Hey, it’s time for the Historical Happenings of the week for October 15th-20th! I’m trying my best to keep up with my show and blog post during the school year and if that means I’m sporting a low-maintenance post recess  look with my dog co-anchoring so be it. I’m coming to you every Sunday or maybe a Monday like today 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, 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!”

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. 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 this week in history!

Monday 10/15

Monday brings us a little jazz infusion with the release of Duke Ellington’s first big hit Mood Indigo. If you teach the Harlem Renaissance Duke is a must! Click this link to learn more after you watch this clip! Have students compare and contrast recordings like this one from the Jazz Age vs the Digital age! Mood Indigo

Also on this day, the first draft card was burned. It would be interesting to get students opinion about this and ask maybe what they would’ve done in this situation. Learn more here: First draft card burned

Also on October 15th comes TOP HIT 1, the sinking of the C.S.S. Hunley during its test mission! I geeked out over the Hunley during this week’s episode! Here are several links to learn more:

Tuesday 10/16

Tuesday October 16th, 1987 was a day that had Americans glued to their tv. The whole nation watched as Texas toddler baby Jessica McClure is rescued from a well. Luckily baby Jessica escaped with minimal injuries other than losing a toe to gangrene. Jessica was America’s sweetheart. Check out this link to find out more: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/baby-jessica-rescued-from-a-well-as-the-world-watches

Also on this day is TOP HIT 2, the John Brown raid! After the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published in 1853, more and more northerners became abolitionists. Some people felt so strongly about this cause that they took it to an extreme. That includes Ohio resident John Brown. Brown didn’t believe in peaceful protest. He believed in revolutions and inciting violence. On October 16, 1859 Brown had planned to steal weapons from the arsenal at Harpers’ Ferry, Maryland and use the weapons to lead a slave revolt. Well, too many people found out about this plan and Confederate soldiers led by J.E.B. Stuart and Robert E. Lee surrounded Brown and posse forcing them to surrender on the 17th. I’ve always felt strongly about incorporating art into Social Studies.

 

This is a not so awesome version of an amazing mural of John Brown that I always have students analyze. I have them do a quick write about what they see. Then we focus on the 4 quadrants because there is so much going on. We talk about what message the artist was trying to convey and the symbolism in the painting. Primary sources shouldn’t just be photos. You can learn a lot about the time period from the art and music. As you know, John Brown was charged with treason for stealing weapons from a federal arsenal and executed. Here is where I got the mural: https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kansas-state-capitol-curry-murals/16864

Wednesday 10/17

October 17th marks the day the Texas Rangers were born-not the baseball team and not the ones of Chuck Norris fame. The real Texas Rangers! This happened in 1835. Also on this day just shy of 100 years later notorious gangster Al Capone goes to prison for tax evasion. About 160 years later in 1989 an earthquake interrupted the World Series in San Francisco!

Guess what else happened on this day? The first part of TOP HIT 3. Wednesday October 17, 1777 marks the Patriot victory in Saratoga. New York. This victory led to Benjamin Franklin making arrangements for the French to provide their support to the colonists! Learn more here: https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-saratoga

Thursday 10/18

October 18th marks the U.S. taking possession of Alaska and Puerto Rico,  the drawing of the famous Mason Dixon line, and the passing of Thomas Edison! Don’t miss Flocabulary’s Thomas Edison unit! https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/thomas-edison/Side note, if you know me, you know I’m a huge fan of flocabulary.com, which features engaging and educational raps. I’m such a fan that I became a Flocab MC Educator, which means I’m a brand ambassador. I just share the love for the glory and sometimes swag because it’s an invaluable teaching tool! I am not a paid affiliate nor would I ever be. If you don’t have a subscription, you can check it out with a free trial. There is a great one about the Civil War and the American Revolution, too that I’ve mentioned on the show before!

Friday 10/19

Speaking of the American Revolution October 19th marks the second half of TOP HIT 3. Almost 4 years after the Saratoga victory the Patriots took on the British in Yorktown. On October 19, 1781 British general Lord Cornwallis was forced  to admit defeat and surrender which essentially led to the end of the American Revolution.

I mentioned two pretty rad 80s events at the beginning of this week’s episode. They both happened on this day in 1985! The first one was the premiere of a-Ha’s super creative music video “Take on Me.” It was super popular because it was unique! Also on this day, the first Blockbuster video store opened! And the rest is history. TV killed the radio star and Netflix killed the Blockbuster store.

Saturday 10/20

Sorry y’all but October 20th was kind of a depressing day with the Red Scare taking over Hollywood back in 1947. As you know, nobody McCarthy and co. accused was ever found guilty of espionage. I mentioned discussing figurative vs literal with the Cold War. Might be prudent (where did that come from?!?!) to mention the Red Scare was not literal. Also on this day was the tragic plane crash that took the lives of 3 original Lynyrd Skynyrd band members in 1977.

Hey, do you need resources for the American Revolution or the Civil War? Check out my Civil War and American Revolution collections by clicking on the pictures!

This wraps up the TOP HITS of October 15th-20th! 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? I’d love to have you! 

SocialStudiesTeacherFacebookGroupSSW

Thanks for watching and be sure to let me know if you used any of these TOP HITS! See ya next week for Episode 9!

Check out this week’s replay here: 

Links to previous episodes: