March 2007 - Posts

                                             

Believe it or not, there are states like Mississippi, California, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey that installed cameras in their classrooms in early 2003.  Check out these sites to read more:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E0DB1530F935A2575BC0A9659C8B63

http://www.njsbf.org/njsbf/student/eagle/winter04-2.cfm

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/08/12/classroom.cameras.ap/index.html

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3994/is_200404/ai_n9352152

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/13/national/main568105.shtml

Can you predicate what will result from having cameras in school hallways or classrooms??? The results might surprise you.....

http://www.unknownnews.net/030925kidsoncamera.html

http://www.dodea.edu/schools/cat/4-3.pdf

 

                                             

Oral Histories of Hiroshima Eyewitnesses and Survivors:

http://www.inicom.com/hibakusha/

Facts about Hiroshima and Nagasaki radioactive fallout years later:

http://www.rerf.or.jp/eigo/faqs/faqse.htm

 

 

 

 

 

Back by popular demand, the list of Museums and Galleries:

Here are some great links to places to visit right here in New York City and the surrounding boroughs.  Please share your comments about your visits to any of these plac

                                       

The New York State Education Department has online practice Regents Examinations for both American History and Global that will grade the exam for you!

Click on:

http://www.nysed.gov

Go to Regents Examinations in the drop down menu.

Below are some great links to start practicing for the Regents!!!

 

 

                                          

How did Uncle Sam come to represent the United States and democratic ideals???  Click on the link below to find out.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/SAM/sam.htm

                                          

Opening May 26, 2007 at the AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY is a exhibition on Mythic Creatures:  Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids.  How do you think these mythical creatures became legendary???

Here is a reading suggestion on debunking popular myths in history:

http://shopping.discovery.com/product-65202.html

 

                                             

Here is a great site with descriptions of World War II Movies to watch over the Spring Break.  Write a MOVIE REVIEW and receive extra credit!

http://users.aol.com/sailgower/WWIImovies.html

 

   REBUILDING OF EUROPE AFTER 1945 NOTES

 

ECONOMIC RECOVERY:

A.                 U.S. feared nations would return to “Communism”

B.                 Started “Marshall Plan” to help Europe rebuild ($12 billion to 16 countries)

C.                 Soviets saw this as “economic warfare” on them

D.                 Prosperity of Western Europe occurred due to U.S. Support

E.                  Soviets and Eastern Europe formed COMECON – Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

F.                  1957-Formed “European Community” (EC) also known as common market

G.                 1991 – European Economic Area (EEA) – Berlin Wall Comes Down

H.                 1994 - European Union (EU)

 

SOVIET EXPANSION:

A.                 Soviets remained in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Czechslovakia, Yugoslavia and Balkans (“Satellite Nations”)

B.                 Lived behind “iron curtain” (dependent on Soviets for military/economic aid)

C.                 Civil War in Greece – Soviets backed fall of Greece to turn Communist

D.                 1947 – “Truman Doctrine” – policy to send aid to support free peoples who resist outside forces (kept Greece/Turkey from becoming Communist)

E.                  1949 – Truman – 4 Point Program – teach underdeveloped nations technology (Africa, Asia, Latin America to resist Soviets)

F.                  After 1947 – Containment Policy to stop Soviet expansion creating tension between the superpowers known as THE COLD WAR (1945-1990)

G.                 Each side takes steps to protect interests

H.                 1998 Berlin – Soviets stopped all rails, highways that go to West Berlin (U.S., Britain and France) blockade ---- Soviets occupied East Germany; U.S. airlifted supplies to Berlin

 

COLD WAR MILITARY ALLIANCES:

A.                 1949 – Fear of Soviet Aggression formed NATO

B.                 NATO COUNTRIES:  U.S., Canada, Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Iceland, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, West Germany

C.                 1955 Warsaw Pact – Formed by Soviets to protect Eastern Europe from NATO aggression; dissolved in 1990; 1990 East and West Germany unite; Eastern European requests NATO membership

 

NUCLEAR THREAT AND SEARCH FOR DÉTENTE:

A.                 US/USSR Arms Race Begins

B.                 1959 – Eisenhower/Krushchev agree to have peaceful coexistence (two powers would compete economically without war)

C.                 1961 – Berlin Wall is Built

D.                 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis – Soviets storing long-range missiles in Cuba; John Kennedy demanded they be removed

E.                  1970s- Nixon – Policy of Détente –relax strain relations; Nixon visits to Moscow under Brezhnev

F.                  1969-1970 SALT TALKS – Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty

G.                 1973 – SALT II TALKS

H.                 1979 – Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

I.                    1985 – Gorbachev began “Perestroika” – policy to reorganize the Soviet economy – Reforms:  People run businesses themselves; Glasnost – Freedom of Speech Policy implemented

J.                   1987-1991 Signed nuclear arms reduction treaty

K.                1989- Gorbachev forced Soviet troops out of Afghanistan; stop Marxist governments resulting in shortages of foods, housing and medical supplies due to economic reforms

L.                  1991 – Coup against Gorbachev failed; Yeltsin forced coup to resign; Gorbachev resigned – Russia/Ukraine become independent

M.               Soviet Republic formed – Commonwealth of Independent States

N.                1991 – END TO COLD WAR – Yeltsin democracy with free market economy

O.                1993 – Tried to remove Yeltsin

P.                  1996 – Constitution

Q.                Still long term simmering rivalries between ethnic factions continue to create conflicts

 

FALL OF COMMUNISM:

A.                 1980 – new threats to Poland; Lech Walesa – Solidarity Party – wanted trade unions free of Soviet control

B.                 1989 – Solidarity Movement is won

C.                 Protests begin because Soviet Communism failed to provide goods, services, freedoms of the West

D.                 Croatian/Serbian dispute

E.                  1992 Bosnia/Herzegovinia “ethnic cleansing” was brutal – Muslims killed

F.                   

 

 

You are a time traveler who is able to travel back in time to a specific time and place in American History.  Your assignment is to write a two page paper (typing optional) describing WHAT TIME and PLACE in history you would like to visit and WHY.  Below is a mini-example of the style of writing necessary to complete this assignment:

"If I had the opportunity to time travel back in history, I would like to visit New York city in the 1920s.  More specifically, to view and participate in the Harlem Renaissance as it unfolded.

I would like to visit book sotres selling the latest fiction and non-fiction and speak with everyday people about their reactions to Sinclair Lewis' book entitled Main Street and Ernest Hemingway's book entitled The Sun Also Rises.  In order to better understand how segregation and discirmination affected people's daily lives, I would like to attend a poetry reading by Langstin Hughes.

No doubt, to see Paul Robeson acting in the play SHOWBOAT would be a theatrical experience beyond description.  The night life of Harlem must include a visit to a night club to see Josephine Baker flaunt her latest fashionable feather creation while singing and dancing, or maybe catch Louis Armstrong's jazz concert.  I want to experience the opportunities presented for African-American talent to demonstrate itself during this period in history with the hope that there would be more opportunities in the future.

More importantly, I would like to window shop on 125th Street in Harlem to see the sights, smells and sounds of this unique awakening period in history."

 

Use whatever sources you feel are necessary (books, periodicals, web).  Do research before you write.  Details are important here.  Minimum of THREE pages.

DUE:  April 11, 2007

 

 

                                    

By popular demand, Click on the following links for more downloadable study guides for your ipods:

http://www.audible.com/

http://home.fog-ware.com

http://digitalmania-online.com

http://edcommunity.apple.com/

http://homeschoolestore.com

http://www.maplesoft.com

http://www.englishtelecampus.com

 

                                             

To view Oral Histories of World War II, click on:

teacheroz.com/WWII_Oral_History.htm

 

 

 

DAISY'S NOTES: 

Preconditions to War:  Rise of Fascism in German (Hitler), Italy (Mussolini) Stalin (Russia) and Militarism in Japan.

Example of Fascist Rule:

  "Whoever commits an act against the life, health or personal freedom of the King or the Regent is punished by death."

        -Mussolini, Law of Measures for Defense of State 11/25/1926

U.S. Policy of Isolation and Neutrality (Neutrality Acts of 1935-37)

No sale or shipment of arms, no loans or credit, no traveling by citizens on ships of......to belligerent nations involved in war.

Cash and Carry Principle:  nonmilitary goods paid for in cash and transported on their ships.

SIDES OF THE WAR:

Allied Powers            Axis Powers

United States            Japan

Great Britain             Germany

Russia                      Italy

France                     (Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis)

WAR IN EUROPE: (the Mediterranean)

*Germany invades Poland in 1939 (act of German aggression)

September 2, 1939 U.S. and Allies declare war on Germany

Germany signs non-aggression pact with Soviet Union not to attack one another.

By 1940, Germany conquers Poland, Norway, Denmark and occupy France

1941-Bombed British cities - Winston Churchill - Victory at All Costs

1941 - Hitler invades Soviet Union establishes a "new order" in Europe.

Holocaust:

Anti-Semitism; Blitzkreig-Night of Terror

Kristallnachut-Night of Broken Glass

Nuremberg Laws of 1935 (Take away citizenship of Jewish People)

Battle of El Alamein, Egypt

         July 1942- Italian forces invade Africa

Battle of Stalingrad:

         February 1943 - Soviets attack Germany

D-Day June 6, 1944 -- 50,000 American/British soldiers arrive on beach at Normandy, France to free Paris from German occupation

Battle of the Bulge: 200,000 German troops attack American forces in North France and Belgium creating a bulge in allied lines of defense.

April 1945 - U.S. attack on industrial cities of Germany (Berlin Airlift)

Hitler commits suicide

VE Day (Victory in Europe) - May 7, 1945

VJ Day (Victory in Japan) - 8/6/1945

U.S. dropped bomb on Hiroshima and three days later Nagasaki to end war.

Yalta Conference (9/45)- Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt (work out peace agreement)

   Terms of: Divides Germany into East/West)

   Pledge to establish United Nations to replace League of Nations

   United Nations establishes:

         General Assembly

         Security Council

         Economic/Social Council

         International Court of Justice

         Trusteeship Council

----------------------------------------        

WAR IN THE PACIFIC:

   December 7, 1941 - Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii

U.S. Mobilizes for War:

     War Production Board (WPB)

     Selective Service 

      Nursing Corps.

      Fair Employment Practices Committee (African-Americans)

      Women - Rosie the Riveter

      Japanese Internment

      Rationing/Recyling Efforts

*Geography - Axis advantage due to centralized powers.  U.S. fighting on two fronts (Mediterranean and Pacific)

FDR dies/Truman takes over as President; assigns General MacArthur to fight in Pacific ("Island Hopping").  Views U.S. "As Arsenal for Democracy"

Battles in the Pacific:  (U.S. against Japanese)

Battle of Java Sea - Japanese Victory to secure Phillipine Islands

U.S. Victories in the Pacific:

Battle of Coral Sea and Battle of Midway (Guadalcanal)

Essentially naval/air battles to destroy enemy equipment and cut off supplies.  German U-Boats sinking U.S. Merchant ships to cut off suppplies.  U.S. used NAVAJO language as code to keep classified infromation from Japanese.

Battle of Phillipine Sea:  U.S. destroyed hundreds of Japanese planes

Battle of Okinawa:  Bloodiest battle  49,000 U.S. Casualties; 100,000 Japanese including Kamikaze Pilots.

Battle of Iwo Jima:  U.S. Casualties 4,000; Japanese 29,000

Battle of Atlantic - 1944 (Sea & Air Assault) Sonar equipment used to detect underwater objects like German U-Boats.

ATLANTIC CHARTER (8/1941) Agreement between Great Britain and United States  Terms of:

   -Recognition of self-determination of all nations (to choose our own governments);

   -No seek territory from one another

   -Disarmament

   -"General Security" for the future

For more information on the Attack on Pearl Harbor

plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/

nps.gov/usar/

eyewitnesstohistory.com/pearl.htm

 

 

 

                                       

Shout out about topics in history!!!! 

Keep in mind that your First Amendment rights are not absolute guarantees and public forums such as the internet must be utilized responsibly.

                                    

                                    SUPER TEACHER

The stories you share on this site function as a motivator for your teachers!

teacherscount.org/honoring/index.shtml

                              

For those seeking summer adventures, click on these links to find opportunities to study over the summer in another country:

http://www.highschoolprogramsabroad.com

http://www.transitionsabroad.com

http://www.usexperiment.org/

http://www.academictreks.com

http://www.EFTours.com

http://www.explorica-study-abroad.com

 

The Second Annual Win a Trip With Nick Kristof

Thank you to the Bryant teacher who brought this opportunity to the attention of the administration, faculty and students:

http://www.nytimes.com/marketing/winatrip/

 

 

 

 

 

                                    300 (2007) Poster

As per your request, information about the Battle of Thermopylae, the conflict between the Spartans and the Persians:

http://library.flawlesslogic.com/spartan.htm

Information about King Leonidas:

http://library.flawlesslogic.com/leonidas.htm

Copies of Frank Miller's Book "300" (the original comic book the movie is based on) can be purchased from www.amazon.com

 

                                                               

Please join us at William Bryant High School for Parent-Teacher Conferences on:

Thursday, March 22nd 6-8:30 p.m.

Friday, March 23rd 12-2:30 p.m.

See you then!  Miss T

 

 

RECOMMENDED READING:

Light and Liberty - Reflections on the Pursuit of Happiness

Special comments by the Author Eric Petersen:

"To preserve the independence of the people, we must not let our leaders load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude. Considering the general tendency to multiply offices and dependencies, and to increase expense to the ultimate term of burdenwhich the citizen can bear, may it never be seen here that, after leaving to labor the smallest portion of its earnings on which it can subsist, government shall itself consume the residue of what it was instituted to guard."-Thomas Jefferson

What do you think Mr. Jefferson saw during his time to elicit such a statement? Can we apply this statement to present societies, anywhere in the world? Is spending by a government be similar to or different from our own personal spending?



 

                                    Brief Review in United States History and Government cover

Click here Prentice Hall's Brief online review for American History:

http://www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/brief_review/us_history/index.html

                           

There are now study guides for various tests available for download to your ipod at:

http://www.ipreppress.com/

                                    

At your request, a link to love letters from World War I:

http://www.u.arizona.edu/~rstaley/wwlettr1.htm

Music from World War I:

http://www.ww1photos.com/WW1MusicIndex.html

 

 

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