Archive for Ark History
Mr. McClung
Today we will begin watching the documentary Little Rock Central 50 Years Later. In this movie my students were introduced to the harsh reality that racism and racial separation still exist today even after 50 + years of racial desegregation.
Mr. McClung
Today we will begin our unit on the Little Rock Central Crisis and we will kick it off by discussing the the need for integration and the plan to integrate in the state of Arkansas. The Prezi above includes the notes that we will take in class today.
Mr. McClung
One of my favorite lessons is our annual stock market challenge. Each year I issue a challenge to my students to try and make as money as they can, fictional money as they can, by investing in the stock market. Students are given $1,000 to invest and can choose anything they wish. Students always have interesting strategies to try and make money and they vary each year. In the picture above you will see my 6th period students checking the NASDAQ in order to decided what stocks to purchase.
At the end of the event students ultimately “cash-out” their stocks and we figure who were the winners and losers. This year we have had students gain and lose as much as $350. Students also seem to enjoy the activity as well and seem to take a genuine interest in learning about stocks and how they gain/lose value. Also, this whole process helps the kids learn how much of a gamble the stock market can be at times as well.
Mr. McClung
Today in class we will be discussing several topics from the 1950′s. We will discuss civil rights, the red scare, post war issues, and women’s rights…get pumped!
Mr. McClung
Normally I’m not a big fan of using cell phones in the classroom, however today we were able to put them to good use. Today I introduced the stock market challenge to my students…in this challenge they are given a fictional amount of money, $1,000, and asked to invest it whatever they deem as worthy. In the picture above you can see one of my students using his stock app checking stocks trying to decide what he will invest in.
This comes after our discussions about the Great Depression and learning how the stock market works. Students will be given 5 days to try and turn a profit on their investments.
Mr. McClung
Today in class we will be starting a new project in which we will take a look at the stock market and actually hold our own mock stock market in our classroom…in order to accomplish this task we will need to use the CNN Money website to research stock. You will be using the suggested stocks that I give you in class, also listed below, and research the stocks and find 3-5 companies that you are interested in investing in.
- AAPL Apple Inc
- AMZN Amazon.com Inc
- ATVI Activision Blizzard Inc
- C Citigroup Inc
- CMCSA Comcast Corp
- CSCO Cisco Systems Inc
- DDS DillardS Inc
- DELL Dell Inc
- DIS Walt Disney Co
- EBAY eBay Inc
- FFBHD First Federal Bancshares of Ar
- FOSL Fossil Inc
- GOOG Google Inc
- GPS Gap Inc
- INTC Intel Corp
- JBHT J B Hunt Transport Services In
- JNJ Johnson & Johnson
- MCD McDonalds Corp
- MSFT Microsoft Corp
- NFLX Netflix Inc
- ORCL Oracle Corp
- PCLN Priceline.com Inc
- SIRI Sirius XM Radio Inc
- TSN Tyson Foods Inc
- WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc
- YHOO Yahoo! Inc
- SNE Sony Corp
Once we have selected 3-5 companies you will be given $1,000 to invest in these companies how every you wish…you may also save some money and choose not to invest all your money with the opportunity to buy or sell in later days to come. So go ahead and start your greed…the Wall Street will be the name of the game for the next 10 days.
Note – students, you can also use the NASDAQ website to view trends of companies as well.
Mr. McClung
Today in class we will be discussing the “Red Summer” of race riots in American. More specifically we will be discussing the Elaine (Arkansas) Race Riot of 1919. This was a riot that created over a dispute over wages for black sharecroppers and would end with terrible violence and military action. In class we will be discussing whether or not military action was needed in this riot.
Mr. McClung
As we continue our conversations about the boom of the early 1900′s, today we will discuss the bust that always follows a boom. We will have a review over the Great Depression as we get ready to start our great stock market challenge…stay tuned.
As we continue our conversations about prohibition and the current day configuration we have with wet and dry counties in Arkansas, we will discuss a study that was conducted by the University of Arkansas over the economic value liquor sales would have in Benton County.
Mr. McClung
Today in class we will be reading a article about Benton County, Arkansas and the recent movement to make retail sales of alcohol legal. We will read the article embedded above and discuss the possible implications of this becoming a law.
Watch Roots of PROHIBITION A Nation of Drunkards on PBS. See more from Ken Burns.
Today in class we will be discussing the prohibition and temperance movement that took place in the US in the early 1900′s. To guide our conversations we will be using a PBS program about prohibition to help lead our discussions. We will talk about both the pros and cons of this movement and whether or not the the US government create more trouble by banning alcohol.
Mr. McClung
In class today we will also be taking some time to debate a very highly contested topic…the confederate flag. The flag itself is a very polarizing symbol than typically conjures up feelings of hate or pride depending on the person’s perception. We will be discussing what the flag stands for…does it represent pride and history or does it represent a symbol of racism.
Today in class we will be using an interactive map that is produced by PBS that discusses the banishment of African Americans starting in the post-civil war era and the effect that it has had on our current population today. To visit the website click here.
Mr. McClung
In class today my students took the 1965 Alabama literacy test for voting. At the time of taking the test my students were not aware that what they were taking was a literacy test for voting but after they found out they were very surprised to find out that people were subjected to such a test to simply vote. The slide show is the 10 question sample test that my students took today…how smart are you?
Mr. McClung
Jim Crow Project Requirements
- Tell a story of what happened…make sure to cover the who, what, when, where, and why.
- Describe the impact that your court case had on Jim Crow Laws…basically tell me why this court case matters.
- 300 word minimum
- Click here for the original instructions for this project.
Using Prezi and Requirements
- Click here for set-up instructions.
- Please watch the video above…it will explain the different features of Prezi.
- You will need to create a Prezi for your Jim Crow Supreme Court Case.
- Your Prezi must include…
- A title
- At least 6 points
- It must use paths
- Minimum of 3 pictures
Mr. McClung
Students, today we will be beginning a project that involves Jim Crow Laws in the United States. For this project you will need to follow the directions below…
- Visit the Supreme Court Map by clicking here.
- Once there browse through the various court cases and find one that interest you.
- Got it? Good, now you will write a blog post that summarizes the events surrounding the case, the decision, and the impact…also make sure to check a rubric to ensure your doing a good job.
- This blog post should read like a story and has a MINIMUM of 300 words…kinda like a mini essay.
Keep in mind that this project should read like like a chronological story of your case and should be written similar to a essay format…there will be a rubric provided for this assignment. Lastly, before you finish your paper make sure that you have the follow requirements.
- 300 words
- Prezi visual*
- 3rd person
- Summary of the events, decision, and impact
Resources
Mr. McClung
Your boy, Jim Crow.
It’s that time of year again when we begin our conversations in my Arkansas History classes about Jim Crow Laws and their relevance to Arkansas. Jim Crow Laws were laws that were created in the post slavery era as a way to bypass giving African Americans their civil rights granted by amendments 13-15. What we will be doing in class on Monday is taking a look at some specific Jim Crow Laws that were passed in Arkansas and around the US. We will be discussing their purpose and what affects they had race relations in Arkansas.
Mr. McClung
In my Arkansas History class on Wednesday we decided to change-up our normal style of note taking in class. Usually we use a jigsaw/pair share method to take notes…the rational behind my use of this style is because it helps alleviate the boredom that is associated with PowerPoint presentations and if done correct it engages the students really well. For today though I decided to go with a good ole’ stand-by, Cornell Notes.
First we reviewed the process for taking Cornell Notes and why it is important. One common misconception is that Cornell Notes is used because it is better for organization purposes. The real secret to Cornell Notes is in the review process. If done properly Cornell Notes requires the student to review their notes at least twice after the lecture is over…this is meant to help with retention.
Students then compared notes with one another by doing a gallery activity. Students hung their notes all over the room while everyone went around the room reviewing everyone’s notes looking for structure and content. They would then leave notes and critiques on the board.
At the end of the day I decided to use my sophisticated data collecting method by having everyone leave feedback for me as they left the room. One axis represents how much fun they had doing this entire activity and the other axis represents how much they learned by using this Cornell method. What we found out was that while students did not enjoy it as much, they felt like they learned the material better by taking Cornell notes. Which I found really interesting and now the new challenge that is before me is to figure out how to modify the activity so that we can bridge the gap between fun and learning.
Mr. McClung
