Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Class recap 4/24

Today in class we worked on groups in the computer lab on presentations. Our presentations were on different inventions that came about around the 1870s when people had started moving west. Mine was barbed wire. I liked this activity because it is creative and different.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Class Recap 4/23

Today was one of my most favorite of the year, even though mr. Boyle was not there. We lived the class as if we lived in a sod house by smelling it, seeing how hard it was to take a picture and by setting up a pretend house. My overall impression of living in a sod house was that I did not like it, it is cramped and the smell is awful. I would not last very long in one of these houses, as a matter of fact I would be one of the people who stayed in the city or went back to it after about a week of being out west. We also had a competition who could smell the sod the longest. Brittany won :)

Monday, April 22, 2013

Class Recap 4/22

Today in class we did the Triton 16% plan for the first time. It is a project based on the google 20% plan, which gives us one day to work on a project of our choice that doesn't have to be history related in order to earn a badge. We got to work on the computers which was good and made for an interesting class. I enjoy this so far and I am glad we get the opportunity to work outside the box.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Oregon trail/class recap 4/9

In class today we had to look at how the Oregon trail effected settlers/merchants, the pioneers and New Yorkers. I was a settler/merchant. For me, the trail brought almost nothing but good. Whether the business was excavating or something as small as printing newspapers and such, everything was affected. With more people passing through towns, the amount of customers went up, resulting in a better business. Also, the railroad allowed business like the printing press one to have easy access to states like Michigan where they held most of their resources.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Class Recap/Snap Debate 4/2

Today in class we tried something new; it was called a snap debate. After being put in groups based on what we chose in a poll, we were told to make an argument pertaining to why out subject was the most important factor of the start of the War of 1812. Initially, I was part of the incitement group which had to prove that instigation from the Indians was the main cause of the war. However, as the debate went on, I was persuaded into believing either the orders in council or impressment by the British was the main cause. I finally settled on impressment because it seemed to anger Americans the most, resulting in them wanting to fight. I was not persuaded into thinking the Chesapeake Affair was an important factor because if you look back on the big picture, it was still an impressment issue, just an example of it.