.
The learning environment of the classroom will promote students to use critical thinking skills to understand the concepts of American history. Rather than focusing on the memorization of certain facts and dates, students are encouraged to anaylze the puzzle pieces of history to develop greater understanding of our historical concepts and how it will impacted us today and our future.
UNIT OVERVIEW AND RESOURCES
/ HISTORICAL SKILLS
01
This unit will start of the school year and provide the students with skills to help them understand how to analyze historical documents. This introductory unit will also provide the students with a greater understanding of the differences between economics, geography, sociology, psychology and their interconnection with history.
/ COLONIZATION
02
In the 1500s, Spain sent soldiers and explorers to America to explore and conquer the lands there. Spain conquered the Aztec and Inca Empires and established a system of colonial government to rule these new territories. Spanish settlers grew wealthy in the New World, often by using American Indians or Africans as slave laborers. France, England, and the Netherlands also hoped to create their own empires in the Americas and began to create colonies at this time. English colonists established the first English settlement in Virginia, hoping to find wealth. Later colonists, such as the Puritans, Catholics, and Quakers, came to America seeking religious and political freedom. Throughout the colonies, these new settlers had to adapt to different environments with a variety of crops and varied ways of life.
03
/ LIFE IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES
Throughout the English Colonies, new settlers had to adapt to different environments with a variety of crops and varied ways of life. Each of the English colonies had its own form of government and operated independently from the other colonies. The colonies were bound together by an extensive trade network, however, which extended from the colonies to the West Indies to Great Britain. The goods that these colonies produced varied from region to region according to geography and climate.
/ ROAD TO
REVOLUTION
04
After the French and Indian War, Parliament became determined to make the American colonists pay for their defense. Claiming that this was “taxation without representation,” colonists began to launch angry protests against the British.
05
/ REVOLUTION
Great Britain’s continued taxation of the colonies led to open conflict in 1775. In 1776 the Second Continental Congress decided to draft the Declaration of Independence, declaring the United States of America an independent nation. American forces had to fight many long and difficult battles and face numerous hardships before finally winning the war. The colonists were aided in their struggle by France and Spain, longtime enemies of Britain. In the Treaty of Paris of 1783, Parliament recognized U.S. independence and agreed to boundaries for the new nation.
06
/ ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Americans formed state and federal governments based on English laws, Enlightenment ideas, and American political traditions. The government formed under the Articles of Confederation lacked sufficient power to rule effectively. American leaders were now faced with a new country and government on the verge of collapse.
07
/ THE CONSTITUTION
To remedy the problems of the Articles of Confederation, American leaders wrote a new constitution that created a more powerful central government. The framers of the Constitution developed a system of checks and balances that divides power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. To address concerns about individual rights, the First Congress added 10 amendments—known as the Bill of Rights—to the Constitution. The Constitution specifies the rights of the U.S. citizens and the responsibilities of the federal and state governments.
08
/ EARLY PRESIDENTAL ADMINISTRATIONS
After the states ratified the Constitution, the leaders of the United States set about creating a government for the new nation. These leaders faced numerous challenges, including how to pay off the national debt, how to respond to threats from overseas, and how to resolve internal conflicts. During the next several years, the United States begins to grow, not only in size, but also in strength.
09
/ WESTWARD
EXPANSION
During the next several years, the United States begins to grow, not only in size, but also in strength. Americans begin to move West with advances in transportation and communication. This leads not only to new settlements, but also to increased conflict with American Indians, and other nations.
10
/ CAUSES OF THE
CIVIL WAR
As the nation began to grow and expand, new problems arose that led to increased tension in our country. The southern economy came to be dominated by cotton production relying heavily on slave labor. The addition of new western lands revived the debate over slavery. Congress attempted to put the question to rest with a series of compromises, which only increased the polarization between the North and the South. Abraham Lincoln, a Republican who hoped to stop the spread of slavery, was elected to the presidency in 1860. This prompted South Carolina and six other southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America.
11
/ CIVIL WAR
Soon after Lincoln’s inauguration, South Carolina opened fire on Fort Sumter, beginning the Civil War. Initially, the South won several major battles, including the First Battle of Bull Run, the Seven Days’ Battles, and the Second Battle of Bull Run. However, the North turned the tide of the war with victories in both the West and the East. The Union gained control of the Mississippi River with General Grant’s capture of Vicksburg. On the same day, Union forces defeated Confederate troops under General Lee at Gettysburg, which proved to be the turning point of the war. American life changed dramatically during the war, which affected people on both sides at every social level.
12
/ RECONSTRUCTION
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines the history of the United States of America from 1877 to the present. The federal republic has withstood challenges to its national security and expanded the rights and roles of its citizens. The episodes of its past have shaped the nature of the country today and prepared it to attend to the challenges of tomorrow. Understanding how these events came to pass and their meaning for today's citizens is the purpose of this course. The concepts of historical thinking introduced in earlier grades continue to build with students locaring and analyzing primary and secondary sources from multiple perspectives to draw conclusions.
The learning environment of the classroom will promote students to use critical thinking skills to understand the concepts of American history. Rather than focusing on the memorization of certain facts and dates, students are encouraged to anaylze the puzzle pieces of history to develop greater understanding of our historical concepts and how it will impacted us today and our future.
UNIT OVERVIEW AND RESOURCES
/ HISTORICAL
DOCUMENTS
01
Some documents in American History have considerable importance for the development of the nation. Students use historical thinking to examine key documents which form the basis for the United States of America.
02
/ INDUSTRIALIZATION
& PROGRESSIVISM (1877-1920)
Ignited by post-Civil War demand and fueled by technological advancements, large-scale industrialization began in the United States during the late 1800s. Growing industries enticed foreign immigration, fostered urbanization, gave rise to the American labor movement and developed the infrastructure that facilitated the settling of the West. A period of progressive reform emerged in response to political corruption and practices of big business.
03
/ FOREIGN AFFAIRS
IMPRERIALISM TO WWI (1898-1930)
The industrial and territorial growth of the US fostered expansion overseas. Greater involvement in the world set the stage for American participation in WW1 and attempts to preserve post-war peace.
04
/ PROSPERITY, DEPRESSION, AND NEW DEAL (1919-1940)
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05
/ FROM ISOLATION TO WWII
(1930-1945)
06
/ THE COLD WAR AND LIFE IN THE 50's
(1945-1960)
The isolationist approach to foreign policy meant U.S. leadership in world affairs diminished after World War 1. Overseas, certain nations saw the growth of tyrannical governments which reasserted their power through aggression and create conditions leading to the Second World War. After Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II, which changed the country’s focus from isolationism to international involvement.
The United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) emerged as the two strongest powers in international affairs. Ideologically opposed, they challenged one another in a series of confrontations known as the Cold War. The Cold War had social and political implications in the United States. As America continues to grow, a new view of American lifestyles emerge. A strong focus on the automobile makes America mobile and Eisenhower creates the Highway Act of 1956.
07
/ KENNEDY AND THE COLD WAR / LIFE IN THE 50'S
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08
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
The civil rights movement gained momentum from the Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling on school desegregation. The success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott showed the effectiveness of peaceful protest in ending racial discrimination. It also transformed Martin Luther King Jr. into a prominent figure in the struggle for civil rights. In this chapter you will learn how some Americans worked to expand civil rights and equality for all American. However, many Americans continued to oppose racial equality.
VIETNAM WAR / CULTURAL REVOLUTION
09
After World War 2 the United States took a stand opposing the spread of communism anywhere in the world. In the early 1950’s U.S. troops fought against communist forces in Korea. In this unit you will learn how the United States became involved in a similar war in Vietnam, which has won its independence from the French in 1954. Eventually more than 2 million Americans served in the Vietnam War. The conflict, which lasted more than a decade, left deep scars on both Vietnam and the United States.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me and you can start adding your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.