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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Days 151 & 152 Gone with the Wind

April 8 & 9th, 2012 Days 151 & 152

Gone with the Wind movie worksheet

12 x 12

Credits  *title, date, producer, director, actors, poster


1. Gone With the Wind

2. 1939

3. David O’Selznick

4. Victor Fleming

5. Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland

 



Summary *12 sentence (or more) paragraph:

Scarlett O’Hara, living at the plantation of Tara in Rural Georgia, is joined by the Tarleton twins in her fancy white dress who are saying how much they love her, they invite her to the nearest plantation, Twelve Oaks, where Ashley Wilkes is, who Scarlett believes she loves. But it announced that Ashley is to marry Melanie Hamilton and there is going to be a barbeque to celebrate, Scarlett believes she is heartbroken.

                At Twelve Oaks, Scarlett realizes that she is being admired by Rhett Butler who has recently been thrown out of West Point and disowned by his Charleston family. Later, a discussion of the Civil War that Scarlett is eavesdropping on makes men dislike Butler since he disapproves of the war entirely.   

                Scarlett quickly becomes a widow and then moves to help Melanie Hamilton, newly wedded to Ashley in Atlanta when Ashley went to war. At a bazaar, she meets Rhett once again and he auctions of 150 dollars so he can dance with Scarlett, which was strictly prohibited since she was a widow but Scarlett very excitedly accepts. While they are dancing Rhett tells her of his feeling about her and asks if she loves him back, Scarlett replies saying she will never as long as she lives.

                The tide of the war turns against the south after Gettysburg, in which many of the men of Scarlett's town are killed. Scarlett makes another unsuccessful appeal to Ashley’s heart while he is visiting on Christmas although they do share a private and passionate kiss while in the parlor on Christmas Day, just before he leaves for the war. In the hospital, Scarlett and Melanie are helping Dr. Meade with the patients. 

                Eight months later, as the city is besieged by the Union Army in the Atlanta Campaign, Melanie goes into a premature and difficult labor. Staying true to a promise Scarlett made to Ashley to "take care of Melanie," she and her servant Prissy must deliver the child without medical attendance. Scarlett calls upon Rhett to bring her home to Tara immediately with Melanie, Prissy, and the baby. He appears with a horse and wagon to take them out of the city on a journey through the burning depot and warehouse district. He leaves her with a nearly dead horse, helplessly frail Melanie, her baby, and tearful Prissy, and with a kiss as he goes off to fight. On her journey home, Scarlett finds Twelve Oaks burned out, ruined and deserted. She is relieved to find Tara still standing but deserted by all except her parents, her sisters, and two servants: Mammy and Pork. Scarlett learns that her mother has just died of typhoid fever and her father's mind has begun to crumble under the strain. With Tara pillaged by Union troops and the fields untended, Scarlett vows she will do anything for the survival of her family and herself, exclaiming, "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!"

                In the second half Scarlett is trying to rebuild her life at Tara, but it is much different. She has to pick the cotton and she only has one dress which is tattered up. She goes into Atlanta since she has just learned from a carpetbagger that she needs 300 dollars in taxes. Mammy makes her a beautiful dress made out of her mother’s old curtain and she goes in to see Rhett who is in jail but survived the war. Rhett refused to give Scarlett eh money since she lied to him. So she goes to Frank Kennedy who is going to marry Scarlett’s sister Suellen and tells him that Suellen is marrying someone else and so Kennedy asks Scarlett if she would marry him giving her the money she needed to save Tara. She still was broke so she started a lumber business with Ashley. 

                After a scandal with a nearby shantytown one night, Frank secretly goes to settle it and is killed. Scarlett is heartbroken and feels totally responsible but when Rhett proposes to her she accepts graciously and they go on a grand honeymoon to New Orleans. When Scarlett falls asleep in New Orleans she proposes that she wants to go home to Tara. 

                Scarlett soon has a baby, a little girl named Bonnie Blue Butler who Rhett loves very much. Rhett was still very much jealous of Ashley and Scarlett and Rhett were having marriage problems. Rhett took Bonnie on an extended trip to London but when she had a terrible nightmare they went back to Georgia.

                At the end Scarlett realized that Ashley only truly loved Melanie and Scarlett truly loved Rhett she goes to tell him that and he is so jealous that he doesn’t believe it.  As Rhett walks out the door, she pleads, "Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?" He answers, "Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn" and walks away into the fog. She sits on her stairs and weeps in despair, "What is there that matters?" She then recalls the voices of Gerald, Ashley, and Rhett, all of whom remind her that her strength comes from Tara itself. Hope lights Scarlett's face: "Tara! Home. I'll go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!"

People/Places

1.       Scarlett O’Hara: Of the plantation Tara, the main character. The young Scarlett is absolutely beautiful and all the boys love her. But she loves Ashley Wilkes, or believes she does but when she meets Rhett Butler, he immediately falls in love with her and is very jealous of Ashley. After the war Scarlett becomes very strong and swears she will never be hungry again.
     

3.       Mammy: The main house slave at Tara who loves Ellen and her sisters and Scarlett’s baby Bonnie.



4.       Prissy: Scarlett’s “personal slave” who comes along with her and Melanie to Atlanta and delivers Melanie’s baby Bo. Prissy is about 13 years old and has an irritating voice!



5.       Tara: The O’Hara family plantation that was not burned by the Yankees during the Civil War. Scarlett loves Tara very much and does whatever she can to protect it.



6.       Ashley Wilkes: Lives at Twelve Oaks. The man that Scarlett believes she loves. The man that Rhett Butler’s jealous of. Husband of Melanie Hamilton and Civil War soldier and survivor of Gettysburg.





7.       Melanie Hamilton: Wife of Ashley Wilkes, very sweet and best friend and sister-in-law of Scarlett O’Hara. She has one son Bo and died in childbirth since she very nearly avoided death at the birth of Bo.



8.       Rhett Butler: Loves Scarlett very much and loved Bonnie very much. Jealous of Ashley Wilkes. He disagrees with the war but later becomes a soldier for the Confederate Army. Scarlett realizes she loves him at the end of the movie.



9.       Tarleton Twins: Boys that fawn over Scarlett and fight about who they think she loves more. Proud Confederate Army soldiers but were killed in the battle of Gettysburg.



10.   Big Sam: Former slave from Tara and is forced to join the Confederate Army during the siege. Saves Scarlett from a shanty town.



11.   Charles Hamilton: Melanie’s brother and first husband of Scarlett. He went off to war and was killed immediately during Fredericksburg.



12.   Frank Kennedy: Scarlett’s second husband who she loved a little bit. She stole Frank from her sister Suellen. A war veteran who somehow survived but went to fight at the shanty town after Scarlett was attacked and was killed.





13.   Aunt Pittypatt & Atlanta: Atlanta, Georgia where Melanie went to watch over her Aunt Pittypatt after Charles died. She and Scarlett stay in Atlanta until Sherman burns it, then Rhett brings them back to Tara. Then Scarlett went back to Atlanta to start the lumber business with Frank and Ashley to save Tara.

Facts/ Details

1.       Scarlett and Rhett’s daughter Bonnie was named after the “bonnie blue flag”



2.       Scarlett’s mother died of typhoid and her father and daughter Bonnie died of horse jumping accidents



3.       Scarlett and Ashley started a lumber business in Atlanta because the city was burnt and they needed to rebuild



4.       During the scene when Scarlett, Rhett, Melanie, Bo, and Prissy are escaping, to make the fire realistic, they actually burned the set down!



5.       My favorite characters of Gone with the Wind were Scarlett, Rhett and Melanie because they were all strong heroines and heroes.



6.       My favorite costume was Scarlett O’Hara’s green dress at the beginning of the movie.



7.  After Charles died Scarlett went to Atlanta and was at an auction along with Rhett, he bids 150 dollars to lead the dance, but since Scarlett was a widow it was prohibited so Aunt Pittypatt fainted.

8. Margaret Mitchell wrote the book, “Gone with the Wind.”



9. One of the famous scenes and lines of Gone with the wind is when Scarlett is in a tattered up and burnt dress and picks up a rotten carrot, eats it, and throws it up and says, “God is my Witness, And I will never go hungry again!”



10. The men of Rural Georgia dislikes of Rhett Butler because he disapproves of the Civil War



11. Rhett joins the army during the siege and burning of Atlanta because he feels like a coward

12. When Scarlett attended Ashley’s birthday party, everybody looked at her because she was overdressed but Melanie said that she looked beautiful.



Reflections/ Feelings/ Thoughts

1.       It was very nice to watch this movie with Gamma



2.       I am very desperate to know what happens to Scarlett and Rhett



3.       I thought it was sad that the South lost everything after the Civil War



4.       I learned from Scarlett that sometimes you shouldn’t be stuck on one thought and waste all your energy on it you need to be strong because After all, Tomorrow is another day!



5.       I thought that Bonnie was very spoiled and kind of bratty but it was sad when she died 



6.      I thought that Ashley Wilkes was whiny

7.    I learned about Sherman and how he burned Atlanta, I thought it was really cruel but it did help the North win

8.       I thought this movie was very interesting and entertaining and I enjoyed it, I would definitely watch it again.



9.       I think that Ashley should not of told Scarlett that he loved her because it made her not think of Rhett, I think he should’ve been more honest so she could have opened up her heart to Rhett


10.   It was very sad when Melanie died but I thought it was because Ashley and Melanie were related


11.   Gamma said that Scarlett had already had two babies with Frank already, one named John and one named Wade



12.   I thought Scarlett was brave to be a woman so much against the war but was able to come back and live with it and it made me feel strong




Days 149 & 150 J. Chamberlain & Gettysburg Address


Days 149 & 150 April 4 & 5, 2012

LA Book: 2 page

Math Books: 4 pages


Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine

This is a documentary movie shot in Maine and New England about the 20th Maine regiment and Joshua Chamberlain. It shows how Colonel Ames drilled these men so many times so that they were ready for anything. Here are some of my observations on this movie:

1. Antietam, Sharpsburg, the bloodiest single battle in American history

2. Joshua Chamberlain used dead bodies to protect him in Fredricksburg

3. The Mainers buried the dead and left markers

4. The 20th Maine was quarantined with Small pox because of bad vaccinations

5. After the battle of Chancellorsville, Joshua Chamberlain was assigned commander of the 20th Maine regiment

6. 53,000 men died in Gettysburg in the three day battle and 50,000 American men died during the Vietnam war, the whole Vietnam War.



Facts & Details from Video Clips: http://video.pbs.org/video/1832543419/ *clips from Ken Burns PBS Civil War series

1. Edward Evert of Massachusetts had a speech that lasted for two hours!

2. The Gettysburg address was a beautiful speech by Lincoln but only had 269 words!

3. The Gettysburg address had 269 words!




1. The new railroad helped the North win because Lincoln “put them on the train” and snuck them down to the south so they could start their siege.

2. Another thing that played a big part in the Civil war was the postal system because they could now send easy quick letters to their family of the spies to the army

3. The Morse code was a new part of this and it played a huge part in the Civil War as well



Read and Answer Questions below & Follow Link:


Gettysburg Address: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
November 19, 1863

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal

Now we are engaged in a great civil war testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure We are met on a great battlefield of that war We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate  we cannot consecrate we can not hallow  this ground The brave men living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract The world will little note nor long remember what we say here but it can never forget what they did here It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us  that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom  and that government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth

Questions:

1.       What is a score? A: 20 years

2.       What does he mean when he says “new nation, conceived in Liberty”? A: to formed with Liberty Summarize what Lincoln says in the second paragraph beginning “Now we are engaged…” and ending with “proper that we should do this”: He means Now we are in it and there’s no turning back yet, and he believes that it is right to bury all of the dead soldiers because they gave their lives to fight for their country.

3.       Define the word “consecrate”: to make  declared or sacred

4.       What does he mean when he says that they must be dedicated to the “unfinished work”? A: they must keep going because the war is not yet done.

5.       How do you feel when you read and hear the last sentence of this great speech? A: I feel that he is saying that all of us “people” will stay here and be free



Extra Credit! Bonus! Fun!

*Memorize this great American speech. It’s great practice for acting and learning lines and it would also be a good audition piece! So try to memorize and then recite The Gettysburg Address.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Day 148 Gettysburg


April 3, 2012 Day 148 Civil War movie mania week

Gettysburg 6 x 6

Credits  *title, date, producer, director, actors, poster


1. Gettysburg

2. 1993

3. Ronald F. Maxwell

4. Tri-Star Television

5. Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen, Stephen Lang

6.

Summary *6 sentence (or more) paragraph

Robert E. Lee decides to move in to Pennsylvania after the battle of Chancellorsville. The Union army was already there and taken their position. The 20th Maine is assigned to this battle but is moving slowly in to Gettysburg. General Meade is moving to Gettysburg to help the Union and Pickett traveling to go help the Confederates. The Confederate army has positioned their artillery on a line and the Union the same. The Union Calvary is waiting for Lee’s infantry to cross, When Lee’s infantry was crossing, the Union was late, and the Confederates won the first day.

When the 20th Maine arrived, they had been given 120 more men most that have been shot all ready and they were assigned to the end of the Union line on a hill called Little Round Top with Joshua Chamberlain leading them. Just like Chamberlain suspected, the Confederates tried to sneak up the hill thinking that it wasn’t guarded and tried to get to Cemetery Ridge, Chamberlain had his men in a straight line with an angle to look like an L shape, and shot the soldiers, hundreds of them died.  Then Chamberlain moved his soldiers to a straight line when they were getting low on bullets. When they were completely out, he ordered a beignet charge down the hill to try and force the confederates down, it worked and the Union won that day.

Another battle on the field, were the confederates sent 1,500 men as an infantry down the field, George Pickett commander of the army ordered a huge charge towards the Union but all of his men died and the Union won Gettysburg. This was basically the last big battle of the United States and the confederates were decisive after it, a huge victory for the North and huge loss for the south!

People/Places

1. Gen. Gordon Meade: replaced with Hooker before Gettysburg. Wrote to J. Chamberlain and gave him 120 more men before battle.

2. Gettysburg: a small town in Pennsylvania where a huge 3 day battle took place during the Civil War. Half of the Union army were placed along the fence. The Confederates had the offensive position. The Confederates won the first day. The Union won the second day and then the battle.

3. Col. Joshua Chamberlain: refused to shoot soldiers who disobeyed. Believed that the union army was fighting to set other men free and fighting for each other. Strongly believed in anti-slavery

4. Gen. George Pickett:  elite soldier, Confederate, led Pickett’s charge on 3rd day

5. Little Round Top: The hill in which the 20th Maine was stationed at. When Warren came to the hill to check on the men, he realized no one was there and called Chamberlain.

6. Cemetery Ridge (Hill): On the second day of the battle, the Union took the defensive position on Cemetery Ridge.

Facts/ Details

1. The Confederate Army did not take Little Round Top when they had the chance.

2. General Pickett arrived after the first battle day.

3. Warren told Chamberlain to “hold to the last” and he didn’t hear the last word, he tried to figure out what he meant.

4. General Stewart of the Confederate Army did not fulfill the mission that Lee assigned to him on the day of the second battle.

5. Winfield Scott Hancock was shot on the third day of the battle.

6. General Meade arrived after the first day of the battle.

Reflections/ Feelings/ Thoughts

1. I felt honored when I watched the battle of Little Round Top because Joshua Chamberlain is from my state and my town.

2. I felt bad for the Confederate Army when they lost the battle because the plan was actually pretty good.

3. I was surprised to find out that Pickett lost all of his men during the last battle of Gettysburg.

4. I realized that the 20th Maine regiment played a very big part during Gettysburg and the Civil War

5. I thought it was sweet that the Chamberlain brother hugged each other at the end.

6. It was amazing that 53,000 men died in the three day battle of Gettysburg.
Images

Day 147 "Gods and Generals"


April 2, 2012 Day 147 Civil War movie mania week

Gods and Generals 6 x 6

Credits  *title, date, producer, director, actors, poster


1. Gods and Generals

2. 2003

3. Warner Bros

4. Ronald F. Maxwell

5. Stephen Lang, Robert Duvall, Jeff Daniels

6.

Summary *6 sentence (or more) paragraph

After Fort Sumter, the Civil War was official. President Lincoln called on General Robert Lee to command the union army, but since Lee was from Virginia he declined the offer and decided to become Major General of the Confederate Army, The South, along with Thomas Jackson.

The Confederate army traveled to Manassas Virginia by Bull Run Creek. The Confederates got the defensive position and started to mark their positions, the Union army commanded by General Winfield Scott took the offensive position because they had to travel faster. The Confederates were loosing at the beginning because they said that Thomas Jackson was standing there like a stone wall, nicknaming him “Stonewall Jackson” .

The Confederate army took the victory of this battle and then moved along to Fredricksburg Virginia where another major battle took place. Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine regiment were assigned on this battle, the Confederate just barely took the victory, The 20th Maine Regiment and Joshua Chamberlain were still targets after the battle was over, they used dead bodies of their friends to protect then.

 At the battle of Chancellorsville Stonewall Jackson got shot in his shoulder and hand and was knocked off his horse. He was immediately taken to a Physician which recovered his wounds, but Jackson later died of Pneumonia. 

People/Places

1.       Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson: General in Confederate Army, from Virginia, al battle of Manassas/Bull Run and Fredericksburg & Chancellorsville

2.       Robert E. Lee: offered control of Union Army and declined because he said he was a Virginian first, became General of the Virginian Army

3.       Winfield Scott Hancock: Union Army General

4.       Manassas (battle): Confederacy won, “March forth to save country!” Stonewall Jackson got his name because of how he stood in battle like a stone wall, battle is called Bull Run by the North

5.       Fredericksburg (battle): December 1862, Confederate victory

6.       Chancellorsville (battle): Stonewall Jackson sneak attack, Confederate win, Jackson dies from wound

Facts/ Details

1. Men use the bodies of dead soldiers on the battlefield for protection from bullets in Fredericksburg

2. Manassas and Bull Run are the same battle

3. Joshua Chamberlain was one of the leaders of the 20th Maine regiment; he is from Brunswick

4. Chancellorsville is sometimes referred to as the wilderness battle

5. Jackson died after gun shot in Chancellorsville battle, he was accidently shot by his own men

6. Part of the Chancellorsville battle was fought at night

Reflections/ Feelings/ Thoughts

1. This movie made me feel more of the southern perspective of the Civil War.

2. I saw some of the violent scenes and it was really disturbing and I realized how brutal the war was.

3. I learned about Stonewall Jackson and discovered feelings for his character. It was sad when he died.

4. The Union army lost mostly all of these battles at the beginning. If I didn’t know the answer I would have thought the South would win the war.

5. I felt honored that my state and my town played such a big part in the Civil War.

6. I felt sad when I saw the people die of scarlet fever.
Images
Stonewall Jackson

Joshua Chamberlain

Robert E. Lee

Chancelorsville

Fredericksburg

Manassas / Bull Run

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Movie Week: The Civil War

The American Civil War is long, confusing, and full of details and generals. There is so much scholarship available for all ages, learning styles, and interests. That said, however, it is a terribly complicated war that was fought over four years and spanned the physical distance of most of the middle and southern half of the country east of the Mississippi. There are no clear reasons or purpose to the war that make sense to our modern sentiments, particularly coming from the north, however, it is such an important and necessary part of our history education and I struggled with how best to teach the Civil War to Sophie.

We are preparing for our annual spring homeschool trip and this year we are "doing the Civil War," meaning as we travel south, we are stopping and visiting Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, the Shenandoah Valley, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, and will end up in Alabama. We have much to learn and visit on our 6 days of travel from Maine to Alabama and we know we will learn a lot, especially from the guides and museums associated with the National Parks and Historic Sites.

In Alabama we look forward to spending some time with Grandpa DC and Grandma Gayle, both of who were teachers and DC has a particular interest in the Civil War. I think it is important, especially for a student from the northeast, to learn about the war from the southern perspective. It's too easy for some schools and teachers in the north to exclude the south's story from the lessons of the Civil War and it's just too simple to say the war is about the south wanting to keep its slaves.

One of the lectures/ discussions Sophie and I had in reference to learning about the causes or reasons for the war was about the question of morality--what is right and what is wrong. I wanted to make it clear to her that there were three moral stances in the war:

1. Slavery: Northern Abolitionists and voters and citizens believed the time of slavery in the US was well over and no person had the moral right to own another person. Period. No further discussion. Slavery was wrong.

2. Separation: the idea of the "Union" was strong in the north, where the notion of nationalism was rooted in the identity of the the United States of America, rather than feeling patriotic to one's state first and country second. The Unionists believed absolutely that the southern states had no moral right to separate from the United States. They believed, as Lincoln said, that if you disagreed with the nation's policies or politics, the way for change was through democracy--that you voted for change and that separation and secession was NOT a option--that it was morally wrong to disengage from the United States.

3. Rights to home and property: The Confederate States of America were not fighting for separation because they were unwilling to give up their slaves. They were fighting for their right to decide how they would live and prosper in their own states and for the right to protect their property--their homes, their plantations, their slaves, and their way of life. The southerners believed themselves to be, for example, Sons of Virginia first and citizens of the United States second. They believed in their God-given right to own property legally and freely and to control and protect that property under any circumstance and when that property was threatened, it was their moral right and duty and honor to protect it at all costs.

To prepare Sophie for the visits to these monumentally brutal battle sites and for her to get to know some of the important figures in the war, I decided to teach broadly and generally and we have spent the week watching movies and documentaries about the Civil War. After reviewing all the available material, this approach seemed best to impart the overall sense of pride, honor, disaster, death, triumph, and sadness of this decisive part of American history.

We started our Movie Week with Gods and Generals, which focused on the Confederate Army led by Ge. Robert E. Lee and the southern early victories at Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville. This movie focused a lot of attention on the bravery of Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson and his victory and death.
Sophie worked on a version of her 6 x 6 as a movie worksheet.

On Tuesday we watched a good documentary as part of Maine Studies on Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine and their bravery in the battles of Fredricksburg and on Little Round Top at Gettysburg. Sophie feels very proud that Chamberlain came from Maine and that the 20th Maine fought so courageously and helped the Union to victory at Gettysburg. We also watched a few key clips from the PBS Ken Burns series about The Civil War and an episode from America: The Story of Us.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent watching the second movie of the Civil War trilogy, Gettysburg, which focuses a lot of attention on Chamberlain and the 20th Maine. Gettysburg will be the first stop on our Civil War trip.

Over the weekend Sophie will spend time at the farm and they'll watch Gone with the Wind and she will complete a long movie worksheet for that movie as well.

I am still considering if we will watch the movie Glory or not. It is rated R but Sophie has expressed interest in learning about the black soldiers during the war. This is a great movie and it is hard to watch--very brutal but realistic and an important story to know. I am planning to preview the movie this weekend and then decide.

On our trip we will also listen to an audiobook: Addy, an American Girl Story about the Civil War.

Sophie will keep a travel blog about her learning experiences and will also take many pictures and collect brochures and information from the visits we make in order to finish a scrapbook about the trip when we get home in May.

Day 146

March 30, 2012  Day 146

Math: 4 pages

LA book: 2 pages

Latin: Last Chapter of Minimus and study for Review

Field Trip: Movie with Mom



Sophie’s Blog: Midsummer’s play, Sugarloaf, movie, farm weekend

After many weeks of rehearsals last weekend was the starting of mom and dad’s play, Midsummer Night’s Dream. We went to go see the opening night performance and it was great, I have to say Dad learned a lot from us Annie girls last summer about performing! I’m just kidding both mom and dad did an amazing job. It was 10:30 at night when the play ended and we left for Sugarloaf right from the play with Emma. As soon as we hopped in the car Lily and I both fell right asleep and we drove to Sugarloaf. We skied on Saturday and drove back on Sunday and went to hibachi lunch with Emma. Oops! I didn’t mention that I skied with ABC! Well I did! We had hibachi for lunch and then went home! The next Friday we went to go see Mirror, Mirror which is more of the Grimm fairytale of Snow White it was really good. Then we went to go spend the weekend with Gamma and Bo which was great too. We met a new friend named Meg who lives just a little bit away from Gamma and Bo, It was really fun.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Day 145 Lincoln's Election 1860


March 29, 2012 Day 145

Math: 2 pages

LA Book: 1 page

Web Quest: Presidential Election of 1860

Webquest: Presidential Election of 1860


A. Summarize what you learned in this video: The South knew that Abraham Lincoln was going to win the election and they were ready for secession. When Lincoln got elected that was basically the true start of the civil war because the south was so done with the union and wanted to be separate.


A. Scroll down to Election of 1860. Which were the Confederate States of America in 1860? The South; six of the states in th4e south, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas

B. Summarize what President Lincoln says in his first inaugural address in March 1861 to the Southern states in reference to the issue of slavery? He believes that apprehension seems to be among the people Lincoln says, "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." It means to me that he thinks that there has never been a reasonable cause for this so why are they making such a big deal out of it, although the people in the south had the right to be mad because there “property” has been taken away from them by other people, they don’t understand why they are taken away the free rights of this “free” country


A. Copy and Paste the pie chart and Save As

B. What can you deduce from the pie chart about the election in 1860? Abe Lincoln had about 10 percent more votes than Douglas, Douglas was runner up, Breckinridge was in third, and Bell lost by quite a bit

The South would have probably seceded sooner because they didn’t believe in Douglas or Lincoln, especially Lincoln


A. Why is the election of 1860 considered one of the “Most Consequential Election in History” according to the article?

This articles says that Abraham Lincoln is known to be one of the best American presidents of all time because he changed our country dramatically and stopped slavery

B. Why is it important for 6th graders (and students of all ages) to learn about Abraham Lincoln?

A: because Abraham Lincoln went from a log cabin to the white house in a few years and he changed our country’s point of view and he stopped the civil war and he is a hero to the blacks


A. What does this song mean to you? How does it make you feel? 

This song literally made me cry because these people were great heroes and it is so sad to think that people who happen to not believe the same as these men actually have the nerve to murder them.  This song is extra sad to me because it makes me think of Andrew.

6. Read from Two Miserable Presidents pages 36-39 and 41-47 and answer questions below:


1. Explain the “Four-way Race” in the election of 1860:

 Everybody saws this election as two, one in the North and one in the South, the four way race includes the two people in the North, Lincoln and Douglas, and the two people in the South, Breckinridge and Bell

2. How do the election results explain Lincoln’s worry and concern about his presidency?

A: Based on the election results, Lincoln only got votes from the North and West, and Breckinridge and Bell got all of the South, this called for secession according to the South and really, who would want to be president at a time like this, the start of war!

3. Why does Buchanan declare he is the “last president of the United States”?

A: Because he was pretty sure the country wouldn’t last that long!

4. Why is Jefferson Davis a reluctant leader of the Confederate States of America?

A: because he was sick of politics and sick from a nerve disorder and he was old and wanted to be in his house with his wife

5. Who is Grace Bedell and how did she influence Lincoln’s presidency?

 A: Lincoln thought he was ugly, a little girl named Grace Bedell told him that he would look better with whiskers, and that’s why Lincoln started to grow that beard that is so famous today

6. What warning did Lincoln give the southern states who were threatening to secede during his inaugural address?

 A: He told them, “Individual states did not have the right to secede from the United States. If People were unhappy with recent events in this country, they were free to try and make new laws or even amend the Constitution. But as President it is my job to protect the Union.” He urged the states that had seceded to come back before it was too late. “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is this momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You have no conflict, without being yourselves the aggressors.”