Hey, it’s time for the Historical Happenings of the week for September 3rd-8th! Hope you’re having a great holiday weekend!   I’m coming to you every weekend with three historical events that occurred this week so that you can plan ahead. I’ll feature helpful ideas for integrating literacy, technology, and supporting all learners! These fun facts can be your saving grace in those transition moments, bus call, great lesson hooks, or the makings of morning work. I’ll be including significant events from across the spectrum including “born on this day, battles, inventions, sports, scientific achievements, music, arts, pop culture and more!” I’m trying my best to find lesser known facts instead of just stating the obvious. For example, Labor Day itself will not be covered in this week’s show. We all know where to find resources for major holidays! I prefer untold tales and discovering fun facts I didn’t know.

Find out the interests of your students and use these tidbits as a way to build community and foster relationships with your learners this year and spark further interest in history at the same time! You can find all previous IGTV episodes in my Instagram profile and a link to all of the blog posts at the bottom of each new post!  And also many of my links below are to history.com. I love this site. Mostly. What I don’t love is that the videos auto-play. My teenage son showed me a super helpful hack for this. Right click on the browser tab and opt to “mute site” or “mute tab.” That tech tip comes straight to you from my 16 year old son! Let’s get started with the TOP HITS for September 3rd-8th!

Monday 9/3

Of course September 3, 2018 is Labor Day. As we all know Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September every year. There are 2 major historical events that will always be on September 3rd though! On this day in 1783 , the Treaty of Paris was signed. Learn more here!

No big deal, right? Of course it’s a big deal as it signified the end of the American Revolution and resulted in the colonies officially gaining independence. Do you Mr. Betts? If not, you should. He is the creative genius behind historical parodies on YouTube. This one is about the causes of the American Revolution.

Also on September 3rd over 100 years later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland. Well Britain and France had already formed an alliance and decided that if this happened it was game on war wise. Well 2 days later they stuck to their guns (cheesy pun I know), and WWII began! The US would join in December 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Learn more here: WWI Begins

Tuesday 9/4

TOP HIT 1 of the show happened on September 4th 1886. It was the day that Apache leader Geronimo surrendered to US troops for the last time.  Geronimo was the instigator of multiple raids on the Mexican and US government after the murder of his family by Mexican troops. He was forced to return to a reservation time and time again. Geronimo was not going down without a fight. Actually lots of them. He was chased into Mexico in March 1886 and forced to surrender. He escaped and carried on his mission. Then on this day in 1886 General Nelson Miles finally got the upper hand and forced the fierce leader to surrender near the Arizona/New Mexico border. He and his fellow Apaches were sent to Florida, then Alabama, and finally Oklahoma. This event is significant because it marked the end of the so called “Indian Wars” out west. This meant it was safer for settlers to hit the road to get their Manifest Destiny on.

What I think is interesting is that Geronimo ended up writing an autobiography after converting to Christianity and he also attended Teddy Roosevelt’s inauguration in 1905. Westward Expansion and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad is something that can be analyzed from multiple perspectives. I used Windows Notes to have students respond. I previously mentioned this strategy during Episode 1. In case you missed it, it’s a note-taking method that involves students responding with Facts, Feelings, Questions, or Connections. You can give students specific prompts or general ones like you see below.

I also had students use the Six Hats thinking strategy where you think about a problem from various points of view and frames of reference. It was a powerful critical thinking activity because it forced students to think about things in a way they may not normally. You can find out more in my Six Hats blog post. Click the picture below to check it out!

I think it would be interesting to have students compare and contrast the experiences of Geronimo, Sitting Bull, and Chief Joseph.Chief Joseph’s speech “I Will Fight No More Forever” makes an impactful close reading passage. You can also discuss assimilation and how that relates to people of other cultures in present day America trying to fit in vs displaying their heritage. This can be a challenging thing for students once they get to upper elementary and beyond.

Now fast forward to September 4, 1998. This is the moment when co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin filed paperwork to establish Google, Inc. And the rest my friends is internet history.

Wednesday 9/5

Now for you Texans out there I’m probably treading on sacred ground by relaying what happened on this day but the rest of us want to know. On this day in 1836 Sam Houston became president of Texas. This was a year after declaring independence from Mexico. Houston remained in various leadership roles until The Civil War. Houston didn’t believe in secession and was given the boot! Read more about it here: Sam Houston

You probably know that September 17th is Constitution Day. But did you know that the first session of the Continental Congress began in Philadelphia on this day in 1774? This was years before the Constitution was adopted in 1787! America had to win their freedom first!

Thursday 9/6

September 6, 1901 marks the date of a tragic presidential assassination. President William McKinley was shot by a deranged Polish immigrant who believed he was the enemy of the working class. McKinley survived surgery and seemed to be recovering. However his wounds proved to be fatal and he passed away 8 days later. Vice President Teddy Roosevelt was sworn in as president later that day.

Next up is TOP HIT 2 from the show. Now WWI isn’t as popular as WWII. America was only involved from 1917-1918 and there isn’t as much of a connection since there wasn’t an incident like Pearl Harbor. Normally I’m all about the people and storytelling aspect of historical eras. However with WWI, it’s important to note that the technological advancements were a turning point for modern warfare. Also you probably will have 1 or 2 students that totally geek out over this kind of stuff and find this fascinating. Not to stereotype but it’s usually your boys.

On September 6th 1915 the first prototype for a tank was developed. Any guesses for what country developed it? It was not the US as we were isolationists at the time! It was the British! By 1917, the improvements had been made to leverage tanks as a force to be reckoned with. By 1919 images of tanks were becoming more widespread, even being included in recruiting posters such as this. Obviously tanks are still an integral part of US military efforts. You could have students make a timeline or book of advancements to the tank over the past 100 years.

I found out about the coolest animated website many years ago that explores trench warfare along with tanks. You have to jump through a few hoops to use it, like making sure you have a flash player and clicking on your state. I know it works if you click Georgia or North Carolina! You can find it by clicking the picture! 

Also if you need resources for WWI make sure and check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store “The Social Studies Whisperer.” I have a Picture Dictionary, Vocabulary Cards, Choice Board, and Christmas in the Trenches Web Quest. Find them by clicking here: 

PS There is a Flocabulary unit for WWI. You know me- I love my Flocab. Once again I am NOT a paid affiliate, just a Flocab MC Educator, aka brand ambassador. You can even start exploring with a free trial! Friday 9/7

In last week’s blog post I mentioned the Battle of Jonesboro and how it led to the fall of Atlanta. Well on September 7, 1864 Sherman had Atlanta evacuated thus beginning his March to the Sea and the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. Click this link to read more: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atlanta-is-evacuated

Ok, I just referenced recruiting posters and we see America’s favorite uncle on the screenshot of the WWI Flocabulary unit. Well what a perfect segue to TOP HIT 3! On September 7th, 1813 the US is nicknamed Uncle Sam. Yes you heard me right! 1813! During the war of 1812, a meat packer from New York named Samuel Wilson supplied beef to to the army. On the barrels Wilson stamped the letters US. Soldiers started referring to the meat as Uncle Sam’s and by 1813 the nickname became a common one for the federal government.

Years later political cartoonist Thomas Nast developed the image of the patriotic garb wearing Uncle Sam that we think of today. It was during WWI that his “I Want You for the US Army” catch phrase became widely used. Have students compare and contrast the use of other characters such as Rosie the Riveter and Captain America and their origin stories or have students research the evolution of Uncle Sam over the years. Here is an image of him in 1898.

So I have a funny “Kids Say the Darndest Things” story involving Uncle Sam. A few years ago when I was teaching 5th grade back in metro Atlanta one of my students asked if Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter were married. I further explained that neither one was a real person. So be prepared for this misconception haha. How cool of a power couple would that have been though? I’m surprised the government didn’t think of this and using actors to play both roles as a way to sell war bonds.

Saturday 9/8

Two quick facts for September 8th? Sure, I got them! I talked about Nixon resigning during August and on this day in 1974 in a controversial decision Ford pardoned him. His reasoning? To bring some harmony between the two political sides. I didn’t mention anything else with sports but wanted to make sure I do! Hall of Famer Roger Maris held the home run record for many seasons. But on September 8, 1988 Mark McGwire hit the home run that would break this record. Speaking of controversy, McGwire’s accomplishment has been viewed with a skewed lens because of his use of performance enhancing substances. Have students write about their opinions on whether they think he deserves the recognition or not. You’re sure to get the view of both sides from students.

This wraps up the TOP HITS of September 3-8th! Don’t forget to check the link in the description to read the blog post and sign up for a weekly reminder at http://bit.ly/SShooks! You’ll get my free lesson hooks cheat sheet, too! But wait, there’s more! Are you in my Facebook group for teachers called Social Studies Salute?

SocialStudiesTeacherFacebookGroupSSW

I’d love to have you! I recently uploaded the PDF with the clues/answers for the World Class Mistake Makers bulletin set there. I’m grateful to all the teachers on Instagram and in my group who offered ideas so it only felt right to share it! Thanks for watching and be sure to let me know if you used any of these TOP HITS! See ya next Sunday for Episode 6!

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