Fall, 1781 - British Surrender at Yorktown

Winter at Valley Forge

December 25, 1776 - Washington Leads a Surprise Attack

The Declaration of Independence

The Second Continental Congress

"The Shot Heard Round the World"

April 18, 1775 - Paul Revere warns the people of Lexington and Concord

"Liberty or Death!"

United We Stand

1773 - 1774 The Intolerable Acts

Social Studies: Chapter 4 Lesson 2

Watch the above episode of Liberty Kids.  This episode, "The Boston Tea Party" supports our lessons in social studies.  Leave your thoughts and comments in the comment box to prove that you watched the program.

Happily Every After..... Or Not?

Think about the main characters in the book.  Whose story ended "happily ever after" and whose ended sadly?  Please explain your answers.

Despereaux: Theme Song

Despereaux 15: Theme Song

OK, guys!  Time to find a theme song for each of the main characters.  I need ideas for Miggery, Roscuro, Botticelli, the Princess, and of course - Despereaux.  I chose the attached song for Despereaux.  It seemed fitting. What do you think?  You can reply with a character, song title, artist's name, and the reason for choosing that song.  If you really want to get crazy, you can try to attach the lyrics to your post.  That would be cool, too!  Song lyrics can be dangerous.  Keep it appropriate.

Despereaux - Miggery

Despereaux 10: Mig is Coming Over for Dinner!

Miggery Sow is coming for dinner.  Write a letter home to Mom or Dad and tell them about your friend you're bringing over for dinner.  Tell them what they should expect when Mig comes to your home.

Despereaux: September 23, 2016

Think about the three primary characters from the first three sections of the book:  Despereaux, Roscuro, and Miggery.  Describe what the three of them have in common.  Use details and examples from the story.

Tale of Despereuax: Perfidy

Can you find a similarity between Despereaux's brother, Furlough, and the man in this film named Benedict Arnold?

Number the Stars (Tour of Copenhagen with Rick Steves)

Number the Stars - Discussion Board

Dear Students,
 
     This page is a discussion board.  You may post your own questions and discussion topics here.  The questions and prompts have to be about Number the Stars and must remain appropriate.

Number the Stars (Chapters 13-14)

When Mrs. Johansen realizes what Annemarie found on the ground she says, "It may have all been for nothing."  What is so special about the packet?  What do you think is in it and why is it so important for Uncle Henrik to have?

Number the Stars (Chapters 11-12)

1. Do you agree or disagree with what Peter did to Rachel on pages 89 and 90?  Please explain your point of view clearly.

2.  What text to text comparison came to mind after reading chapters 11-12?

Number the Stars - The Rescuers

Click Here to visit "The Rescuers" site, including more on Duckwitz and Sugihara

After watching these videos you should have a good idea about how Number the Stars will end.  There was a very real problem with the escape method the Danes were using.  Some of the escaping Jews were caught on the boats by the Nazi soldiers.  Therefore, the people of the Danish Resistance had to develop a way to keep the Nazis from finding the refugees on the fishing boats.  What ideas do you have that would've helped the Jews escape detection on the fishing boats?

Number the Stars (Chapters 9-10)

1. Do you believe Uncle Henrik?  Do you think Annemarie was safer not knowing the truth? 

2. Do you think this general idea is true?  That children are safer not knowing the truth about the dangers that surround them?  One example would be when Mrs. Johansen didn't tell Kirsti the truth about the "fireworks" on the night of her birthday.  By misleading Kirsti to believe that the explosions from the Navy ships were actually fireworks for her birthday, Mrs. Johansen gave Kirsti the chance to fall asleep peacefully and not stress or worry about the truth of what was happening.

3. What examples from this story, or other stories/movies can you share that defend the idea that it is sometimes better for children to not know the truth of a dangerous situation.

The Oresund Bridge (Learning Extension)

Watch the video!  Interested in architecture and engineering?  Check out this megastructure that is now connecting the Danish and Swedish economies.  This incredible structure was completed in 1999 and opened to the public in 2000.

Something to think about regarding Number the Stars...

 If the bridge existed in 1943, would it have made rescuing Denmark's Jewish population any easier?  Think this through and defend your thoughts.

Number the Stars (Chapter 7)

What example of foreshadowing does the author use in chapter 7?  Describe the scene and tell us what the author is trying to tell us about the future of the story.

Number the Stars (Chapter 8)

Why is Annemarie upset about Great Aunt Birte?  Who or what do YOU think Great Aunt Birte is? 

Number the Stars (chapters 5-6)

Mr. Johansen calls Uncle Henrik in the middle of the night and asks him if the weather is good for fishing. I don't know about you, but it seems odd to call someone in the middle of the night, right after your home has been invaded by soldiers, to ask if the weather was good for fishing.  Was Mr. Johansen really wondering about the fishing conditions?  Or was there a different meaning behind his words?

Number the Stars (Chapters 5-6)

At the end of chapter 5, the author describes the Star of David being imprinted in Annemarie's palm.  What do you think the author is really telling the readers as she describes the impression of the star in Annemarie's palm?

Number the Stars (The Museum of Danish Resistance - The Ticket)

What connections can you make between this video and the story we're reading?

Number the Stars (Chapters 3-4) Kroner: Learning Extension

Mrs. Johansen gave Annemarie some Kroner to get a button from Mrs. Hirsch's Button Shop.  What is Kroner?  How does the Kroner compare to the American dollar on today's exchange?

Examine the currency of other nations around the world and tell us how they compare to our currency (American dollar)?

Chiune Sugihara

After reading Passage to Freedom and watching the video clip above, in what ways are Marcelle Solliage and Chiune Sugihara similar and different?  Use specific details from the stories to defend yourself.

Joseph 1861 - A Rumble of War

Read the following passage from the book.

The Confederate captain raised his hand and shouted, "Take her down, boys!"

Joseph swallowed hard.  He was not sure why he felt so sad.  The flag was only a piece of cloth, he tried to tell himself.  Yet it was all he could do to keep from rushing out and begging the soldiers not to destroy it.


Why do you think Joseph if feeling sad about the flag being taken down?  Is the flag just a piece of cloth?  Or is it something more?  Please explain clearly.

Joseph 1861 - A Rumble of War

On page 139, Clay told Joseph how he's been working for Dr. Mercer.  He informed Joseph that there have been a lot of fights in town, which has provided Dr. Mercer with quite a bit of work.  On one occasion, Dr. Mercer let Clay sew up a head wound.  Then Clay told Joseph that the wound occurred when two brothers were fighting each other over which side they would join - The Union or the Confederates.

Explain how the underlined phrase above might serve as a metaphor of the American Civil War.  Use evidence from the book to support your idea.

Harriet Tubman and the $20.00 bill

News regarding Harriet Tubman's place on the $20.00 bill

Harriet Tubman - Animated Biography

Use the comment box below to explain why Harriet Tubman belongs on the $20 bill.

The Wright Brothers

Please watch the film in its entirety.  Make a list of five key points you learned about the Wright Brothers and list them in the comment box below.

Garrett Morgan used gas mask invention to save lives

By Murphy Browne Thursday July 19 2012 in Opinion

COMMENTS 3904 VIEWS 

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At approximately 3:00 a.m. on July 25, 1916, African-American inventor, Garrett Augustus Morgan, made history when he used one of his inventions (gas mask) to save the lives of City of Cleveland workers trapped underground and exposed to toxic fumes. The disaster occurred because the Cleveland Water Works Department failed to observe safe working conditions for their employees.

At the time, an existing tunnel which had been built in 1856 in Lake Erie to deal with the city’s contaminated water supply, needed to be expanded. Cleveland’s city leaders had authorized the construction of the water tunnel to extend 300 feet into the lake where water would be pumped through the tunnel to a reservoir to supply safe drinking water. In 1914, a decision was made to extend the 1856 tunnel an additional 20,000 feet into the lake.

On the evening of July 24, 1916, night shift workers entered the work elevator which would carry them to a 10-foot wide pipe 120 feet below the surface of the lake. There had been problems with the air quality in the shaft on July 23 and work had been suspended because of the presence of highly explosive methane gas. Workers of the day shift on July 24 had stopped digging after only five hours because of the unsafe conditions. By the time the night shift went to work on July 24 it was believed that the gas had dissipated and that it was safe for them to continue working.

At 9:40 p.m. on July 24 there was an explosion and smoke billowed out of the tunnel. A rescue party was organized but they were overcome by gas fumes and within minutes they were unconscious. The next group of would be rescuers wrapped their heads in wet towels but were useless and had to leave because they were almost overcome by gas. After these unsuccessful rescue attempts the authorities contacted Garrett Morgan and requested that he take his invention (gas mask) to the scene of the explosion to rescue the workers and the would be rescuers. Morgan contacted his brother Frank and they gathered the equipment they needed.

Garrett and Frank Morgan were taken to the scene of the explosion on the tug “George A. Wallace”. They were accompanied by fire fighters and the city’s mayor, Harry L. Davis. When they arrived at the scene of the disaster, Morgan and his brother went down the dark contaminated tunnel (more than 200 feet) wearing their safety masks and made several trips rescuing more than 20 people and retrieving the bodies of those who had perished in the explosion.

In spite of his heroic efforts which saved the lives of many, he was identified by name in only one newspaper article: “G. A. Morgan was in charge of a party from the National Safety Device Co., 5204 Harlem Avenue, S.E.” The other newspapers named two White men as the heroes of the rescue effort. Thomas J. Clancy and Thomas Castleberry were recognized as “heroes” and received medals and $500 in reward by the Carnegie Commission. Mayor Davis, who had traveled with Morgan and his brother on the tug “George A. Wallace” to the site of the explosion and had witnessed the Morgans’ brave rescue of several men, refused to recommend Morgan for the Carnegie Commission’s medal and award.

In October, 1917, Morgan wrote a letter to Mayor Davis demanding an explanation. The letter reads in part: “I am interested in knowing why it was that you and your Director of Law, Mr. Fitzgerald, would not permit me to testify at the investigation of the disaster; when you knew and was an eyewitness to the fact that I positively lead the first successful rescue party that entered the tunnel and came out alive, bringing with me dead and alive bodies, among them Supt. Van Dusen. Why was it you remained silent and allowed awards [to be given] to men who either followed me into the tunnel, or if they went in at all, went in after my return in your presence with dead and alive bodies, when I returned you congratulated me and told me you would see that I was treated fairly and would be commended for my bravery. You also knew that the police, firemen and lifesavers had worked nearly all night without success and that they looked upon my effort as a last hope of saving persons imprisoned in the tunnel. The treatment accorded me in the particulars set out above is much as to make me and the members of my race to feel that you did not give a colored man a square deal.”

In spite of all the eyewitnesses to the part that the Morgan brothers played during the Waterworks disaster, their role was negated because of racism and White supremacy. Although Morgan was treated unfairly by the city he did receive recognition and awards from other organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP.)

Morgan was born in Paris, Kentucky on March 4, 1877 the 7th of 11 children of Sydney and Elizabeth (Reed) Morgan, a couple who had been enslaved until the American Emancipation proclamation in 1865. Morgan began his working life when he left his home in Kentucky as a teenager and moved to Ohio. Although he only had a sixth grade education, he was determined to improve his life through education. He taught himself to repair sewing machines and worked with a number of companies before opening his own business specializing in sewing machine sales and repair in 1907. He used some of the money he made to hire a tutor to improve his education.

In 1913, Morgan applied for a patent of a “gas safety hood”. When the patent was granted in 1914, he established the National Safety Device Company. By 1915, Morgan had been awarded a government contract to supply safety hoods to U.S. naval vessels.

Morgan’s invention, which was used during the rescue operations at the Water Works disaster scene on July 25, 1916, was also used by American military during the First World War and is the prototype of the gas masks used by firefighters today.

Morgan also invented the first stoplight to use a caution signal between red and green lights. In 1923, he sold his patent to the General Electric Company for $40,000. A few months later, several traffic lights based on Morgan’s invention were installed along Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland. None of the newspaper articles written about this amazing invention being used to save lives even mentioned Morgan. In 1923, a refined model of his gas mask won a gold medal at the International Exposition of Sanitation and Safety and another gold medal from the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

In the comment box below, please write a response to the article.  Respond to at least one of these prompts.

*Did it remind you of other stories we read this year?  If so, which one?  

*What did you learn about race in the year 1916?

*Do you think Garrett Morgan was treated fairly by the city of Cleveland?  Please explain.

*How did Garrett Morgan's invention help save human lives?