I will be collecting all of the acronym/acrostic posters as well as 4 square and essay assignments on Tursday. I am giving an extra day to complete your work. Below I have posted my essay as an example. Please turn in the following;
---HISTORY acrostic poster with clear explanations of why we study history and (Quote)
---SCREAMGP acronym with 3 examples of each category and pictures/symbols
---4 Square complete (see sample)
---Essay using 4 Square
I will not except incorrect or incomplete HW. Please follow my directions as posted. You may have to look back at previous posts!
ESSAY
(paragraph indent shown as---) You will notice that i cut some of my 4 square info to shorten my essay.
Mr. Waldvogel Class:
U.S. History
---It has been said that, “We cannot escape history”. Yet, studies have shown that many middle school students seem to want to do just that. Some students can think of nothing worse than being stuck in another class about dead people. If kids can be shown that history is connected to their lives they just might change their opinion on the subject. When we investigate history we learn how incredibly meaningful and complex our world is. In fact, it is clear the study of history is one of the most important subjects in school and everyone should study it.
---One reason we study the past is because history explores so many topics. It is a great way to learn about our world and how to live in it. For example, in class we used an acronym, SCREAMGP. It stands for the many areas of the past that historians investigate. These areas are Science, Culture, Religion, Art, Military, Geography, and Politics. Our acronym makes it possible for us to remember just how complicated and interconnected history is. We can see that history involves all parts of the human experience. Even this simple memory trick shows us that in order to know ourselves and our world we must get involved with the past.
---Another reason we should study history is it allows us to walk in other peoples shoes. Our world is filled with fighting and problems because there are so many different cultures, religions and governments. If we learn about each others history we can start to understand why people and nations act the way they do. When we understand we can empathize and maybe even talk. The differences that have separated us do not have to lead to conflict.
---Yet, there are some very educated people who don’t agree with these proofs of the importance of remembering and studying history. Leo Tolstoy even remarked that “happy people have no history.” This statement seems to say that ignoring the past with its problems and pains is the best way to live life. Thankfully there are educated and intelligent people who have shown us that history is not best when it is forgotten. Maya Angelou put it this way. “History despite is wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” This shows us that knowledge, while often uncomfortable, can be our hope for the future. Others have said that history retold by historians is not true and is therefore a waste of time. Santayana responds to the argument that history is incorrectly remembered with an appeal to all thinking, honest people. “History is always written wrong and so always needs to be rewritten.” Yes, our written history is imperfect, he seems to say. But he doesn’t stop there. He encourages us to rewrite it, to do something! We can get involved instead of ignoring our past or complaining how it is written.
---As you can see, contrary to what many middle school kids think, history is an important and life changing subject. Studying it expands our knowledge of all parts of our world. It helps us fit together with and appreciate many different people and cultures. When we dig into the past we discover so many new possibilities and choices that can be applied to our own lives. And finally, the study of history makes us aware of the incredible impact of people who can remember, think and act. Any middle school student who puts in the effort to untie the complex knot of history becomes someone powerful. When we remember, when we think, we will act and the world will never be the same. When the author William Faulkner said, “The past is never dead; it is not even past” he was absolutely correct. When we learn history we see how much we are still connected to it. We cannot escape history, and we will not want to, because history will open the world to us like no other subject.
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