Welcome to Meridian School! I am Mr. Lynch. I teach TX History and US History.

1. Welcome to Meridian School! I am Mr. Lynch. I teach TX History and US History. I have a Government degree with a minor in History from the University of Texas. I have a good (and often strange) sense of humor. This is my 5th year teaching social studies. I love teaching. You will have homework and always with a purpose. Much of your homework will involve working on projects. You will struggle. This class will be challenging for everyone. Smart people struggle too. It’s part of learning. You are the most important person in your education. If you are willing to work hard and dedicate yourself to personal growth, you will be successful in this class and at Meridian. I will help you with almost anything. After you have done your best to find an answer, please ask me for help. You can also come to me for help with anything else that you are struggling with, including social situations. I will serve as an adult guide for you, but remember to approach me as your teacher and not as a peer. You will create a social contract with your classmates in order to define how to accomplish these two expectation: respect and kindness. All students at Meridian should display these two values to everyone you encounter. Disrespect and rudeness will not be tolerated. Please refrain from laughter if you think it may hurt someone’s feelings.

2. Come to an agreement with your group about the definition for these terms: Then discuss this question. Why should we study history? Write down bullet points to present to the class. Then consider the opposite perspective: Why shouldn’t we study history? History- Economics- Geography- Timeline- Government- Society- Community- Nation- State- Environment-

3. IB Middle Years Program (MYP)-Humanities (Social Studies) 7th-10thGrade MYP humanities aims to build on PYP social studies and to challenge students to look beyond their understanding of their immediate time, place and culture. It enables students to acquire a knowledge and understanding of such significant concepts as time, place and space, change, systems, and global awareness that extend into the subjects in the Diploma Programme (DP) group 3 individuals and societies. In your group of three, summarize the whole paragraph in ten words or less.

4. Starting tomorrow, please bring a notebook that is for this class only, a pen, a pencil, loose notebook paper, and a positive attitude. If you have a spiral notebook to start using now, title it U.S. History and write your name in it. You will be using it almost every day for warm-ups, notes and assignments. When you make an entry, please put the date in the outside margin (to help you find it easier). Whenever you define a term, always write the term. Incomplete notes are a waste of paper. My website is: www.meridianhumanities.weebly.com Email is: r.lynch@mwschool.org

5. THE COLONISTS

6. You are going to make a map of the United States using paper and glue. Only after you have finished working with paper and glue, will you label anything with pen. Show: Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountains, All of the labeled rivers, two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, Coastal Plains, Great Plains, and then mark your location with a star.

7. Answer in your notebook: What does freedom mean to you? With your group, brainstorm and list everything you know about the colonies and the American Revolution.

8. HOW DID COLONISTS BECOME REVOLUTIONARIES? HUMAN INGENUITY

9. Mark the locations of Jamestown and Plymouth on your map. Place an arrow pointing back to Europe. What was the environment like in North America when the early Europeans arrived? What does the show say is “the most valuable resource of all? What was Jamestown like when John Rolfe arrived? How does John Rolfe pave the way for the biggest money making export of the colonies? Why do you think the population of the colonies grew so fast despite all the risks? Why did the Pilgrims come to North America? How did the Pilgrim’s intentions differ from the people of Jamestown? How well do the first European Americans match up with the IB Learner Profile? Why is life so hard for the early colonists? What would motivate you to risk your life immigrating to North America?

10. Why do you think the American colonists are healthier and taller than their European ancestors? Why do you think that American colonists resented the idea of being “governed”? How do you think the Bostonians felt with so many soldiers around? How would you feel if your community was filled with soldiers who were there to watch you rather than protect you?

11. For a daily grade: Create a Venn Diagram in your notebook comparing the Plymouth and Jamestown settlements. Similar Unique to Jamestown Unique to Plymouth

12. Pretend that you’ve graduated from high school and gone to college in another state. At first your parents allow you almost total freedom, but they later realize that your aren’t doing what they want. They start to take more control your finances. Later they start talking to other students and professors to find out about how you are acting and what you are doing during your free time. You’ve gone from almost complete freedom to feeling like you’re living back at home. This is exactly why you went to college in another state—to get away from being micro-managed by parents. How would you react?

13. Add date and answer this in your notebook: What was the significance of the Battles of Lexington and Concord?

17. Which of these would you most want to live in? Be prepared to explain why. Oligarchy-ruled by a few elite Monarchy-ruled by royalty Democracy-ruled by the people through voting Republic-ruled by a constitution and by leaders elected by the people. Dictatorship-ruled by a military leader with absolute authority Anarchy-no formal government

18. You will begin talking at a normal volume. I will place three stickies on the board. If the volume gets too loud, I will remove the stickies until there are none, and then we will go to a whisper. • You will have a quiz tomorrow. Make sure that your notes are correct. If they are missing, you may have a very difficult time with the quiz. • You have arrived in the American Colonies. You have some basic supplies including tools and food, but your only shelters are canvas tents. Along the beach your ship smashed against the rocks and you don’t think it would be able to make it back across the Atlantic. • It is currently September, which means that fall is fast approaching and you don’t know much about the climate. You believe that you have landed in North Carolina. • You need to establish some type of leadership and begin to prepare for the fall and winter. You’ve got one chance to get this right. Your families are depending on you. • Everything that is decided needs to be written down. At the end of 40 minutes, you will stop and we will compare the groups and the different paths that were taken. • How will you make decisions? • How will you deal with natives? • How will you eat? • How will you handle the winter? • Will you try to make contact with other colonies and settlements? • Put everything on paper!

19. Montesquieu (1689-1755) Adam Smith(1723-1790) Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712-1778 John Locke (1632-1704) Natural Law Separation of Powers The Social Contract The Wealth of Nations What is “natural law” and where did it come from? What is a “social contract”? How is our Constitution a “Social Contract” based on “Natural Law”? Why is “separation of powers” a part of our Constitution?

20. Thought for the day: Stay positive. Even tragedy gives way to opportunity. We will have a project and essay test each 9-weeks. That will mean 8 total test grades for the year. Warm-up: Explain how a student counsel works. How much of your homework have you done? Take notes in your notebook about the Mayflower Compact, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut and the Virginia House of Burgess. Then explain representative government and spend a minimum of two sentences explaining how each of the above documents influenced the American concept of representative government. Once you finish this assignment, spend remaining time on your homework assignments. (They are due Friday. If you need help, ask for it. I’m sure nobody wants to explain to parents why they didn’t finish homework that you had TWO WEEKS TO COMPLETE!

21. Thought for the Day: “How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think." -Adolph Hitler Colonists to Revolutionaries Quiz What were two differences between the settlements at Jamestown and Plymouth? What were two reasons that people left Europe to settle in the Americas? What were two struggles faced by colonists? How many colonies were part of the American Revolution? Why did the colonists rebel against Great Britain? How did the colonists win against the British? Positive law (lat. ius positum) is the term generally used to describe man-made laws which bestow or remove specific privileges upon an individual or group. How is that different than natural law?

22. “A little matter will move a party, but it must be something great that moves a nation.” Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1792 “A nation under a well regulated government, should permit none to remain uninstructed. It is monarchical and aristocratical government only that requires ignorance for its support.” Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1792 “A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave."Benjamin Franklin An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Benjamin Franklin Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. Benjamin Franklin A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. Winston Churchill-Prime Minister of the U.K. during WWII. Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential. Winston Churchill A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Churchill Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. Winston Churchill Which one is your favorite?

23. Get out your 3 assignments and sit silently! The Constitution that Died What is the Constitution that died really called? What did Thomas Paine say in Common Sense? Which article stands out to you the most and why? Which one of the problems with the articles stands out the most to you and why? (230-235) Why do you think that the colonists created a document with such a weak federal government? (lightbulb) Do you think that the federal government under the current Constitution is too powerful or not powerful enough? Why?

24. Thought of the day: • “Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character." -Albert Einstein • Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the Articles with the Constitution. • Summarize three major events that happened while under the Articles of Confederation. • Paragraph (3+ sentences): Why were the Articles unsuccessful?

25. How Does Executive Function Affect Learning? • In school, at home, or in the workplace, we're called on all day, every day, to self-regulate behavior. Executive function allows us to: • Make plans • Keep track of time and finish work on time • Keep track of more than one thing at once • Meaningfully include past knowledge in discussions • Evaluate ideas and reflect on our work • Change our minds and make mid-course corrections while thinking, reading, and writing • Ask for help or seek more information when we need it • Engage in group dynamics • Wait to speak until we're called on • 1. Try to define executive function in one sentence. • 2. If you are struggling with some of these tasks, you should… • Ask Mr. Lynch about how to improve your executive function • Seek help from people such as parents, friends or internet research • Cry and bang your head against your desk • Tell yourself there isn’t a problem, and go about business as usual • Both a. and b.

26. Challenge: You have ten minutes to draw a picture in your notebook for each of the amendments. They don’t have to look good. Pretend that you are a Constitutional Rights attorney. You have clients with the following problems. Which amendment/s would you use to argue their case and why? You can use your textbook. Write a brief summary of your argument for each one. Your client lives close to a school where a student was found with a gun. The student said that he got the gun from on of the houses that backs up to the school. Your client’s home was searched and his shotgun was confiscated. Which amendment would you use to argue his case and… (bonus) What supreme court case would you use as “legal precedent”? Your client’s child was given detention for praying out loud before meals at a public school lunch in San Francisco, California. The school said “it is a distraction because other students make fun of the student who is praying.” Which amendment would you use to argue her case? Your client’s son was arrested for being “a minor in consumption of alcohol.” The judge set bail at $500,000 because, he said, “the boy has proven to be a nuisance to this town, and everyone will be better off if he is off the streets for a while.” Which amendment would you use to argue his case and… (bonus) What supreme court case would you use as “legal precedent”? One partner describes how to get a new amendment made, and the other draws a diagram.

27. What are some challenges to westward expansion that you think the United States faced?

29. Westward • Why were Americans motivated to go west? • How did the U.S. gain the Louisiana Territory? • Why were Louis and Clark motivated to travel all the way to the Pacific Ocean? • How did Texas become part of the United States? • How was gold related to westward expansion? • What was the forced relocation of the Natives to reservations called? • How would you feel about the forced relocation of the Native Americans? • Why do you think that many Americans felt justified in pushing out the native peoples? • How was the Mississippi related to economics? • Why did men and women in the west have to “grow up fast”?

30. Today’s vocabulary: Manifest Destiny, Republic Write the definition of each AND draw a picture AND use it in a sentence. Do this in your notebook. Where was Columbus trying to get to when he found the Americas, and why did he want to get there?