Ferguson

While we don’t have class today, I wanted to provide a space for you to discuss and/or leave thoughts on the grand jury decision in Ferguson. What are your thoughts? What questions do you have? Is there an article or quote that you want to share? Please feel free to comment. I’ll try to post articles and helpful resources as well.

One question you may have – what’s the difference between a grand jury and a regular trial jury? Read a brief explanation about it here: http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/difference-between-grand-jury-and-trial-jury.html

Here’s an article that seeks to explain why the Ferguson grand jury process was set up for failure: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/24/3596621/in-powerful-video-legal-experts-explain-why-the-grand-jury-in-ferguson-was-set-up-for-failure/

Here’s an article about “how not to use a grand jury”: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/use-grand-jury

Crash Course – The Cold War

Want to learn more about the Cold War? Try this crash course video! Join Khan Academy to gain access to all these videos, as well as other resources on history, math, science, etc. You can register and save your progress. It’s a great tool for independent study.

Gettysburg Address

November 19th was the anniversary of Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address. Here’s an interesting video set to the audio of his speech: 

How does listening to the speech with these visuals change your understanding of the speech?

No Class This Week

Just a reminder that there’s no class this week. If you’d like to come in Monday or Wednesday for extra help, please contact me to make an appointment. Thanks!

Enjoy your break!

This Day in History in the Supreme Court

From Zinn Education Project’s Facebook page:

“On November 21, 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of nine-year old Chinese-American Martha Lum (seated 3rd from left in front row), daughter of Gong Lum, who was removed from the Rosedale Consolidated School in Bolivar County, Mississippi solely because she was of Chinese descent. In Lum v. Rice, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state’s rights and Plessy v. Ferguson applied to Asian American students, or as the court said, students of the “yellow race.” Read more about the case here: http://bit.ly/1yxRtUL

Photo: Before she was removed, Lum’s 3rd-4th-grade class at Rosedale School in Bolivar County, MS, in 1924. Photo courtesy of the Delta State University Archives & Museum.‬”

Thanksgiving – the other side of the story

Don’t get me wrong – I love Thanksgiving. I love spending the day cooking, relaxing, watching football, and eating! It’s a day to reflect on all I’m grateful for in my life. (Though, this is something I try to do daily.)

Yet, there’s another side that sometimes gets lost in the our vision of Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims’ landing. What about the indigenous, or native, peoples? What was their experience? Read this article titled, “Thanksgiving: A Native American View”

Take some time to comment on one or more of the following questions:

• What are your initial reactions to this piece?
• What did you learn? What surprised you?
• According to the author, what was the real purpose for the first Thanksgiving?
• The authors mentions the notion of a “hidden heart” – what do you think the author means by that?
• What is the author’s tone? What is her main idea or perspective?

Free Social Studies Practice Test

Literacy Action Social Studies Scholars

Here is the link to the free GED practice tests. http://www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/freepracticetest

Scroll down and look on the right of the screen to see the links to the tests. You can view them online or download them. I’ve had more success simply viewing it online.

You’ll notice there is also a computer skills tutorial which I recommend for those who are less comfortable with computers.

The practice tests are only one quarter of the length of the real test, but they simulate how the test will look and feel. If you like, send me the results and we can use that to focus your studies. If you do the extended response, please send me your writing via email. I can help score the response.

Leave any questions about the test below; I imagine others have similar questions, or they can answer yours.

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Geography Help

Literacy Action Social Studies Scholars

Need to brush up on your states, countries, & capitols? Try these sites…

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Geography.htm

http://world-geography-games.com/

http://www.coolmath-games.com/1-geography-games-01.html 

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Extra Online Resources

Literacy Action Social Studies Scholars

Want to practice at home or at the library? Check out the great FREE resources available from the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library.

Here’s the eCampus link: http://www.afpls.org/ecampus

I think the Learning Express Library is especially helpful. Take some time to investigate all their resources!

Let us know in the comments below what resources you like or have found helpful.

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Satire: Case Against Male Suffrage

Satire is a genre of writing that exposes and pokes fun at our society and its vices. If you ever read The Onion, a satirical newspaper, you’re reading fake articles that make fun of current events. Other examples of satire include The Colbert Report and Jonathan Swift’s famous A Modest Proposal. Making you laugh isn’t satire’s only purpose. Writers of satire also want the reader to think critically about the topic and warn the reader of society’s problems.

A couple weeks ago I posted an anti-women’s suffrage flyer from the 1910s that listed reasons why women shouldn’t be allowed to vote. In response, a group of suffragettes disseminated, or distributed, a flyer titled, “Why We Oppose Votes for Men” in 1915 – 5 years before women gained the right to vote.

The text reads:

1. Because man’s place is in the army.

2. Because no really manly man wants to settle any question otherwise than by fighting about it.

3. Because if men should adopt peacable [sic] methods women will no longer look up to them.

4. Because men will lose their charm if they step out of their natural sphere and interest themselves in other matters than feats of arms, uniforms and drums.

5. Because men are too emotional to vote. Their conduct at baseball games and political conventions shows this, while their innate tendency to appeal to force renders them particularly unfit for the task of government.

You can read more about this flyer and the history of women’s fight for the vote here: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/11/the-case-against-male-suffrage/382339/