Western Studies
Ms. Portman

Homework Assignments
On your chapter handouts there are a series of questions for each section. After you read the assigned section, you need to:

1. answer the question(s) for that section in note form and be prepared to do discuss the issues raised in your answers, and/or complete a reading quiz.

2. write one question of your own about the reading and answer it. I will often ask students to share their question with the class, so make sure that it is substantive.

Making Connections Presentations
For almost every chapter, two students will need to volunteer to research and present information on a contemporary issue that is related to the events and ideas we are learning about in that chapter. Everyone will eventually have to do a presentation, so don't think that if you don't volunteer, you will never have to do it!

When you volunteer to work on a "making connections" presentation, you must do the following:

1. Read your designated section of the chapter and make a list of the major events and ideas that are discussed.

2. Go to Menlo School's library homepage (http://library.menloschool.org/) and click on either Infotrac or Lexis-Nexis. Enter the subject that you want to research and both of these databases will give you contemporary magazine, newspaper, and journal articles on your requested subject. Search through the articles and find one that you think makes the best connection between our chapter and a contemporary issue. The article needs to have been written in the past year.

3. After selecting your article and reading it, you must write a one to two-page paper divided into two parts. In the first part, you should summarize the article. In second part, you need to make the connection between this article and the history that we are studying. What do they have to do with each other? Staple the article to your essay and include a bibliography.

4. Besides writing the short paper, you will present your finding to the class. Follow the same format as the paper you wrote-summarize the article (you may want to make copies for the class) and make the connections between the article and the history that we are studying. Students will be evaluating your presentation, so make sure that you have practiced and know what you are going to say before you begin your presentation. The presentation should be no longer than 10 minutes.

5. If you are having a hard time getting started, please come by and see me for help.

Grade Breakdown

15 Points Written Report	Is your report coherent? Did you summarize and make connections?
15 Points Presentation	Did you speak clearly and loudly? Did you know what you were saying? Could the class follow you?

What the rest of the class has to do:

1. Take notes on the presentation and ask questions if you didn't understand something.

2. After each presentation, you will be responsible for evaluating how well the presenter researched and explained connection between the past and present. Did it make sense? Was it in his/her own words? Did you learn something new? Both the presenter and I will read your evaluations. If you have criticisms, make them constructive so that the presenter will know what to do better next time. If you think the presenter did a good job, don't be afraid to tell him/her!