Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Girl of the Limberlost


Today we start a unit on discovering what was great, not great, same, and different about Indiana in the time of Gene Stratton-Porter.  Here is a link to the Indiana State Park dedicated to her: http://www.indianamuseum.org/sites/gene.html.

Housekeeping Things to remember: 
  1. There is a text version of The Girl of the Limberlost on your EVSC GOOGLE drive.
  2. There is a Kindle for PC version that you can attach to your Amazon account.
  3. Here are QR codes with links to go to Project Gutenberg's site on the book.  You can find all sorts of eBook formats, including  mp3/iTunes AUDIO versions where you can listen to the book instead of, or while, you read it. (Use your smart device with a free QR reader app to download the book or mp3 file.) 
  Book    Audio

4. We need milk jugs, egg cartons, shoeboxes, and especially cardboard canisters (Quaker Oats or Morton Salt containers) to make Pinhole cameras and bird feeders. 

5. We will be using suggestions and materials from this lesson plan: http://www.indianahistory.org/teachers-students/teacher-resources/classroom-tools/industrial-age/natures-storyteller-resource.pdf

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Ch. 9 McCurdy and Ch 10 Automobiles

These chapters relate how McCurdy came to town and in a big way helped to shape the industry of Evansville, namely Buggy manufacturing.  Just as canals were replaced by railroads, buggies were replaced by automobiles.  You have a .pdf version of this book on your EVSC gmail/GOOGLE Drive. 

Instead of comprehension questions, tell me what you leaned in these chapters by using the Big 5 questions.  Do the Big 5 for each chapter, 10 points EACH. 

The Big Five
1.      What prior knowledge do I have about this topic?
2.     What are the main events in chronological order?
3.     How can I summarize this story?
4.     What are three supporting details from the story?
5.  What can I infer that the author didn’t tell me?

Friday, November 9, 2012

Ch. 8 the River

You may either answer the questions below or complete the GIIST form.

1. What were some of the problems with shipping goods down the Ohio river?
2. Who hired the company who built the river terminal at Evansville?  What was his regular job?
3. Right after the dedication of the Mead Johnson terminal, a national calamity struck.  What was it?
4. Who was Boehne and what did it to about the problem with the flow of the river?
5. The wharfboat once helped deliver goods to the shore from ships too big to dock.  Long after it was no longer needed, the owners fought in court to maintain its monopoly.  How did Evansville finally get rid of it?
6. Compared to the Panama Canal, how much did Evansville take in trade?
7. What was the flood stage at Evansville for years?  A crest is the highest point in a river flooding before it begins to drop.  What did the flood crest at in 1937?  Should the flood have been prevented?  How could it have been prevented?

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Ch. 7 Rise and Fall of David James Mackey

1.  Read the chapter and answer the comprehension questions. 60%
2.  Write a summary of the chapter following the GIST guidelines. 20%.
3.  Create 5 questions about information you want to know more about. 20%.

Comprehension questions:
What was Mackey doing at the age of 14?
What types of businesses did Mackey invest in to become Evansville's first millionaire?  (Hint)
What was the "Straight Line"?
Why does Mt. Vernon owe Mackey for its industrial production?
Here is a link to a picture of the Grand Theatre, what does Mackey have to do with it?
What are the two reasons Mackey went bankrupt at age 66 in 1900?
On p. 40, the story lists 6 different products that Evansville excelled at making.  Which one do you think has had the most lasting effect on Evansville and why?





Sunday, November 4, 2012

How a city founded to make money made it.

After lunch, we will study a new chapter each class period. Here is the rubric for choosing your grade for this assignment. There will be 3 tasks available for each chapter. The tasks are not group assignments, but are structured to build each student's skills. To be blunt, answers must be your own work and not copied. First, read the chapter and answer the comprehension questions. 60%
Second, write a summary of the chapter following the guidelines. 20%. Third, create 5 questions about the chapter you are curious about. Information you want to know more about. 20%.

Ch 6 Canal Fever
 questions due today
 1. Which two rivers would be easiest to connect? And what would that accomplish? 2pts
 2. Congress offered the states free "right of way" through public lands. Why was this a "bonanza" to midwest states but not the east states? 2 pts
 3. Explain how Indiana got into debt connecting Lafayette to Terre Haute?2pts
 4. Why was an artificial canal built from Terre Haute to Evansville instead of using the wabash river? 3 reasons, 1 pt each
 5. When the state ran out of money to finish the canal coming into Evansville, how was the last mile built? 1 pt
6. How much was the canal used before it was closed? 1 pt
 7. What transportation system replaced canals? 1 pt