Video 7-Britain, I'm having second thoughts about us.

Video 7 is up and running!  In this video we will review the Battles of Lexington and Concord, learn about the siege of Boston, the Olive Branch Petition, and Common Sense!  But of course, that is not all!  There are not any goals or targets for this video, but you still need to make sure you fill out that section of the most important things.  Enjoy!

A Preview and Change in Dates!

First of all, it looks like we are going to have to have a change in dates for our reenactment due to the Walkathon and JA in a Day.  For Red Day classes, Monday October 13 will be your day to shine.  This is the day we come back from fall break so you need to make sure that you do not forget everything you know during the week off.  For White Day classes, your new day is Tuesday October 14.  Remember, buying a costume is not what I want you to do, but if you want to and are able to, then go for it.  I want people to use what they have at their own homes first.  Also, if you have a friend in another class that has an awesome costume, see if they will let you borrow some parts of it, that way you don't have to go without wearing something.

Now for the preview....It's not much, but it is just a one minute thing to get you pumped and jacked up for our reenactment.  It is going to be awesome.  Remember, the newspaper might just come and visit your class, and I guarantee you that this will be recorded for kids next year to see.  So give your best effort!  If you aren't just jacked out of your mind, then you need to order a tall glass of Freedom, Independence, and Liberty at McDonalds.  No diet though, that would just be un-American.

Preparing for the 2nd Continental Congress

The annual 2nd Continental Congress reenactment is upon us!  Next Thursday (Red Day) and Friday (White Day), we will spend an hour and 20 minutes as delegates at the Congress in 1775 and 1776.  This week, you will learn who you will portray.  Will it be John Adams?  Thomas Jefferson? Or Button Gwinnett (Who the heck is that guy?)?  Once you find out who you will portray, here are some things you need to do:

1). RESEARCH THEM!!!!  Even though we will spend part of a class researching our delegates, you cannot learn enough about how to portray them in that amount of time.  This will require YOU to do some research on your own.  There will be some helpful links and websites that will be given to you when you are given your delegate's identity that should really help you in your research.  You can also look up YouTube videos about the guys.  I'm pretty sure there are some out there since these men were so important.  What did these guys look like?  How did they act?  Were they well liked or practically hated by the other delegates?  Did they have anything physical about them that made them stick out (Like Benny Franklin's skullet, or Richard Henry Lee's missing fingers)?  You also need to know what they thought about the colonists' rights as "natural born Englishmen" and whether they would have truly supported something like declaring independence from the most powerful nation on the face of the Earth (I mean....that sounds smart, right?).  The bottom line is, is that you will be an actor portraying one of the most important men in our nation's history for an hour and 20 minutes, and we want to make sure that we honor them the right way by portraying them the right way.

2). RESEARCH YOUR COLONY!!!! Even though it isn't on the bio sheet, it would do you well to look into the colony of your delegate.  What was the general opinion about the British in Colony _____ in 1776?  This will help you in your portrayal of your delegate as the delegates were supposed to represent the people of their colony.

3). LOOK LIKE A STUD IN YOUR COSTUME!!! Okay, maybe not a stud, but pretty darn close.  Do NOT go buy a costume unless you just absolutely want to.  Use the Colonial Clothing Guide we went over in class and use the things from your house, your relative's house, your friend's house, from anywhere!  Heck, share costumes with someone from another class if you can pull that off.  Since dressing up is a requirement, you'll want to make sure that you put some effort into this.  Remember, if you have questions, ask me or do some clothing research on your own.  There's practically nothing you cannot find about historical clothing on the internet.

4).  HAVE A GREAT ATTITUDE ABOUT THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE!!!  No explanation needed here.

So if you are having any trouble at all about this please come talk to me.  I beseech you (Ah, new word)!  Parents, if you are reading this, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns and we will figure our a solution to those.

For your reference this week, here is a clip from the miniseries John Adams that is set during the 2nd Continental Congress which we will be portraying.

  

This Ain't Your Mom's Tea Party! (Video 6)

Happy weekend everyone!  Video 6 "Tea Anyone?" is up and loaded on YouTube.  I think we had a pretty good time watching the Boston Massacre scene from "America: The Story of Us" today and Thursday, and pointing out ALL of the inaccuracies.  You need to remember to always check these history shows with the real facts and test them to see if they are accurate.  You'll be a much better young historian by doing that!  Remember, if you are in a White Day class, talk to your parents about the Gettysburg trip and the parent meeting Tuesday night.  Red Day classes will be getting more info on Monday.  Have a great weekend, and come up with some amazing IQ's for the video discussion!

 

Video 5! New Taxes and the Colonists' Response!

Hello there amazing students!  Video 5 has been uploaded and is ready for your viewing pleasure.  Don't forget about the great extra credit opportunity mentioned in the video!  It will be worth it!

So that thing called the French and Indian War was pretty brutal eh?  With all of the mistakes the British made (we talked about those in class) it's a wonder they won the war in the end.  Then they made mistakes after the war like that darn Proclamation of 1763 which really ruffled the feathers of the colonists.

Anyways, your new video will give you the foundation for what we will be doing in class.  We don't mention all of the acts and taxes, just the major ones before the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party, which caused even worst acts to be handed down.  So look out for the Stamp Act, Quartering Act, Townshend Acts, and the Sons of Liberty!

Here is the link for the extra credit videos too!
          The War That Made America- Parts 1, 2, 3, & 4.
If you watch the videos, it will get close to 4 hours in length.  If you have the guts to undertake this great challenge, you will be rewarded with riches (extra credit points) beyond belief!  Just provide a paragraph summary for each part, which would equal to 4 paragraphs when you are completely finished.  My advice would be to just watch a little here and there, and not the whole thing all at once.  Good luck!

VIDEO 4! The French and Indian War! Plus an extra vid.

Hey everyone!  I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend and got some much needed rest.  I have your 4th video now uploaded and up on YouTube.  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RBis_gTj_tM You'll have to exuse the parts that don't make much sense because orignally I had another clip embedded in the recording, but that just messed it up, so I had to take it out.  So there are parts of the video where I talk about that clip and it isn't there.  Since it is not in that video, I have also added it here.  It is NOT required, but if you want to see what a battle from the French and Indian War looked like, especially the last major battle, then check it out.  It's from a Canadian documentary about the war and lasts about 8 minutes. This is great for coming up with IQ's.   http://youtu.be/D4eVwzZ9a_A.  As always, let me know if you need help or have questions about something!