Capstone Work for the Week of February 6, 2012

Hi All Capstoners,

Each group this week is responsible for: 1.) Selecting a primary source from their time period and conducting a seminar on that primary source.  Tamara and I have already spoken with some groups about their selections:  The Declaration of Independence, The Chinese Exclusion Act, and The Emancipation Proclamation. We look forward to hearing your conversations. 2.) Your 2nd blog post. Most of the groups have been doing many more than the required one blog post per week so that's great. 3.) Further research on your given research topics.  At least 2 hours of work is expected each week.

NOTE:
Before you can move forward with the synthesis of this information students must have a grip on the comprehension of the information.

Great history websites for researchers

Here are some excellent resources for researching U.S History:

1. http://www.besthistorysites.net/index.php/american-history  

2. http://www.pbs.org/topics/history/

3.  http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/

4. http://edsitement.neh.gov/

5.  http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/index.html

6. www.archives.gov

7. www.ourdocuments.gov

Seminar 2: Why Study History?

Hi Capstoners,

Here is Seminar #2.  You can find it at the following website: http://www.historians.org/pubs/free/WhyStudyHistory.htm

This is due Friday morning. Be sure to read this ahead of time and more than once as it is definitely much more academic than you are accustomed to.  Happy reading. Why do we study history???

-Brad

Evolution of Species: Adam, Sam, and C.J.

Learning to blog

I don't Facebook, Tweet, or use any other social media. Learning how to blog is a new process for me.  I think it will be an interesting way to connect with my students and have them connect with one another.

Beginning the Process of the Capstone

What do students need to do in week one?

1. Meet with group members to assign roles and responsibilities. Who will be the organizer, tech coordinator, and recorder? Be sure to exchange contact information with all group members.

2. Decide who is going to research what.  Who will research leaders? Who will research inventors/innovations? Who will research events? Remember you have to choose at least 6 in each area.

3. Begin the research process. Remember that you are aiming to become an expert in your area.

4. Great websites/resources I have found for researching: http://besthistorysites.net/. From there, one can find a plethora of AMAZING websites for use when conducting historical research.

21st Century Learning Seminar

Here is the seminar on 21st Century Learning. Are you ready to work, live, think and exist in the 21st century?
http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/What_is_21st_Century_Education.htm