US History II Oral Interview Project

It's one thing to read a history textbook, go to a museum, or watch an episode of "Cities of the Underworld" on the History Channel. But to talk to a person who lived through a certain time period in history? That's as close as it gets! That is exactly the opportunity that my spectacular seniors got to do during the fall semester.

Each student was responsible for interviewing a person who lived through any of the following time periods: Vietnam War, 1970s, 1960s, 1950s, World War II, or Astoria history. All six categories were quickly filled and I am receiving the students' interview summaries daily in my email inbox!

Eventually, all interview summaries will be posted online for you to view. From what I've seen so far, the seniors have done a great job once again!

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas!! It's always a very special, if not magical, time of year. The East Peoria Festival of Lights, Christmas trees, church services, Christmas music, and valuable time spent with family and friends make this one of my favorite times of the year.

Good Times

It's been fun getting the blog set up, and along with any new project comes a myriad of new ideas and possibilities.

One of these ideas is the course assignment page. Please note off to the right-hand side of this page the link for my assignments and handouts in class. This is where you need to go if you need an assignment or activity after school. You will also find a schedule of events for the week and more materials as they become available.

I also plan on posting pictures of our Classes of the Month, Class of the Year from last year, and anything else that happens to be noteworthy.

It should be a fun rest of the year. I'll keep you posted on what we're up to.

Something New

Yes, folks, something new is in the works...and it's been a long time coming! Of course, this "something" is a class blog, which I have always wanted but somehow couldn't make time for.

My goals for this blog are many:

1) To provide students, parents, and others an ongoing news feed about what we're doing in class
2) To allow student access to assignments, due dates, and more
3) Continue learning outside the classroom

From time to time I will update this blog, which will include news from all classes. In the spring semester I will have the privilege of teaching Sociology (a new class that I'm very excited to teach), US History I (American Government), US History II, and World Geography.

Please, please, please feel free to post anything you'd like. This includes comments, suggestions for improving the blog, updates, etc.