7. The Civil War and Reconstruction 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. | 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. |
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. | 12. Postwar America 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. |
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UNIT I: | UNIT IX: | |
UNIT II: | UNIT X: | |
UNIT III: | UNIT XI: | |
UNIT IV: | UNIT XII: | |
UNIT V: | UNIT XIII: | |
UNIT VI: | UNIT XIV: | |
UNIT VII: | UNIT XV: |
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Introducing the Writing Prompt
Published: March 12, 2018
In the first four lessons of the unit, students explore questions about identity, stereotyping, and group membership. This assessment step introduces students to a writing prompt that builds on these important themes and connects them to the history students explore later in this unit. The prompt is designed to serve as both a thematic frame for the unit and a final writing assignment at the unit’s end.
Unit Writing Prompt:
What does learning about the choices people made during the Weimar Republic, the rise of the Nazi Party, and the Holocaust teach us about the power and impact of our choices today?
Because the students have not yet been introduced to the Weimar era, the rise of the Nazi Party, and the Holocaust, this lesson begins with a modified version of the prompt:
Modified Writing Prompt for this Lesson:
How does learning about the choices people made throughout history help us understand the power and impact of our choices in the world today?
This modified prompt enables students to think through larger themes about history and decision making before delving into the specific history in later lessons. This lesson’s activities provide suggestions to help students start to understand the meaning of the prompt and to stake out a preliminary position in response to it. At key points later in this unit (after Lessons 8, 13, 18, 21, and 23), you will be prompted to give students the opportunity to revisit the prompt and consider stories, documents, and other evidence from history that may influence their thinking about it. At these times, students will also have the opportunity to reflect back on, and potentially modify, the initial position they articulate in this lesson.
There are two additional writing prompts that can be used as summative assessments for this unit included in Facing History’s Common Core Writing Prompts and Strategies: Holocaust and Human Behavior . This resource includes lesson plans and writing strategies to help guide students through all phases of the writing process.
Essential Question
Guiding Question
Why study history?
Learning Objective
Students will develop an initial position for an argumentative essay in response to a question about the importance and impact of choices in history.
What's Included
This assessment is designed to fit into one 50-min class period and includes:
Notes to the teacher.
Anticipation Guide Activity
This lesson introduces the Anticipation Guides teaching strategy. You might return to the handout Why Study History? later in the unit to see if students’ ideas about the study of history have changed.
Duration: 1 class period
Warm Up with an Anticipation Guide
Before the activity begins, hang four signs in the corners of the classroom that read “Strongly Agree,” “Agree,” “Disagree,” and “Strongly Disagree.”
Pass out the handout Why Study History? and ask students to read the statements and decide if they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each one. They should circle their responses and then write a brief explanation for each choice.
Use the Four Corners strategy to debrief the anticipation guide. Read each statement aloud and ask students to stand near one of the signs in the classroom to indicate their response. After students find their positions, ask them to explain their thinking to others in their corner.
Next, ask students in each corner to share their ideas with the rest of the class. As one corner disagrees with another, encourage students to respond directly to each other’s statements and have a mini-debate about the prompt. If students’ ideas change due to the debate, tell them that they are free to switch corners.
Generate Initial Responses to a Modified Essay Prompt
Next, ask students to return to their seats and take out their journals so they can reflect on the Four Corners activity and start to think about a new and related question.
Write the modified essay topic on the board and ask students to respond to it in their journals. Students might also reference their ideas about one or more of the quotations on the handout Why Study History? when formulating their responses.
Next, ask students to debrief the journal prompt in a Think, Pair, Share discussion. Ask students to try to support their thinking with an example from the history they have studied or their own lives. Finally, ask students to share a few opinions or ideas with the larger group.
Tell students that they will build on these ideas in the upcoming weeks as they learn about the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. They can keep all their notes about these ideas in their journals and use them later to help them think about their essays.
Exit Tickets
Give each student an exit ticket with the following question:
Did today’s class affect your thinking about why we should study history? Did it affect how you think about the connection between the choices people made in history and the choices you make in your own life? If so, explain how. If not, explain why not.
Collect the exit tickets as students leave the classroom. You might share some interesting ideas or patterns at the start of the next lesson. Unless you have permission from the student, we recommend that you keep these anonymous.
Check for Understanding
Observe carefully the discussion that occurs during the Four Corners activity in order to check students’ understanding of the themes embedded in the writing prompt. It is important that every student has the opportunity to talk, either in the small groups in their corners or when sharing with the whole group.
Evaluate students’ responses on the exit cards. While their thinking about the writing prompt will evolve over time, check now for evidence that they have a basic understanding of the question itself.
Dissect the Essay Writing Prompt
If your class is ready, you might introduce the full unit writing prompt, rather than the one modified for this lesson. Using the Dissecting the Prompt strategy, students can take apart and analyze the prompt, identifying the historical topics they need to learn more about in the rest of the unit to be able to fully answer the question. This will establish several inquiry questions for the class that are related to students’ broader thinking about the purpose of studying history in this lesson.
Quick downloads, download the files, get files via google, explore the materials, common core writing prompts and strategies: holocaust and human behavior, universe of obligation.
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Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.
Working for justice, equity and civic agency in our schools: a conversation with clint smith, centering student voices to build community and agency, inspiration, insights, & ways to get involved.
PODCAST: HISTORY UNPLUGGED J. Edgar Hoover’s 50-Year Career of Blackmail, Entrapment, and Taking Down Communist Spies
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These are nearly 500 student history worksheets in this package that cover all aspects of history, from Ancient Greece to World War One, World War Two, and the Cold War. The worksheets can be modified to accommodate K-12. Please feel free to share these on Pinterest or any other places where teachers’ resources are made available. Included are full-color and black-and-white worksheets, word searches, quizzes, overviews, info graphs, diagrams, anagrams and activity sheets that provide everything you need to teach your class on any time period in history imaginable. Below are listed our currently available free student worksheets. More are to come.
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ The Cold War | ✔ |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ Women’s Suffrage | ✔ | ✔ The Civil Rights Movement |
✔ The Vietnam War | ✔ |
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History class is much more than reading out of a textbook. Use these 10 tips to help make history class engaging and relevant to your students.
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I hope you can use some of these 13 tips to help make history class engaging. As a history teacher, it is important to contact local historical sites, museums, organizations, and libraries to see how they can help enrich your program.
This quick technology can be accessed with personal or school portable technology (phones, iPads, tablets). The QR code embeds information (text, URL, etc) into the code image. Students scan the code with a QR Code reader app and they unlock the information.
I use this in my classroom for introducing vocabulary words in a new unit or for students to access information in a different format. I try to make QR Code activities into scavenger hunts where they must locate the code before accessing information.
I love using the cooperative learning strategy called Four Corners. Around the classroom in each corner hang up four different answer cards such as Agree, Disagree, Undecided, and Need More Info (cards can be changed to align better with your lesson). Then ask the class a rich thinking question. Students move to the answer card area that best aligns with their opinion.
In this new opinion group, students discuss their ideas. Ensure that they know they will be held accountable for these discussions either through written or oral means. When first introducing this strategy it is a great idea to have a Need More Information section where the teacher can stand and provide support.
Activities such as Monologues, Wax Museum and Hot Seat make historical figures come to life in your classroom.
Students are not always comfortable discussing in History classes due to their lack of subject area background knowledge. When we have class discussions I try to build up their knowledge and confidence by using strategies such as Think Pair Share or Four Corners Placemats.
Where possible bring in primary sources. Photos from the time period and archival documents can make history seem more authentic to students. Lots of internet sites (government archives) have access to these excellent pieces of history. A quick Google search will contain lots of ideas. Your local library, historical societies, and museums are also great places to look. Also, the New York Public Library has digitized a lot of pieces that could work in your classroom. You can also find great primary sources at Library and Archives Canada .
Do not discount the value of picture books in the middle or high school history classroom. Two of my favourite picture books for my Canadian history classes are The Cremation of Sam McGee and The Canadian Railroad Trilogy . The vivid images and storylines bring history alive.
Picture books can also be used to provide background knowledge prior to starting a unit. In English classes, I often use the book Teammates by Peter Golenbock as a mentor text, which discusses Jackie Robinson’s treatment as the first African American Major League Baseball player.
Picture books are fantastic literacy resources to help students learn about a variety of topics and reinforce literacy skills. I have used these picture books to help teach students about Residential Schools. Please purchase these books from Indigenous-owned bookstores.
To help ignite and maintain a spark for historical knowledge, create a browsing bin of books related to curriculum topics. Ask your school librarian or media specialist if you can borrow books from the school library that relate to your current unit of study.
Keep these books in a special bin and in a highly visible area to encourage students to look through the materials and possibly check them out at the library. If your school does not have a library, visit your local library or contact any local historical associations to see what materials they can lend your classroom.
History classrooms are also literacy classrooms. Students engage each day with written text and make connections and inferences about the people they are studying. Keeping a good variety of historical fiction related to your topics of study can help students extend their classroom learning.
Some favourite books among my students are anything related to major wars or conflicts. The Dear Canada and Dear America series from Scholastic are great places to start for historical fiction. Here are some historical fiction book lists.
It is also important that your assignments have different choice options. Students feel more empowered about their learning if given the chance to produce works of their choosing. Providing choices about content and product is a great place to start.
My first major assignment in my Grade 8 History class is having students create a persuasive piece to encourage the British Colonies to join Confederation. Depending on the school year, students have been offered choices in the final product: pamphlet, website, slideshow, etc.
They can also produce the product in either the official language English or French. During historical inquiry assignments, students are given choice over what topics (from a list related to the curriculum expectations) they want to learn about. I match them with other students in the class who want to learn about the same topic.
For my inquiry assignment on Canada at the turn of the century, students can choose from a long list of topics ranging from technology and transportation to arts and culture.
Last year, for one lesson I set up my classroom as an interactive museum. The unit was called Canada: A Changing Society 1890-1914 . I tried to find artifacts around my house and relatives’ houses that could potentially represent items from this time period.
I also printed off colour photos of daily living artifacts. Students had to circulate around the classroom in pairs and guess what the object was and its modern-day equivalent. The item that had most of the class confused was the manual meat grinder.
They definitely had a better understanding of the challenges of daily living from touching and seeing the different tools than if we had read about it online or in a textbook. Another year, while studying the settlement of Western Canada, I contacted a local museum and borrowed an educational kit that had replica items from the mid-1800s. Students loved seeing the toys and school materials from this time period.
The internet has changed the way I teach history. No longer are students only able to access information from library books, they can actually digitally visit the locations we are studying. This past year we used Google Maps to locate major battle sites and visit museum websites. Use Google to help locate interesting virtual field trips for your class this year.
Depending on your school budget Google Cardboard could be a very good investment. This small device allows students to download an app and view places in a virtual reality environment.
At the end of the day, you still need to cover the contents of your curriculum. By integrating some of these tips into your daily lessons you will make history class more engaging for your students. If you teach Canadian history check out these units by 2 Peas and a Dog which will help you keep your students engaged. I hope you use these strategies to make history class engaging for your students.
Kristy, I would like to know about your QR codes in history class. Can you send me some more information.
Sure, send me an email using my contact for on the website.
Comments are closed.
By using highly-engaging rants, your students won’t even realize you’ve channeled their daily rants and complaints into high-quality, writing!
Every essay needs to end with a concluding paragraph. It is the last paragraph the marker reads, and this will typically be the last paragraph that you write.
The conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay that reminds the reader about the points you have made and how it proves the argument which you stated in your hypothesis .
By the time your marker reads your conclusion, they have read all the evidence you have presented in your body paragraphs . This is your last opportunity to show that you have proven your points.
While your conclusion will talk about the same points you made in your introduction , it should not read exactly the same. Instead, it should state the same information in a more developed form and bring the essay to an end.
In general, you should never use quotes from sources in your conclusion.
While the concluding paragraph will normally be shorter than your introductory and body paragraphs , it still has a specific role to fulfil.
A well-written concluding paragraph has the following three-part structure:
Each element of this structure is explained further, with examples, below:
In one or two sentences, restate each of the topic sentences from your body paragraphs . This is to remind the marker about how you proved your argument.
This information will be similar to your elaboration sentences in your introduction , but will be much briefer.
Since this is a summary of your entire essay’s argument, you will often want to start your conclusion with a phrase to highlight this. For example: “In conclusion”, “In summary”, “To briefly summarise”, or “Overall”.
Example restatements of key points:
Middle Ages (Year 8 Level)
In conclusion, feudal lords had initially spent vast sums of money on elaborate castle construction projects but ceased to do so as a result of the advances in gunpowder technology which rendered stone defences obsolete.
WWI (Year 9 Level)
To briefly summarise, the initially flood of Australian volunteers were encouraged by imperial propaganda but as a result of the stories harsh battlefield experience which filtered back to the home front, enlistment numbers quickly declined.
Civil Rights (Year 10 Level)
In summary, the efforts of important First Nations leaders and activist organisations to spread the idea of indigenous political equality had a significant effect on sway public opinion in favour of a ‘yes’ vote.
Ancient Rome (Year 11/12 Level)
Overall, the Marian military reforms directly changed Roman political campaigns and the role of public opinion in military command assignments across a variety of Roman societal practices.
This is a single sentence that restates the hypothesis from your introductory paragraph .
Don’t simply copy it word-for-word. It should be restated in a different way, but still clearly saying what you have been arguing for the whole of your essay.
Make it clear to your marker that you are clearly restating you argument by beginning this sentence a phrase to highlight this. For example: “Therefore”, “This proves that”, “Consequently”, or “Ultimately”.
Example restated hypotheses:
Therefore, it is clear that while castles were initially intended to dominate infantry-dominated siege scenarios, they were abandoned in favour of financial investment in canon technologies.
This proves that the change in Australian soldiers' morale during World War One was the consequence of the mass slaughter produced by mass-produced weaponry and combat doctrine.
Consequently, the 1967 Referendum considered a public relations success because of the targeted strategies implemented by Charles Perkins, Faith Bandler and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.
Ultimately, it can be safely argued that Gaius Marius was instrumental in revolutionising the republican political, military and social structures in the 1 st century BC.
This is the final sentence of your conclusion that provides a final statement about the implications of your arguments for modern understandings of the topic. Alternatively, it could make a statement about what the effect of this historical person or event had on history.
Example concluding sentences:
While these medieval structures fell into disuse centuries ago, they continue to fascinate people to this day.
The implications of the war-weariness produced by these experiences continued to shape opinions about war for the rest of the 20 th century.
Despite this, the Indigenous Peoples had to lobby successive Australian governments for further political equality, which still continues today.
Ancient Rome (Year 11/12 Level)
The impact of these changes effectively prepared the way for other political figures, like Pompey, Julius Caesar and Octavian, who would ultimately transform the Roman republic into an empire.
Once you have written all three parts of, you should have a completed concluding paragraph. In the examples above, we have shown each part separately. Below you will see the completed paragraphs so that you can appreciate what a conclusion should look like.
Example conclusion paragraphs:
In conclusion, feudal lords had initially spent vast sums of money on elaborate castle construction projects but ceased to do so as a result of the advances in gunpowder technology which rendered stone defences obsolete. Therefore, it is clear that while castles were initially intended to dominate infantry-dominated siege scenarios, they were abandoned in favour of financial investment in canon technologies. While these medieval structures fell into disuse centuries ago, they continue to fascinate people to this day.
To briefly summarise, the initially flood of Australian volunteers were encouraged by imperial propaganda, but as a result of the stories harsh battlefield experience which filtered back to the home front, enlistment numbers quickly declined. This proves that the change in Australian soldiers' morale during World War One was the consequence of the mass slaughter produced by mass-produced weaponry and combat doctrine. The implications of the war-weariness produced by these experiences continued to shape opinions about war for the rest of the 20th century.
In summary, the efforts of important indigenous leaders and activist organisations to spread the idea of indigenous political equality had a significant effect on sway public opinion in favour of a ‘yes’ vote. Consequently, the 1967 Referendum considered a public relations success because of the targeted strategies implemented by Charles Perkins, Faith Bandler and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Despite this, the Indigenous Peoples had to lobby successive Australian governments for further political equality, which still continues today.
Overall, the Marian military reforms directly changed Roman political campaigns and the role of public opinion in military command assignments across a variety of Roman societal practices. Ultimately, it can be safely argued that Gaius Marius was instrumental in revolutionising the republican political, military and social structures in the 1st century BC. The impact of these changes effectively prepared the way for other political figures, like Pompey, Julius Caesar and Octavian, who would ultimately transform the Roman republic into an empire.
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What this handout is about.
The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects. See our short video for more tips.
Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well :
Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.
The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example:
“Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”
Pay attention; this part tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. (See the section in this handout titled “Key Terms” for more information.)
“Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution”, or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”
Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic.
“You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils, or Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”
These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations:
“Be concise”, “Write effectively”, or “Argue furiously.”
These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines.
“Your paper must be typed in Palatino font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.”
The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.
Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:
Who is your audience.
Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.
Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that they will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor. For help with this, see our handout on getting feedback .
Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.
Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs
Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:
Information words Ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.
Relation words Ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.
Interpretation words Ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.
More Clues to Your Purpose As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class:
Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, they still have to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.
Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.
You’ll find a much more detailed discussion of these concepts in our handout on audience .
With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”
So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with bourbon.” Instead, you could say, “Of all the oral cleaning methods, sandblasting removes the most plaque. Therefore it should be recommended by the American Dental Association.” Or, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”
Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present. For help with understanding the role of argument in academic writing, see our handout on argument .
There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.
Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly—see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .
You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.
Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality they expect.
No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal. For specific help with style, see our handout on style .
The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format (see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial ) are negotiable. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.
Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.
Your instructors are not fooled when you:
Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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/ AHA Resource Library
/ History of the Body: Choose Your Path Assignment Structure
Published Date
February 10, 2021
Resource Type
For the Classroom
Career Paths, Graduate Education
This resource was developed as part of the AHA’s Career Diversity for Historians initiative .
By Courtney E. Thompson Mississippi State Univ.
Using This Guide : This assignment structure provides faculty with a framework for developing assignment paths that build on historical research skills while allowing students to choose the assignments that will allow them to build other historical skills.
Purpose of this Assignment Structure : This assignment structure allows graduate students to consider their potential career paths in history.
Skills It Addresses : Intellectual Self-Confidence, Communication
For more about this assignment : see Prof. Thompson’s February 2021 article, found here , in Perspectives on History.
This semester, you will use your own interests in the history of the body to structure your assignments, and you will choose a path to pursue for two of the three major assignments that aligns with your professional goals.
All students will complete the first assignment, the annotated bibliography. After completing your annotated bibliography, you will pick one of the following paths, which will determine your other two assignments for the course. You should build on the research you have already completed in your annotated bibliography to complete the other two assignments.
Assignment 1: annotated bibliography (25%):.
You will identify a significant theme within the subfield of the history of the body and prepared a detailed annotated bibliography exploring this mini-field of roughly ten books and/or articles that are significant to this theme.
The annotated bibliography will contain the following components, all of which will be assessed:
The theme you choose may be a theme we will address in class (like eugenics), or you may choose a theme that we are not covering in our major works (like sex work). These bibliographies will be shared with the entire class as a collection of references for the history of the body.
Assignment #2 is due on October 16 via Canvas. You must pick one of the following to pursue.
New Course Proposal and Draft Syllabus
For this assignment, you will propose a “new” course. You may design and propose a course at any level and on any topic, but you must incorporate the history of the body into your chosen subject. This assignment will have the following components:
For this project, you will have to closely investigate syllabi written by instructors at MSU and at other institutions, but your syllabus should be entirely your own design. You must carefully choose appropriate readings and assignments, and you must also consider how to incorporate the history of the body into your course. You must justify and explain all of the choices that you make in the rationale and annotations.
Fellowship or Grant Application
For this assignment, you will either prepare a draft application for a fellowship of your choice or apply for the Thompson Research Fellowship for archival research and travel to [Archive of your choice]. The Thompson fellowship application requires the following components:
For this project, you will have to closely investigate the finding aids and catalog of the archive and write a project proposal which must include a detailed account of why you are embarking on a specific project, which specific questions you intend to respond to, and details how your project engages with the history and historiography of the body.
Pitch and Op-Ed
For this assignment, you will pitch an op-ed piece to Internet Magazine. You may propose an op-ed on any topic, provided it is clearly tied to both the history of the body and some aspect of modern culture, society, and/or politics. This assignment will have the following components:
For this project, you will have to read op-ed essays and other examples of public scholarship published on the internet. I recommend essays by historians for The Atlantic, Slate, and other news magazines, as well as public-facing history blogs like Nursing Clio. You should model your approach off the work of other public-facing scholars. Your essay must engage both the history of the body and some event of current interest, and it should be written for a general reader.
Assignment #3 is due on November 22 via Canvas. You must pick one of the following to pursue.
Lecture Draft and Presentation
You will draft one sample lecture based on your previously submitted syllabus demonstrating the integration of the history of the body with your field of interest. While you may partially rely on course texts in developing your syllabus, your lecture must be substantially based in both primary and secondary sources that you identify yourself.
This assignment has three components:
Annotated Document and Primary Source Analysis
You will select one primary source or small set of related primary sources (e.g., a set of public health posters; a diary; etc.). This assignment is intended to serve as a step towards a research paper; you may discuss a source you will further examine in a planned research paper, or you can use this exercise to explore the process of historical analysis. You cannot recycle previously submitted work; this should reflect new writing and research. Your primary source(s) should ideally be archival, manuscript, or ephemeral in nature; if you plan to use a published source, you should check in with me first. The history of the body and its historiography should influence your analysis.
This assignment has two components:
You will also create a more in-depth primary source analysis (~2500 words). While this is a short assignment, you should still have a conventional structure, clear argument, and appropriate, Chicago-style citations. You should have a nuanced, complex argument based on your close analysis of your source(s). You should make use of appropriate contextualization and engagement with the historiography. The “Lost & Found” series of essays in Endeavour is a good example of how to do a focused analysis of a single primary source or small set of sources.
Exhibition Proposal and Design
You will develop a concept for an exhibit, which may be conceived of as a virtual or physical exhibition. Your exhibit plan should communicate to both the imagined museum administrator and the public some aspect of the history of the body in addition to your subject of interest. The exhibit can be as large or small as you imagine; it might help to imagine a specific space with which you are familiar to help you visualize the size and organization of the exhibit.
Optional: if you wish to include diagrams/mock-ups/visualizations of what your exhibit might look like, or how a case might be organized, or how the web site would look, you are very welcome to do so!
June 20, 2024
June 16, 2024
The history of racism and racist violence: monuments and museums, join the aha.
The AHA brings together historians from all specializations and all work contexts, embracing the breadth and variety of activity in history today.
This page contains words or ideas that might be offensive to modern readers. To maintain the accuracy of historical documentation, the content is reprinted in its entirety as it was originally published. This accurate reproduction of original historical texts therefore contains words and ideas that do not reflect the editorial decisions or views of the American Historical Association.
Lesson Plan
June 17, 2024, 6:05 a.m.
A Juneteenth celebration in Richmond, Virginia, 1905. Library of Congress
This lesson was originally published on June 16, 2021, and was updated on June 16, 2024.
For a Google version of this lesson plan, click here . (Note: you will need to make a copy of the document to edit it).
In this lesson, students will explore and discuss the history and context around the Juneteenth holiday in the United States. Topics explored will include the history of racial injustice in the U.S., the Civil War and the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation. Additionally, students will be encouraged to explore the modern significance of Juneteenth and its long-term impact.
One 50-60 minute class period
Grades 6-12
On June 15, 2021, the Senate unanimously approved a bill approving June 19 as a federal holiday for “Juneteenth National Independence Day.” The House passed the bill one day later. Still, many Americans are still unaware of the history and significance of June 19.
On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “that all persons held as slaves” in the Confederacy “shall be free.” While this may have freed some enslaved people on paper, the reality was much more complicated.
Source: PBS NewsHour via Associated Press
For instance, the Emancipation Proclamation only freed those slaves held under the Confederacy, not in border states loyal to the Union, including Kentucky, West Virginia and Delaware, where slavery was still legal after the Emancipation Proclamation. In fact, slavery was still legal in Kentucky until Dec. 1865, when the 13th Amendment was passed, though Kentucky voted against ratifying the amendment.
Confederate states and slaveholders also resisted emancipation, and many people remained enslaved in Confederate states after the proclamation, even as many enslaved people fought for their freedom or escaped behind Union lines. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union issued an order in Galveston, Texas, alerting all enslaved persons that they were legally free.
At this point in 1865, Texas was the westernmost state in America and one of the last Confederate states to be occupied by the Union. Many slaveholders had fled Union advances in other parts of the South to Texas, along with the people they had enslaved.
While it took time for the logistics of “freeing” enslaved people to come into effect, the importance of June 19, or “Juneteenth” lived on. Considering how complicated emancipation was, many dates were considered for holding celebrations of emancipation, but over 150 years later, June 19 remains.
What originally was a holiday mainly observed by Texans has grown to be recognized all over the country. Each year on “Juneteenth,” (or more formally Juneteenth National Freedom Day), communities all around the United States gather and celebrate and reflect on the history of slavery and struggle for civil rights and equality, including the work that still remains after conditional advances such as the Emancipation Proclamation.
As a class, watch the BrainPop video (8 minutes) below found here introducing Juneteenth. While watching the video, answer the following discussion questions.
Source: BrainPop
After watching the video, separate into groups of 3-4 to discuss the focus questions (5 minutes).
If classrooms finish and plan a celebratory activity, please share your ideas with us on social media @NewsHourEXTRA on Twitter.
This lesson was written by Cecilia Curran, NewsHour Classroom intern, while she was a rising sophomore at Amherst College. This lesson was edited by NewsHour Classroom's education producer and former history teacher Vic Pasquantonio.
Fill out this form to share your thoughts on Classroom’s resources. Sign up for NewsHour Classroom’s ready-to-go Daily News Lessons delivered to your inbox each morning.
The Founders did not intend to create a two-party system and yet that is exactly what has thrived in American history. But what about the role of third-party candidates?
A short project-based lesson that weaves arts & sciences together
On August 9, 1974, President Richard M. Nixon resigned from the Oval Office. Use this resource to teach young people about this period in U.S. history.
Learn to produce a fact-check video using media literacy skills
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Illustrations by Annamaria Ward
Sam connon | jun 19, 2024.
Tanner Houck didn't have one of his better starts Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays , but the Boston Red Sox righty still managed to make baseball history.
Houck allowed six hits, two walks, two earned runs and one unearned run in 5.2 innings, posting a no decision as Boston went on to win 4-3. His ERA went up to 2.14 and his WHIP went up to 0.972, and he failed to earn a quality start for the first time since May 15.
Still, though, Houck has only allowed two home runs in 96.2 innings of work this year, and his 2.22 FIP leads the American League. His 5.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio is also a career-high and seventh-best among qualified AL pitchers.
Altogether, that gives Houck a historic stat line nearing the midpoint of the 2024 season.
According to Red Sox employee JP Long , Houck is the only pitcher in the live ball era to have an ERA under 2.25, a K/BB ratio over 5.00 and fewer than three home runs allowed through 15 starts.
Tanner Houck is the only pitcher in the Live Ball Era to record all of the following in their first 15 starts of a season: - ERA of 2.25 or lower - 2 or fewer HR allowed - K-to-BB ratio of 5.00 or higher — J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) June 19, 2024
Houck looked like he would become a core piece of the Red Sox pitching staff when he first broke into the big leagues, and he held onto that reputation for the better part of three seasons. From 2020 to 2022, Houck went 9-9 with a 3.02 ERA, 1.123 WHIP and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings, splitting time between the rotation and bullpen.
The righty didn't fare as well in 2023, when he was a full-time starter and dealing with injuries. He finished the year 6-10 with a 5.10 ERA, 1.368 WHIP and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
Given how he is in the midst of a uniquely dominant start to the 2024 season, it's safe to say Houck has put those struggles behind him.
The Red Sox improved to 6-1 in their last seven games Tuesday, and their 39-35 record has them one spot out of an AL Wild Card bid. Houck is not expected to start again until Sunday's series finale against the Cincinnati Reds at the earliest, meaning it's up to Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Nick Pivetta to bridge the gap before the 27-year-old ace returns to the mound.
Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN .
You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon .
Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.
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Title: sfedca: credit assignment-based active client selection strategy for spiking federated learning.
Abstract: Spiking federated learning is an emerging distributed learning paradigm that allows resource-constrained devices to train collaboratively at low power consumption without exchanging local data. It takes advantage of both the privacy computation property in federated learning (FL) and the energy efficiency in spiking neural networks (SNN). Thus, it is highly promising to revolutionize the efficient processing of multimedia data. However, existing spiking federated learning methods employ a random selection approach for client aggregation, assuming unbiased client participation. This neglect of statistical heterogeneity affects the convergence and accuracy of the global model significantly. In our work, we propose a credit assignment-based active client selection strategy, the SFedCA, to judiciously aggregate clients that contribute to the global sample distribution balance. Specifically, the client credits are assigned by the firing intensity state before and after local model training, which reflects the local data distribution difference from the global model. Comprehensive experiments are conducted on various non-identical and independent distribution (non-IID) scenarios. The experimental results demonstrate that the SFedCA outperforms the existing state-of-the-art spiking federated learning methods, and requires fewer communication rounds.
Comments: | 9 pages |
Subjects: | Machine Learning (cs.LG); Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing (cs.DC); Emerging Technologies (cs.ET); Multimedia (cs.MM); Neural and Evolutionary Computing (cs.NE) |
Cite as: | [cs.LG] |
(or [cs.LG] for this version) | |
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IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
1. Background sentences. The first two or three sentences of your introduction should provide a general introduction to the historical topic which your essay is about. This is done so that when you state your hypothesis, your reader understands the specific point you are arguing about. Background sentences explain the important historical ...
the History Paper The Challenges of Writing About (a.k.a., Making) History At first glance, writing about history can seem like an overwhelming task. History's subject matter is immense, encompassing all of human affairs in the recorded past — up until the moment, that is, that you started reading this guide.
A history essay is an academic assignment where we explore and analyze historical events from the past. We dig into historical stories, figures, and ideas to understand their importance and how they've shaped our world today. History essay writing involves researching, thinking critically, and presenting arguments based on evidence.
Once you are satisfied with your argument, move onto the local level. Put it all together: the final draft. After you have finished revising and have created a strong draft, set your paper aside for a few hours or overnight. When you revisit it, go over the checklist in Step 8 one more time.
This sample assignment requires students to use primary and secondary sources to connect American history with the Atlantic and Pacific worlds and write a paper that focuses on the circulation of commodities, peoples, and ideas throughout those worlds. This paper assignment has three major parts: a list of sources for students to read and study ...
Writing a history essay. An essay is a piece of sustained writing in response to a question, topic or issue. Essays are commonly used for assessing and evaluating student progress in history. History essays test a range of skills including historical understanding, interpretation and analysis, planning, research and writing.
As they evaluate assignments, history instructors look for evidence that students: know about the past, and can; think about the past. Historians know about the past because they look at what relics have trickled down through the ages. These relics of past civilizations are called primary sources. For some periods and cultures (20th century ...
Step 1: Understand the History Paper Format. You may be assigned one of several types of history papers. The most common are persuasive essays and research papers. History professors might also ask you to write an analytical paper focused on a particular source or an essay that reviews secondary sources.
These assignments empower students to decipher the past, discern patterns, and draw connections that shed light on the present and illuminate the future. Our voyage through this article is set to unveil three key elements essential to the art of history assignment writing. Brace yourselves to embark on a journey of understanding the assignment ...
If you understand how each part works and fits into the overall essay, you are well on the way to creating a great assessment piece. Most essays will require you to write: 1 Introduction Paragraph. 3 Body Paragraphs. 1 Concluding Paragraph.
Unless otherwise specified in your assignment prompt, all written assignments for a history course will need to make an argument and support that argument with evidence. Most of the essays in history courses will be some form of review essay—that is, an assignment that is based on class readings and discussions.
This sample assignment requires students to use primary and secondary sources to connect American history with the Atlantic and Pacific worlds and write a paper that focuses on the circulation of commodities, peoples, and ideas throughout those worlds. This paper assignment has three major parts: a list of sources for students to read and study ...
Paragraph goes nowhere/has no point or unity. Paragraphs are the building blocks of your paper. If your paragraphs are weak, your paper cannot be strong. Try underlining the topic sentence of every paragraph. If your topic sentences are vague, strength and precision—the hallmarks of good writing—are unlikely to follow.
History consists of making arguments about what happened in the past on the basis of what people recorded (in written documents, cultural artifacts, or oral traditions) at the time. ... Your Assignment for Writing History with Primary Sources. There are several ways to make this a successful assignment.
You should never write sentences to simply 'fill space' because your marker will quickly realise that you're not following the correct structure. A well-written body paragraph has the following six-part structure (summarised by the acronym TEEASC). T - Topic Sentence. E - Explanation Sentences. E - Evidence from sources.
These worksheets, free to print, are designed for a comprehensive high school United States History course. There are 167 worksheets total, in chronological order, divided into fifteen sections. Each handout contains a reading followed by a series of questions based on the reading. These are immensely popular with teachers, since they provide ...
This assessment step introduces students to a writing prompt that builds on these important themes and connects them to the history students explore later in this unit. The prompt is designed to serve as both a thematic frame for the unit and a final writing assignment at the unit's end. Unit Writing Prompt:
These are nearly 500 student history worksheets in this package that cover all aspects of history, from Ancient Greece to World War One, World War Two, and the Cold War. The worksheets can be modified to accommodate K-12. Please feel free to share these on Pinterest or any other places where teachers' resources are made available. Included ...
(research assignment) 100 marks heritage assignment - the impact of our past struggles on south africa today annexure a: cover page for a research assignment: grade 12 research assignment: history name of school the national school of the arts name of learner research topic key question statement of authenticity
Tip #5 Bring In Primary Sources. Where possible bring in primary sources. Photos from the time period and archival documents can make history seem more authentic to students. Lots of internet sites (government archives) have access to these excellent pieces of history. A quick Google search will contain lots of ideas.
1. Restate your key points. In one or two sentences, restate each of the topic sentences from your body paragraphs. This is to remind the marker about how you proved your argument. This information will be similar to your elaboration sentences in your introduction, but will be much briefer. Since this is a summary of your entire essay's ...
What this handout is about. The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms ...
This assessment applies to the assignment for National 5 History. This assignment is worth 20 marks. The marks contribute 20% of the overall marks for the course assessment. It assesses the following skills, knowledge and understanding: choosing, with minimum support, an appropriate historical question or issue.
Purpose of this Assignment Structure: This assignment structure allows graduate students to consider their potential career paths in history. Skills It Addresses: Intellectual Self-Confidence, Communication. For more about this assignment: see Prof. Thompson's February 2021 article, found here, in Perspectives on History.
Topics explored will include the history of racial injustice in the U.S., the Civil War and the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation. Additionally, students will be encouraged to explore ...
Tanner Houck didn't have one of his better starts Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, but the Boston Red Sox righty still managed to make baseball history. Houck allowed six hits, two walks ...
Spiking federated learning is an emerging distributed learning paradigm that allows resource-constrained devices to train collaboratively at low power consumption without exchanging local data. It takes advantage of both the privacy computation property in federated learning (FL) and the energy efficiency in spiking neural networks (SNN). Thus, it is highly promising to revolutionize the ...