Honors+US+History

Honors US History

“History can be well-written only in a free country.” -Voltaire Welcome!!!

The goal of our study this year is not the mundane memorization of names and dates. Our goal is to bring history alive in every possible way. Through our yearlong study of United States History, you will: ­ Most importantly: as much as possible, we will make personal connections to the topics that we are studying. By doing this, history transforms from a mere statement of facts to something about which you develop opinions and a deeper understanding (and maybe even enjoy!!).
 * Engage with the material both independently and collaboratively with classmates. We will participate in a combination of individual work, group work, simulations and debates that take us back to different times in American history (For example, if you were President Truman at the end of World War II, would you drop the atomic bomb??? We might have such a debate!).
 * Act as historians by analyzing primary source materials that include historical documents as well as the stories and accounts of individual Americans. You will be able to answer questions such as: Why did the Founding Fathers include/not include certain provisions in the Constitution? When reading a mill girl’s account of working in the Lowell Mills, we might ask: Were these conditions just? Did a lot of American factory workers face similar conditions? Do these types of work conditions exist today? These are some of the types of questions you will be asking this year.
 * Utilize technologies that are crucial to being successful in the 21st century. These include (but are certainly not limited to): online discussion posts, reading and analyzing different types of online journalism (blog v. news article), and more!
 * Be assessed in a variety of different ways (homework, quizzes, tests, essays, projects, and more)