Let Finals Begin!

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Finals begin on Wednesday and end on Friday.  After your last final exam on Friday you are free to enjoy your Winter Vacation!

Just a reminder that there is no homework for our class during finals or over the winter break.  There are no more assignments due for the year 2014, I look forward to seeing you all again at the start of next semester!

Remember to rest and relax over the break!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

December 15

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we reviewed how to answer Short Answer Questions, which we will be doing tomorrow for Part 1 of your Final Exam. 

the Short Answer Questions will cover Units 2-5 of this semester and are broken down as such:
Question 1 - Unit 2 1607-1754
Question 2 - Unit 3 1754-1800
Question 3 - Unit 4 1780-1848
Question 4 - Unit 5 1848-1877

Good luck this week on your Finals, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

December 11

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class I passed out the PSAT scores and Warm-Up notebooks.  After those items were passed out we watched a documentary on Andrew Carnegie.

Don't forget that next week are final exams!  On Monday we will be reviewing the Study Guide and Final Exam expectations.  On Tuesday we will be taking the Short Answer portion of the Final Exam and then you will do the Multiple Choice portion on the day of your scheduled Final.

Take care and rest easy ladies and gentlemen!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

December 9

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we took our Chapter 17 Quiz and the watched two more scenes from Dances with Wolves.  This was your last quiz for the semester!  Woohoo!  We will not have another quiz until January!  However, don't forget about Finals next week!  We will have the Short Answer portion of the Final Exam on Tuesday and then the Multiple Choice portion on the actual day scheduled for Final Exams.

Don't forget that the last day to turn in the Extra Credit assignment is Thursday!  If you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity you must have turned it in by the time I leave school on Thursday afternoon, otherwise I will not accept it.

I hop you are all doing very well ladies and gentlemen!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

Final Exam Study Guide

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Here is the Final Study Guide to assist you in studying for the Final next week.  Remember that this is a rough guide with lots of information that MAY appear on the test.

Hope y'all are doing well!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

December 8

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we watched some selected scenes from Dances with Wolves and passed back several assignments from the last units.  You should have received your unit 4 in class & outside essays as well as your unit 5 packet.  If you did not receive it, that means I never received it and it will be a missing grade in the gradebook.

Two important things to remember:

1. Chapter 17 Quiz tomorrow, December 9.  (Last quiz of the semester woohoo!)  Don't forget your Chapter 17 Notes!
2. The Outside Reading Extra Credit Assignment is due Thursday (I will not accept it after that day)

Take care ladies and gentlemen!  I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

December 2

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we took our Unit 5 Exam (a DBQ).  This is the last full essay you will be writing this semester.  After we finished the exam we discussed the Final and some of the things to look forward to next semester, as well as the rough schedule of units we will complete before the AP test on May 8.

We have our Chapter 16 Quiz on Thursday and our Chapter 17 Quiz next Tuesday!

I hope you are all doing well ladies and gentlemen, stay dry today!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

PS - I guess the master list of Outside essay prompts disappeared from the drive so i reloaded it here Outside Essay prompts Master List

December 1

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we discussed the DBQ that you will be writing tomorrow.  For the DBQ you will have 10 minutes of open planning time before you actually begin writing.  Once that 10 minutes is up, you will need to pack everything away and then you will have 45 minutes to write the DBQ.  Each class will receive a different DBQ topic, either expansionism, slavery, Civil War, or Reconstruction.

After we finished discussing the DBQ for tomorrow we worked on the Reconstruction DBQ activity to prep the planning portion of the DBQ.

Chapter 16 Quiz on Thursday, December 4.
Chapter 17 Quiz on Tuesday, December 9.

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow ladies and gentlemen!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

November 25

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we took our Chapter 15 Quiz and discussed briefly Reconstruction.  After the Quiz we went over some tips and strategies for how to write a Document Based Question (DBQ) essay.  There was a lot of information and we will be practicing some of these skills tomorrow in class, using a DBQ on Reconstruction.

I hope that you are all doing well and getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

How to Write a DBQ Notes

Outside Essay Resource

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I wanted to offer you this document that provides some insight in how to structure an argumentative essay.  Argumentative Essay Template.

Hope this helps!  Don't forget to keep on writing and use that Willpower to avoid procrastination!

Have a good weekend ladies and gentlemen!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

November 20

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we took our Chapter 14 Quiz and watched a film covering Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. 

Have a great weekend!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

November 18

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we discussed the major events of the Civil War as well as the major factors that led to the North's victory.  We also watched a clip of the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1862.

Don't forget we have our Chapter 14 Quiz on Thursday, we will also be watching a clip of Pickett's charge on the third day of Gettysburg.  Time permitting, we will begin talking about Reconstruction.

Hope you are all well ladies and gentlemen.

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

November 17

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we passed back our unit 4 packets and continued our discussions of the events that led to the Civil War.  We will wrap this up and begin talking about the Civil War on Tuesday!

We are nearing the end ladies and gentlemen.  Be sure to review your grades in ALL your classes and if you have any issues discuss them with your teachers.

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

November 13

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we briefly discussed Chapter 13 with our warm-up and then we took our Chapter 13 quiz.  After the quiz we began our lecture on the Expansionist policies of the U.S. in the 1840s.  We will continue this lecture when we return on Monday. 

I also talked about the Extra Credit opportunity for the semester.  If you are interested, check out the blog post below and let me know.

Always wonderful to see you all ladies and gentlemen!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

Extra Credit Reading Assignment

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

So I am offering this one big extra credit assignment for the first semester.  For this assignment you must choose a history book from the list provided (or, if you like, you may choose a book not on the list; BUT you MUST have it approved by me before submitting your assignment!).  You must read 100 pages from the book you chose and complete the worksheet provided.  For the worksheet be sure to follow all directions and answer the prompts completely.

You may do TWO of these assignments.  HOWEVER the points possible will diminish for the second assignment.  Also (if you do more than one) you must choose two different books to read.  It breaks down like this:

1st Extra Credit Outside Reading Assignment = 25 points
2nd Extra Credit Outside Reading Assignment = 15 points

Outside Reading Book List

Outside Reading Form

If you are interested in this extra credit opportunity let me know.

Live long and prosper!

Mr. Marchetti

November 10

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we had a short discussion on the concept of Manifest Destiny and then we worked on two worksheets regarding the early formulations of the ideology.  We will be reviewing both worksheets on Thursday before we move on to discussing the Mexican-American War and the "fulfillment" of Manifest Destiny.  Don't forget that we have our Chapter 13 Quiz on Thursday as well.

Enjoy your Veteran's Day holiday tomorrow!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

November 6

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today we reviewed Unit 4 before taking our Unit 4 test.  After the Unit 4 test we discussed the start of Unit 5, which will be the last major unit of the semester, and also my favorite unit because it includes the Civil War!

Make sure to keep up with your readings and notes.  Have a great weekend ladies and gentlemen!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

Quick Essay Help

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Just wanted to let you know I posted a handout that has sentence frames to help you with writing analysis and explanatory sentences in your essays.  Check it out if you like, some of you have expressed interest in something like this to me.

Here is the link:
Analysis Sentence Frames

Hope this helps those of you interested!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

November 4

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we reviewed the Andrew Jackson document activity, while also discussing the DBQ, which we will be doing next unit.  After that we discussed the institution of slavery in the antebellum south and the early abolitionist movements.  After we had finished our review and discussion we then looked at the possible essay prompts for Thursday.

Remember ladies and gentlemen that Thursday is our Unit 4 test and all the items I normally collect on that day are due! 

I hope that you are all doing well and look forward to seeing you again soon. 

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

November 3

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we briefly discussed the institution of slavery in antebellum (pre-Civil War) South and then we took our Chapter 12 quiz.

Tomorrow we will be quickly reviewing the Andrew Jackson document activity and then discussing the institution and spread of slavery in America.  Don't forget that we have our unit test on Thursday and all the associated items are due then as well.

I hope that you are all doing well ladies and gentlemen.  Always great to see you!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

October 30

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we took our Chapter 11 quiz and afterward passed back your outside essays and briefly reviewed the common items that you need to work on in order to improve.  Primarily you all did much better with the basic formatting elements.  I posted in the resources a Chicago style example paper (My Master's Research Paper) for those of you still having trouble and want to have a visual example of how to format everything.

After the quiz and essay review we worked on analyzing documents about Andrew Jackson.  This activity is designed to practice document analysis for when we begin writing DBQs, which will be next unit.  I won't see you all again until Monday, when we will have our Chapter 12 quiz.

Have a happy Halloween all of you who will be celebrating!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

October 28

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we finished our mock Senate Activity and debated issues of sectionalism.  After we finished our mock Senate Activity we had a short lecture on Andrew Jackson's presidency.  When we return on Thursday we will have our Chapter 11 quiz. 

After the quiz on Thursday we will be taking a look at documents relating to Andrew Jackson's presidency.

I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday.

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

October 27

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

So my kind heart has won out and I will be moving the Chapter 11 quiz from tomorrow to Thursday and the Chapter 12 quiz from Thursday to Monday.  This means that the unit exam will be moved as well, most likely to Thursday, November 6.  Make sure you spread the word!

Today in class, because of the shorter Monday schedule, we only had enough time to discuss the warm-up and take the chapter 10 quiz.  Do not neglect the outside essay and vocabulary for this unit ladies and gentlemen.  I am giving you a bit more time to work on them and should have your essays from last unit back to you by Thursday. 

Keep on chugging along ladies and gentlemen.  It will be tough, but all will be well.

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

October 23

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we discussed the market revolution for our warm-up.  We then took our chapter 9 quiz.  After we finished reviewing the quiz answers I collected your political cartoon activities and then we began an in class simulation.

For our simulation you were split into three groups, representing 3 regions of the U.S. in the early 19th century.  You will be debating and voting on bills in a mock senate tomorrow in class.  Remember that tomorrow is a rally schedule!

The chapter 10 quiz will be moved to Monday to accomadate our simulation and the rally schedule.

It was great seeing you all today!  I missed you this past Tuesday.  I hope that you are all doing well.

Enjoy homecoming!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

October 21 & October 23

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I missed you all yesterday (the 21st).  I hope that you were able to complete your political cartoons with the class time available to you.  I will be collecting those on Thursday when next I see you.  We will also briefly talk about the different reform movements of the era. 

Don't forget that tomorrow we have a chapter 9 quiz and then we will be participating in a mock senate activity/simulation in class.  I really enjoy doing experiential activities so come prepared to practice your debate and compromise skills!

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow (23rd). 

Live long and prosper,
Mr. Marchetti

October 16

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we discussed the idea of republican values/virtues in early 19th century America and how it changed the way the family, society, religion, and economics of the time period.  We also took the Chapter 8 quiz and the completed our Notes on the Presidency of Monroe and the era of good feelings.  We also took a look at a creative activity where you will be choosing a reform movement from the early 19th century and creating a "pamphlet" advertisement for your movement.  You will get time to work on this activity next week when I am away at my training.

Couple of reminders for next week ladies and gentlemen (it is homecoming week and so we are on a rally schedule):

Monday next week will be a Friday schedule (and Friday will be a Monday schedule), also I will be out for yet another training on Tuesday the 21st.  Here are the schedule changes for the upcoming week.

Tuesday October 21 - I will be absent, you will have time to work on the Pamphlet activity.
Thursday October 23 - Chapter 9 quiz & sectionalism discussion/activity.
Friday October 24 - Chapter 10 quiz (recommend you not leave the chapter 10 notes to the night before or you will have a lot of work to do Thursday night!)

I hate that I must miss you on Tuesday, I would always rather be in class with you all ladies and gentlemen.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

October 14

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we took our Chapter 7 quiz.  We then discussed the beginning of Unit 4, and began our 4th lecture on the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison.  Tomorrow (Thursday) we will take another quiz (Chapter 8), finish talking about Jefferson & Madison, and then begin an activity looking at the social movements of the early 19th century.

This unit is a tough one!  Keep on moving ladies and gentlemen, all will be well!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

October 13

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class you turned in your Unit Packet (including the vocabulary) and your outside unit 3 essay.  You also wrote your in class essay for your unit 3 test!  Whew!  Lots going on here lately.

Don't forget that tomorrow is your Chapter 7 Quiz, and if you did not pick up a unit 4 assignment sheet in class today, make sure to check it out on the class resource page.  Unit 4 is pretty heavy duty so we got lots of work to do!

Hope you all feel good about your essays.  Have a great day!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

Unit 4 and stuff

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Just wanted to remind you all that the unit 3 test is on Monday (tomorrow).  I will be collecting your unit pack, unit vocabulary, and unit 3 essay before we begin the exam. 

Also I uploaded the unit 4 assignment sheet on the class drive page.  I suggest checking it out as this is a pretty hefty unit and you want to make sure you are prepared!  Don't forget that we have our Chapter 7 quiz on Tuesday as well.

I hope that you are all having a good weekend!  I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

October 7

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I hope that all of you are doing well this evening.  Last time we met we investigated the United States Constitution and your group should have discussed the differences between the US government under the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.

When we meet tomorrow we will begin by discussing these differences.  After that we will talk about the first years of the United States under the Constitution and the establishment of political parties.  I will also be giving you the potential Unit 3 essay prompts.

Don't forget that our Unit 3 Essay Test will be on Monday, and also the Unit 3 vocabulary and outside essay are due that day as well.

Hope you are all doing well!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

October 6

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class I returned your unit 2 essays and we discussed some of the areas of growth moving forward with your essays that are due for unit 3.  I have shared today's PPT on the class drive page so you can review if you like.  If you have any questions specific to your essay please feel free to come and talk with me during tutorial. 

Tomorrow we will be completing the Articles of Confederation & Constitution group activity.  Make sure you come ready to work!

It was nice seeing you all today after the long break!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

PS - The Unit 3 Test (and all the work that is due that day) is moved to Monday, October 13.

September 25

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class you worked with small groups to analyze the Articles of Confederation.  You first read and summarized each of the Articles, and then your groups were each assigned a different state to represent their point of view.  From your state's point of view you then analyzed the Articles and determined whether your state would have had a favorable or unfavorable perspective on our first form of government.

I won't see you all again until after the week off!  I hope that you all take advantage of your time and rest up as much as you can.  Don't forget that your Unit vocabulary and Unit essay are due on Thursday October 9. 

Take care ladies and gentlemen, I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

Europe Trip Information

International travel is one way to truly bring your student’s classroom to life, offer them a better understanding of the world, enable them to build self-confidence and develop 21st Century skills. This program is an educational tour to London, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona in April 2015.  Students can even earn high school and college credit on this tour! There is limited space with only 21 remaining spots available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

There will be a parent information and registration meeting on Thursday, September 25, 2014 in room K-8 to answer all of your questions. If you are interested in participating in this program the deadline to enroll at the current price is September 30, 2014.  You can lock in the lowest price and reserve your spot by registering online at the meeting with only $95 towards your tour so please plan to bring a form of payment with you when you attend.   Those individuals who sign up the evening of the meeting will receive an additional discount on their tour price.  During the meeting we will also discuss fundraising opportunities activities we will be doing.

September 23

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we took our chapter 6 quiz (the chapter 7 quiz will not be until October 13 at the earliest, check the Unit 4 Assignment sheet when it is released).  After that we finished reading and discussing the Declaration of Independence.  Some classes were able to start the Articles of Confederation activity today as well!

On Thursday we will jump right in to examining the Articles of Confederation in groups and discussing/debating the appropriate solutions to the myriad problems in the AOC.  Don't forget that the Unit vocabulary and essay are both due on October 9.

I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday!


Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

September 22

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we finished up talking about the American Revolution and began reading the Declaration of Independence and analyzing the text.  Tomorrow in class, don't forget that we have our Chapter 6 Quiz.  After that we will be finishing our look at the Declaration of Independence and will begin talking about the Articles of Confederation and the first steps towards creating a new government.

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

September 18

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we took our chapter 5 quiz.  After the chapter 5 quiz we finished our discussion of the events leading up to the American Revolution and began to examine the first half of the war itself.  When we return from the weekend, we will finish discussing the Revolution and read the Declaration of Independence and complete an activity with it.  We will be taking a look at the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution next week also!

The chapter 6 quiz is on Tuesday of next week, don't forget!

Have a great weekend ladies and gentlemen!  I look forward to seeing you all again soon!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

September 16

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we took our Chapter 4 quiz and continued our Lecture on the Road to the Revolution.  We also discussed some of the issues that I have noticed while grading your essays.  Remember to review the rubric closely before we write our next essay at the end of the unit. 

Yesterday I was not with you.  You should have read the Albany Plan of Union document and completed a SOAPStone analysis and then answered summary questions on a separate piece of paper.  make sure you finish this activity and include it in your next unit packet.

Remember that we have our Chapter 5 quiz on Thursday!  I will be collecting the Chapter 5 notes and we will be finishing Lecture #2 and working on an activity about the American Revolution.

I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

September 11

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we wrote our first in-class essay.  I also collected your unit packet and outside essay.  Lot of stuff!

After we finished our essay we began Unit 3 and started our second lecture on the road to the revolution.

I will be out for yet another training on Monday September 15, you will be working on a document activity in class and we have our chapter 4 quiz on Tuesday, we will also continue our lecture on Tuesday.

I will miss you all!  Have a great weekend!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

September 9

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we reviewed the details of your outside essay, which is due on Thursday.  I reviewed how to insert footnotes and properly number your pages.  After that we had our essay writing workshop.  We discussed how to identify the task the prompt is asking you to accomplish, and practiced doing so with the sample essay prompts that were provided.  We then worked on how to write a thesis and practiced that.  Finally we discussed how to structure your essay and integrate historical evidence to support your thesis.

Remember that we have our Unit 2 Test on Thursday, it will be one in class essay.  You will get to choose from two prompts to write.  I will also be collecting your unit packet, unit vocabulary, and outside essay in class before we take the test on Thursday.  After the test we will start talking about Unit 3!

Looking forward to seeing you all again.

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

September 8

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today in class we had a short day together.  We took the chapter 3 quiz and most of you did very well.  After we finished the quiz, we discussed your outside essay, which is due on Thursday.  Tomorrow in class we will continue discussing essay writing and work specifically on thesis writing and organizing our writing.

Look forward to seeing tomorrow.

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

Outside Essay Stuff

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

So I just wanted to post up a few things about the outside essay.  First, they are due on Thursday, September 11, 2014, the day of the Unit 2 Test.  This essay must follow these guidelines as a base:

• 5 paragraphs
• Introduction, 3 body paragraphs, & conclusion
• Thesis that directly answers the prompt (in the introduction)
• Correctly use, analyze, and cite evidence
• Must include a minimum of 5 citations following the Chicago/Turabian style
• Use the APUSH Turabian Cheat Sheet to assist you in correct citations
• Only one source may be from your textbook (America's History)
• Formatted according to the Chicago/Turabian Style
• Include a Title Page
• Double Spaced
• Times New Roman with 1" margins
• Include Page Numbers - begin numbering on the first page of text, not title page
• Use the APUSH Tips for a Superior Essay to assist you in correct formatting and avoiding common errors

Remember that you must write one essay on each APUSH theme this year (7 total).  Use the APUSH Theme Essay Master Sheet as a tool to record which themes you have written over the course of the year. (Remember that if you accidentally write about the same theme twice you will not receive credit!)  Don't forget to review future essays here, APUSH Theme Essays, to make sure that you are planning to write on the theme you feel most comfortable with each unit.

Finally here is a useful website to use to help you begin finding outside research sources: JSTOR at Leland or if you are accessing from home JSTOR at home (if you access JSTOR off Leland's campus it will ask for your SJUSD login info, your username should be your s + your student ID #, and your password should be your six digit birthday)

For help with your citations try out these two websites:

• Citation Machine 
• Bibme 

Remember that your citations must be footnoted within your text, as well as cited in a bibliography at the end.

Hope this resource post helps you out.  Let me know if there is anything else that you need!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti 

P.S. - Mrs. Paulazzo's support students Tuesday/Thursday group stop by her room tomorrow at lunch to talk about the outside essay. 

Update on Unit 2 Test

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

As you all know I will, unfortunately, not be with you again tomorrow.  Please be sure to bring your document analysis activity as you will be finishing it in class tomorrow.  You will need to write your practice essay in 30 minutes and then have a partner peer edit it for you.  Do all of this work in your composition book as I will be looking for it when I collect them. 

After you finish the document analysis activity in class you will have time to work on either your unit essay or unit vocabulary.  Please bring any materials that would assist you in working on these assignments.

I have also decided to move your Unit 2 test to Thursday, September 11.  We will discuss the test in detail when I return on Monday.  This means that your unit essay and vocabulary are also due on the 11th. 

If you need a spot in tutorial for specific questions or help don't forget to email me ahead of time to reserve your space!

I look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

September 2

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I missed you all today!  I hope that you were able to be productive in my absence with the substitute teacher.  Today in class you should have worked on a document analysis activity where you worked in groups of three and each group member read and annotated one of a set of documents.  You should have read, annotated, and then completed a SOAPStone worksheet for your document set in the group.  If there was time enough in class today you should have also shared your information with your group members and prepared to write a practice essay in your composition books. 

I will unfortunately also be out on Thursday and depending on how much you were able to accomplish today you will be writing a practice essay and then peer editing them. 

If you need specific help from me in tutorial tomorrow please email me and I will save a spot in my room for you.  Otherwise I will see those of you who come by tomorrow.  Take care everyone!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

Reminder about Tomorrow

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Just a reminder that I will not be in class tomorrow.  I recommend that you bring your textbook to class as the warm-up will require you to use it and you may use it for context while working on the document analysis activity that you will be working on in class.  I will miss you all while I am at my training tomorrow.  Hope you all have a great day!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

August 29

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

It was wonderful seeing you all today!  Today we had a rally schedule and so we had a short period together only.  In class today we finished the "headings and highlights" activity and briefly discussed the unit essay.  There is no homework over the weekend other than keeping up with the readings for chapter 3.

Unfortunately I will not be seeing you next week as I have a District mandated training on both Tuesday and Thursday.  You will be working on essay writing with the substitute and your peers.

I will miss you all next week!  Don't forget that if you need anything I will be available during tutorial.  If you cant see me then and you have questions please email me.

Take care ladies and gentlemen,
Live long and prosper,
Mr. Marchetti

August 28

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today we took our Chapter 2 quiz and most students improved their scores from the first quiz we took.  After that we finished our lecture from Tuesday, about the Puritans and Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Once we finished our lecture we continued working on the "headings and highlights" activity that we began at the end of the period on Tuesday.

Tomorrow is a rally schedule and we will have short periods together where we will finish the "Headings and highlights" activity and then briefly discussed the unit essay.

I will see you all tomorrow for the rally schedule!

Live long and prosper,
Mr. Marchetti

August 26

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

It was great seeing you all in class today!  After a brief warm-up where we talked about indentured servitude we had our first lecture today!  We discussed the origins of the Jamestown and Virginia colonies.  After our lecture we began a reading activity where you were supposed to read two paragraphs and write a short summary heading of each one.  Your heading should have been five words or less! 

On Thursday we will begin with a chapter 2 quiz (your notes for chapter 2 are due Thursday as well).  After that we will continue our lecture, where we will discuss the Puritans and Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Then we will continue our reading activity. 

If you are interested I will be going over some multiple choice strategies tomorrow (Wednesday, August 27) during tutorial period.  Remember that there are only 35 seats available in my room during tutorial. 

I look forward to seeing you all soon!
Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

Update about tomorrow August 25!

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I know that tomorrow is not "our" day together but I wanted to remind you that I will not be on campus, I will be at the District Office attending a training.  If you need me or have any questions for me please email me. 

Also just wanted to let you know about an update from the administration regarding the Tutorial period for tomorrow.  You will be remaining in your 2nd period class (as we have been doing this past week) and we will be trying out the "Open" tutorial period starting on Tuesday.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!
Live long and prosper,
Mr. Marchetti

August 21

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Today we finished discussing and practicing how to do short answer questions on the AP test and then we took our first Unit Assessment, which included two short answer questions.  Most of you seemed to feel pretty confident afterward and did not think it was as hard as you had originally.  Afterward, we discussed Unit 2 and went over the details of the unit 2 essay that is due on September 9.

As always I enjoyed working with you all today and I look forward to seeing you again on Tuesday, August 26 (remember that Monday and Friday of next week are flipped, and that I will be at a district training on Monday, August 25, so I will be unavailable to answer any questions).  If you need anything before class on Tuesday be sure to email me!

Enjoy your weekend!
Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

August 19

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today in class we discussed the development of African slavery as a warm-up.  After which we took our first chapter quiz!  Most of you did very well but there are definitely some areas we need to work on for our chapter 2 quiz.  We finished the day by discussing the AP short answer questions and reviewing tips and strategies for answering them.

We will continue preparing for the short answer questions at the beginning of class on Thursday and then I will be collecting your Unit packets.  After that we will take our Unit 1 Assessment, which will be composed of 2 short answer questions in 25 minutes.

As always it was lovely seeing you all in class today and I look forward to seeing you again!
Live long and prosper,
Mr. Marchetti

August 18

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

I had a fun time with you all today!  In class we had a solid discussion about the European expansion and empire building, especially as it regards the colonization of the Americas.

After we finished our discussion we reviewed Cornell notes and discussed the Chapter 1 quiz that will be first thing tomorrow.  Don't forget to finish the Chapter 1 Reading notes that will be collected tomorrow prior to the chapter quiz.

I enjoyed seeing you and working with you all today and am excited to see you again tomorrow!

Mr. Marchetti

1st Day of Block!

Hello all!

It was great seeing you all today and I hope that you enjoyed it!
Today in class we figured out who our clock partners are, and we discussed the article Why Study History? by Peter Stearns, you all had some really interesting ideas and insights into why we are studying history.

After a short break, we discussed our first unit for the year and then went over how to do Cornell notes.

By Monday you should complete Cornell notes for pages 6-22.  Please bring your notes and textbook to class on Monday.  On Monday we will review your Cornell Notes and we will be having a short lecture on Native Americans & the European Conquest.

I'm really excited to work with you all this year.  Enjoy your weekend!

Live long and prosper,

Mr. Marchetti

1st Day of School

Welcome all!

I hope that you are ready to explore the deep history of the United States!  Please explore the blog briefly as it will be used to provide updates on what we did in class; as well as provide access to documents necessary to complete assignments.

Today we went over the Green Sheet and the expectations for this class.  Please review the Green Sheet and return a completed AP/ACC contract to me when we meet on Thursday, August 14.

Please read and take notes on the handout "Why Study History?" by Peter Stearns that can be found on the Resources page of this blog, under Google Drive.  Come to class ready to discuss this article on Thursday!

Sign up for Remind.com following the instructions on the previous blog post.

I truly hope that you are all ready and excited to work together this year!

Live Long and Prosper,
Mr. Marchetti

Remind.com

Remind.com is a free messaging service where teachers can safely text reminders to students and their families. All telephone numbers remain secured.

I can send group messages but you cannot reply to these messages.

I will periodically send out reminders via text/email. Please click on the appropriate link to sign up. (Standard texting fees apply). 

Remind.com Instructions

Who am I?

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I want to welcome you all to my classroom.  I just wanted to share a little bit about myself.  This will be my sixth year at Leland High School and my seventh year teaching overall.  I am also a coach on the Varsity Football team here at Leland and hope that you all make it out to a game or two this year.  I am an avid lover of history and hope to share this passion with all of you in class this year.

I decided to become a teacher in seventh grade.  I considered that since I wanted to major in history I needed to find a good job where I could engage in historical discussions daily, so teaching was the first thing that came to mind!  I graduated from Notre Dame de Namur University in 2007 with a triple major in History, Political Science, & Religious Studies.  I completed my teaching credential in 2008 and jumped right into teaching at a middle school in Daly City for a year, and then came to Leland in 2009. 

I have a wide variety of interests that complement my love of history as many of you will learn over the course of the year.  I am a big sports fan, rooting for my favorite teams, which are: The Colts, 49ers, SF Giants, A's, Sharks, & Warriors.  I love science fiction!  My favorite shows/series/books are Star Trek, Star Wars & Battlestar Galactica.  I am also a big comic book fan!  I read a wide variety of comic books but some of my favorites include the Flash, Spider-Man, & Batman.  I am always excited to meet new people and discuss new things so if you share an interest or would like to share an interest with me feel free!

I look forward to working with you all this year!  See you in class!

Live Long and Prosper,

Mr. Marchetti