U.S. History -- Mr. Daccord

"Interview a Boomer" Oral History Assignment

Essential Question: What impact did Vietnam, Watergate, and Ronald Reagan have on Americans?

Part I:
1.    Find a likely but unsuspecting Boomer—a parent, teacher or family friend born between 1946 and 1964.

2.    Develop a list of ten questions—five required and five of your own design. Here are the required questions:

a.    What political events shaped you in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s?
b.    What social and cultural events shaped you in the ‘70’s and '80’s?
c.    What issues did you and your parents agree upon? Disagree upon?
d.    In which presidential election did you first vote? For whom did you vote and why?
e.    Historians often describe America in the 70’s as a “nation in turmoil.” Would you agree or disagree with this assessment? OR Historians often describe the 80s as a time of "conservative resurgence." Would you agree or disagree with this assessment?

3.    Sit down with your "victim" and record your 15-minute interview using your iPod and iTalk microphone. (Please let the interviewee know that the interview how long the interview will last.)

Tips on recording:
-test the recording level with your interviewee
-do not hit pause or stop unless you want to make a new recording
-check battery power before the interview

4. Bring your iPod to Computer Street with interview included next Tuesday between 7:45 and 8am.

Part II
Write a 300-500 word blog post in which you describe what you learned from the interview and how his/her answers help you answer the essential question. Due next Wednesday by 1:40 pm

Research Project - Step 2

Folks, by tomorrow class time you should have posted the following to your blog:

-books you have found/ordered via Google Books, Putnam Library, Class, and Minuteman and how you found then   
-an updated working bibliography that includes new sources (print or electronic) since your last post
-discussion of how you might narrow your topic and any problems you are having to date

Research Project - Step 1

This weekend you will begin the formal process of selecting a topic for your research essay. Your ultimate objective is to craft a formal analytical essay based extensively on primary sources. You will need to develop an historical question to answer. The key to successful research for this project is to adopt a thoughtful and broad-based strategy.

Here is what you need to do this weekend:
1. Identify a general topic
-Cuban Missile Crisis
2. Identify what interests you about the topic
-I am interested in the excomm discussions and the conflicts between its various members during the meetings. I want to know which member(s) most influenced Kennedy's decision and how. I also want to know which member(s) might have been isolated to even shunned and why. I might then do focused research on an excomm member or two.
3. Do preliminary background reading (encyclopedia; history web site; book chapter) and develop an effective keyword and subject search strategy:
-keywords: cuban missile crisis; President John F. Kennedy; (names of excomm members); Fidel Castro; Nikita Khrushchev; blockade/quarantine;
-keyword search strings: excomm and cuban missile crisis; excomm and President John F. Kennedy  and excomm; (name of excomm member) and excomm; excomm discussions/deliberations/debate/decisions; excomm
-Use the Browse feature of the Putnam Library Catalog to "skim" the Putnam collection for materials to read:
    http://library.nobles.edu/noblegreen/default.asp
    - search by title, subject, etc and use a variety of keywords

    - Use Google's Advanced Search function to find education-oriented web sites on a topic. Also try Google's Book Search.
     For five quick tips to using Advanced Search see the attached document.

4. Develop a working bibliography. It is very important that you note sources as you research.

Eventually you will come up with a project like this:
general topic: Rubin Carter: African-American boxer in 1960s and subject of film "The Hurricane"
specific topic: comparison of trial scene in movie with actual trial proceedings
primary sources: transcript of trial  and news articles in select media
basic historical question: To what extent is the trial scene in "The Hurricane" historically accurate and significant?

general topic: McCarthyism
specific topic: New York Times media coverage of Army-McCarthy hearings
primary sources: 1953-1954 New York Times editorials on McCarthy
basic historical question: Some historians claim that the American media became critical of McCarthy during the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, but not before. Does this generalization hold true for New York Times coverage of McCarthy between 1953 and 1954?

*Post to your blog and show me the work you have done to complete these first steps. 

A Day in the Life of a Hobo

In this assignment you are to write from the perspective of a Hobo who is "riding the rails." Use your knowledge of the period and your creativity to create a story (250-500 words) about a day in your life as a Hobo.

Here are some questions to help guide your story: How old are you? Where are you from and why have you left home? Are you traveling alone or with someone? Who? What possessions do you have? What are your plans? What are your concerns? How are you feeling, physically and emotionally? What happened to you today? How did it make you feel? 

Bring your story in electronic format to class Monday and we will post it on your blog.

Hobo 'Radio Show' excerpt:

Download hobo_excerpt.mp3

20s Magazine Editorial

For this assignment you are going to post your 1920s editorial online. Then in your role as a liberal or conservative you are going to comment on your partner's editorial.

Cultural Tensions in the 20s

Wed – two-paragraph progress report on your research; post on blog
    Explain how you researched and what you uncovered

Tue or Wed or Thursday – meeting with me
Friday – thesis and two body paragraphs (600 words) due
Next Wed. – Final editorial (50 pts) and Works Consulted (25 points) due. Strength of research (25 points) = 100 total points

Ragged Dick & the American Dream

What individual or societal virtues is Horatio Alger trying to advance through his portrayal of Ragged Dick? Which scenes or examples best illustrate these virtues? How?

Industrial Age, 1877-1920 (Post #1)

What was the point of today's activity? How does it connect to last night's homework assignmment? Please make specific reference to terms/people/concepts from the homework.
Post your 1-2 paragraph answer on your blog.
Thanks

9/11: Are We Safer Five Years Later?

In recent speeches President Bush has claimed that the United States is much safer than 9/11. “Many Americans look at these events,” Mr. Bush has said , “and ask the same question: Five years after 9/11, are we safer? The answer is, yes, America is safer. We are safer because we’ve taken action to protect the homeland.” He and others point to air security improvements and  revamped intelligence agencies that can share information more freely. Other cited improvements  include  the expansion of agents assigned to work on counterterrorism.

However, others disagree. For instance, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Larry Korb says: "What has happened is, particularly with the invasion of Iraq, we have created a lot of al-Qaida wannabees, and there are more people now that are trying to do us harm than there were before we went into Iraq."   Senator John Kerry concurs: " [President Bush's] disastrous decisions have made Iraq a fuel depot for terror, fanning the flames of conflict around the world."

What do you remember of 9/11? Do you feel safer now than five years ago? Why or why not?