Back in the Blogging Saddle Again

I have played with a couple other blog sites and have decided to stay with Blogger a little while longer. Hopefully we can figure out how to get all my followers to be able to reply to posts.

I'm also expanding this to just beyond classroom stuff. I've decided I need to place to process thoughts and ideas about 'edumacation'. Its alot cheaper than therapy. Welcome to the inner workings of my brain...how sad, for you!

Used two video's in class today. The first was part of a series from Jazz @ Lincoln Center:

The other was old school (literally):

We had a great discussion in class about how Jefferson's prose in the Declaration is given feet in Madison's Constitution and how that improvisation plays out today. Good times.

Manifest Destiny ... one note card at a time!

Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (mural study, U.S. Capitol)
1861 

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze 

Born: Schwabisch-Gmund, Germany 1816 

Died: Washington, District of Columbia 1868 

oil on canvas 33 1/4 x 43 3/8 in. (84.5 x 110.1 cm.) 

Smithsonian American Art Museum Bequest of Sara Carr Upton 

1931.6.1 

Smithsonian American Art Museum

We just started a new project in class looking at westward expansion. Teams have taken on topics ranging from the Trail of Tears to King Cotton to the Kansas Nebraska Act in order to wrestle with the idea of American Manifest Destiny. Their final product will be Prezis (think PowerPoints for non-linear thinkers). I'm treating this as a mini-research project and so they are having to use notecards, bib cards and MLA7 citations. This is their first foray into this style of research and my oft used quote is from the movie, The Waterboy ... "Yoo can do eet!" [Imagine my best Rob Schneider Cajun accent].

The painting above is impressive in person. It is by the same artist who painted Washington Crossing the Delaware and the mural in the rotunda of the US Capitol. I'm going to hope against all hope and pray Blogger solved our commenting issue and invite students to offer their insights on this painting. Sorry, no extra credit, candy bars or ... well, nothing. Just wanted to hear your insights.

Wanna see your Prezi?

Class of 2016 - Louisiana Purchase Prezi 

The information we've been collecting in class and I've been loading into the Prezi is two-thirds done but I wanted to show you it as a work in progress. I made it orange in honor of Halloween but we will decide on a formal format next week. Note that all but the LP map has its source listed. Note that grammar rules have been suspended which made Mrs. Cornett frown at me.:)
What are we missing? What should we add? If you are done with your homework this weekend, see what Lord Google might suggest. You might also fire up a book on the Louisiana Purchase, too. There are these places called libraries ... ;)
BTW-I was so inspired by our Cosmosphere visit that I went outside after the dance and stargazed for a bit. Saturday will be a beautiful night to do that as well.

This is a painted bison pelt Lewis sent to Jefferson. It hangs in the foyer of Monticello. (Source: Mr. Mc.)

"Something is rotten in the state of ..." Blogger

Ask Mrs. Cornett about the quote ... ya'll will hit Shakespeare this quarter and it from one of his plays.

I know many of you are joining the blog and trying to comment. I've extended the extra credit to this end of this week to get everyone on board and I will accept an emailed comment as we work all this out. Blogger says there is nothing wrong except ya'll can't post ... grrr.

Anyway, wanted to tease a little Lewis and Clark for next Tuesdays trip to the Cosmosphere. These are from the Library of Congress and are the two sides of Indian Peace Coins given to the tribes that Lewis and Clark encountered.

Fine Art, History and Lego's ... I'm in heaven!

OK, now that is totally awesome!

Down by the riverside ....

This painting is titled, Washington Crossing the Delaware and is by Emanuel Luetze. We started the discussion in class but I wanted to keep it going this week. Remember 15 extra credit points are available for joining the blog and adding at least one comment. Please remember to use just your initials in for screen name.

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Luetze. 1851. Oil on Canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

Can we trust Paul Revere?

We've been looking at the ramp up to the Revolutionary War and today we talked about the Sons of Liberty, virtual versus actual representation and the Boston Massacre. We explored the engraving by Paul Revere titled, Bloody Massacre. I've told my students that people are tired of me paraphrasing and so some of them are going to get online and offer their own thoughts. Today we just analyzed the engraving. Tomorrow we'll compare what Revere drew versus the actual testimony of the soldiers, witness and the lawyers at the trial.

Bloody Massacre, engraving by Paul Revere

Taken from the Gilder Lehrman Institute website