February 23, 2011

Haley's Lino

Harrison's Lino

Katie's Lino

lino by zac

my lino, enjoy

lino

Joshua's Lino

These are some of my ideas for my history paper, which you can find on a Lino that you can access if you click HERE.

Danielle's Lino

George's Lino

Below is my Lino.

Dongjae's Limo

Emily's Lino :)

Evan's Lino


This is my lino.

Lauren's Lino

Lauren's Canvas

Here is my Lino! :)

Matt's Lino

My History Research Paper

Victoria's Lino

http://linoit.com/users/Victorialevinee/canvases/Stretching%20ideas

Max's Lino

Here is My lino!





Hannah's Lino

Jake's Lino

Here is my Lino:


Gonzalez Lino

Gonzalez Canvas

The Research Paper Day 2: Stretching Our Thinking About Our Topics

You did a fantastic job brainstorming ideas for your research paper using Lino.  I hope you enjoyed learning this new application!  Today I want you to think more critically about each of your potential ideas.  We're going to use Lino again so that you get some more practice!

  1. Login to Lino
  2. Click Create a new canvas from your dashboard.  Give it a name and select a background.
  3. Under Access to Canvas (publicity), please select Everyone may post stickies before clicking the Create a canvas button.
  4. Toggle back to the 8-1 Smarties group canvas.
  5. Find your stickies and copy them onto your personal canvas.
  6. Toggle back to your personal canvas.
  7. Expand upon each of your four stickies to stretch your thinking.  The following questions may help guide your thinking, but you are not limited to them:
    • what would be cool/fun/exciting about researching this topic?
    • what would be challenging about researching this topic?
    • who might be able to help me with this topic?
    • what do I already know about this topic?
    • what questions do I already have about this topic?
    • why is this topic important or meaningful to me?
    • where might I look for information about this topic?
    • are there any YA historical fiction books that relate to this topic?
Feel free to Google your topics, upload pictures and/or videos and/or links to your Lino canvas.  This brainstorm session is for you!  I want to see your thinking about each of your potential topics!

    8.  Create a blog post on this site with a link to and/or embed code for your canvas.

Your homework, due MONDAY, is to post a comment sticky on at least 3 of your classmates' personal Linos.  Your comments should be helpful and positive.

February 22, 2011

The Research Paper Overview

The Research Paper Overview Handout I gave you on day 1!

The Research Paper Day 1: Brainstorm

Today is the very first day of our unit, "THE Research Paper." I know, I know, you're as excited as I am. AND to help us with our brainstorming, we're going to learn a new web tool called Lino. Woohoo! Click the link below to go to our group canvas. Be sure to write a sticky for each question AND to read stickies from your classmates!




February 16, 2011

Dongjae and Zac's bombing response

We think that bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary in ending the war quickly. It had some very devastating effects. When the US bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima with the atomic bomb they were planning to end the war quickly through any means necessary. They were fully aware of the devastating and harmful effects of the atomic bomb. Even when the Japanese were fully aware of the threat of an atomic bomb being dropped on their government bases they did not surrender. This lead to the destruction of two great Japanese cities, thousands of lives lost and even were injured. The devastating effect of the atomic bomb’s radiation are still harming people to this day.


We think that it is alright morally to kill someone to save several other lives. This bombing is a perfect example of this answer. The war could have killed several thousand more lives than the bombing at the cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This would have also killed more American men, which the American’s did not want to happen especially after Pearl Harbor.

End of Term Selection & Reflection for Digital Portfolios

Wednesday's Workshop:

Smarties!  I'm sorry to be out again.  BOTH kids have fevers and coughs.  I have seen enough of Dora and Diego to last me a long, long time.  At least there's no vomit, right?

Today in class I'd like you to select three or more artifacts from your term two Social Studies work to archive for your digital portfolio.  Put your artifacts into the digital portfolio subfolder inside your 8th Grade Social Studies folder!  If you choose something that is web based (glog, blog, wiki...), use the document called ARCHIVING SOMETHING FROM THE WEB that is in the 8th grade common folder.  If you want to select your political cartoon about the Harrison Report, I scanned and saved them in the Holocaust & WW2 subfolder.

As you choose your artifacts, complete the document titled 8-1 Social Studies Term 2 Portfolio Assignment (in our class common folder on the network) and then email it to me.  I will be working on grading them from home tonight. 

You will notice that I've revised my list of questions to help guide your reflection:

·       How does this piece show my growth in understanding history?
·       How does this piece reflect my ability to analyze primary sources?
·       How does this piece show my ability to synthesize multiple sources and/or many perspectives?
·       How does this piece show my preferred learning styles?
·       How does this piece reflect my ability to use technology to express myself?
·       How does this piece show my collaboration and cooperation skills?
 
Group of people in DarfurImage via Wikipedia
I have emailed some of you individually about missing work.  Please take care of this ASAP.  I need to get your report cards ready :)

See you at the Dance-a-Thon for Darfur on Thursday!

February 15, 2011

Thoughts On The A-Bomb by Joshua

It's interesting how "fire" is the biggest word here.















My thoughts on the tragic incident of the Bomb on Hiroshima are many, but as to which side I am on, I'm afraid my thoughts are quite mixed. On one side, we have the Americans, who say they dropped the bomb just so they could survive. The Japanese soldiers killed hundreds of them at Pearl Harbor, and they wanted to find the best way to end the conflict rapidly and topple the government of the enemy. The president at the time, Harry Truman, claimed that they wanted the war to end, and so they had to destroy the opposing force for the sake of thousands of young American lives. The Atomic Bomb was the best way to do this, apparently, as it was the most powerful weapon of all time. American Scientists marveled at their ability to find this object of destruction and claim it as their own. Now, they were a force to reckon with.

On the other side, we have the Japanese. The weapon that Truman claimed could be the "fire and destruction prophesized in the Euphrates Valley Era" was set off in one of the most highly populated cities of Japan. In doing this, millions of lives were taken, thousands were mortally injured or crippled, and the Japanese way of life was shattered. Survivors were haunted by the terrible things that happened that day, some even going insane because of it. Even today, survivors strive to educate young students about that terrible day...

In my opinion (yes, all the best statements begin with "in my opinion"), both of them were right in some way. If the U.S. hadn't triggered the bomb, then perhaps the Japanese would have made a surprise attack, this time on the mainland. Then again, if the bomb wasn't triggered, then the souls of Japanese civilians would have been safe and lots and lots of grief would have been spared. Then again, who knows? If my research about time travel has taught me anything, it's that if the past were to somehow change, even just a little bit, then a totally different thing could occur in the future. Perhaps this future would be even worse: maybe WW2 would STILL be going on today if not for the atomic bomb. Maybe we would all be living in an underground shelter or a bunker! The point is that if things didn't happen exactly the way they did, our entire future would change. Maybe, just maybe, it’s a good thing the bomb dropped.
...I still feel sorry for the Japanese, though.

Evan's Opinion About the Dropping of the Atomic Bomb

In my opinion, I believe that Truman's decision of dropping the Atomic Bomb on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the right thing to do. I think this way because of what could have happened if the dropping of the bomb didn't occur. Japan was a very powerful nation during WWII, but as we all know, the United States was an extremely strong nation as well, because of their discovering of atomic energy. The United States wasn't directly involved with fighting Japan, because all of Japan's threats at the time weren't aimed towards the US. The date in which Japan became a direct threat to the US was December 7, of 1941, otherwise known as the date of the Pearl Harbor attack. The reason that we hadn't attacked them prior to the bombing at Pearl Harbor was because they reassured us that no attack was to come. After they lied, America knew not to trust them and then joined the war. And when Germany surrendered and the Holocaust was more or less over along with the battles of the European countries, the war winded down and was nearing a close. But Japan wasn't done yet. They refused to surrender and President Truman made the biggest decision in all of history, that he would force Japan to surrender by dropping the Atomic Bomb on them. He sent out a warning to instruct the civilians who lived there to evacuate preceding the attack. After the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan still refused to surrender, despite all of the damage to one of their biggest cities. President Truman then sent out a second warning, to warn that a second bomb was to come. After the bomb then exploded on Nagasaki, Japan finally surrendered and the second World War was officially over.

But going back to what I said before, what would have happened if we didn't drop the bomb? This is the biggest reason why having this attack was a good thing. The United States, after the attack of Pearl Harbor, was always a Japanese target, and if the bomb hadn't been dropped to cease Japan's threat, the US could have very well been in for another attack. It is important to remember that Japan was still at war even when Hitler and Germany surrendered. This was very important to Truman because he stated, "We shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war." He knew that at any point, anybody could be attacked again by Japan (particularly the United States), and to end this potential threat and save many American lives, bombing Japan would be a good option. I agree with Truman's thinking, which is why I think using the Atomic Bomb to end Japan's violence was a good idea.

When I read the firsthand accounts, my opinion did not change. I learned a lot about the various effects such a bomb can have on people, and it is indeed very sad. But, even if it sounds bad, most of them continued to live lives after the bombing. Yes, they were unable to do things and were required to make lots of extra doctor visits, but they were still living. If Japan hadn't been "taken care of," lots of Americans and other people could easily have been killed from their wrongdoing.   

Whether Truman and the United States did the right thing is a very difficult question to reach consensus on, but it brings up another question that sparks long debates: "Is it okay to kill someone if it will save someone else." Most people I heard jump right to the conclusion of yes it is okay if you are saving multiple people. In this instance, I would semi-agree that it is okay if you are saving several people and only killing one. I am on the fence with this statement because it is ethically wrong to kill someone. However, on the flip side of that, if that one person is causing danger and possibly death in the future to that other group of people, that must be ethically wrong as well. That is why, for me, this is a very difficult question to answer because it appears that at least one person will die either way.

The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Emily

I can't even begin to fathom the pain and suffering that the Japanese people went through when the USA bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were sitting happily in their homes, just living a normal day. Suddenly, all they could see was smoke and fire. Everything they owned, their money, their homes, was gone in a flash. Their skin was wounded and burning, and there was glass everywhere. All they could breathe in was smoke. Can you imagine what that must've been like to live through a terrorizing experience like that?

Even though the Japanese people were warned, the bombing was a shock to them. Some weren’t aware of the horror that was to come. Not only would everything that these innocent human beings were accustomed to be gone forever, but they would be faced with a life long battle for their health. They not only suffered from the horrendous burns and wounds, but people were scarred and died from radiation, as well as many other outrageous causes. In my opinion, inflicting so much pain and suffering on innocent people was a bad move on our part, but I guess the intensions of the US were good. Also, the bomb most likely saved the lives of many Americans. I have mixed opinions about this subject, but I think that as we further study this topic my opinion with be further developed.

I guess that before the US bombed Hiroshima, they weren’t fully aware of all of the following effects of the bomb on the Japanese people. Even today, survivors of the atomic bomb are still being studied and tested for the effects that the radiation has on themselves and their children. The bomb did save the lives of many innocent Americans though. I now realize why we were asked the question “Is it okay to kill someone to save someone else?”. There were many different opinions, and this question could be deeply debated. Many would say that it depends on the situation and I do agree with that. However, in this situation, where the lives of innocent citizens of our country were in danger, but innocent citizens of another country would have to die to save our own country’s people, I wouldn’t know what to do if I were put in charge of this decision. For now, I plan on having mixed thoughts about this topic, and I plan to further develop my opinion later on in the term.

George's Opinion on the Atomic Bomb



In my opinion, I believe that the decision by the United States of dropping the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justifiable one.  Had the Americans not dropped the Atomic Bomb, the war in the Pacific would have prolonged for an unforeseen amount of time. In the video Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki by the BBC, you can see clearly, the fanatical amount of pride and passion, for which many of the Japanese fought with under the Emperor system,, in which surrounding was one of the most shameful actions that could be committed. The Japanese believed it was more prideful to commit suicide, rather than surrender to the enemy. If the Americans had not dropped the Atomic Bombs, the only option left would have been to have to invade the mainland of Japan. As historians, we can look back and see past battles of small islands, such as Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, and Peleliou, and see that the Japanese fought until the last man had died fighting for his country. Imagine invading the mainland of Japan, were the citizens and army men would fight to the death. Although the bomb killed many citizens of Japan, it ultimately saved the lives of many more Japanese and American marines, army men, and citizens than were lost to the destruction of the bombs.

Although killing someone is never ok, nor is going to war, it is sometimes the only option left for a nation. The decision of dropping the Atomic Bomb was carefully scrutinized and the use of the bombs, before being dropped on Japan was carefully considered. I do not believe that the United States of America ever wanted to use a bomb of such devastation on any person or place, but were required to save the lives of the citizens of their own country, the opposing country, and most probably the citizens of the entire world. Although the bombs were dropped on military bases and manufacturing centers, thousands of Japanese citizens lived near or on the bases, and would ultimately be affected negatively by the bombs. The U.S. government dropped pamphlets explaining their plan of dropping the bombs, explaining that the citizens should evacuate the surrounding area’s immediately. Although some did, not all did, and their lives were irreversibly changed forever.

The decision to drop the Atomic Bombs was certainly a difficult one, with the deaths and radiation poising of thousands of Japanese civilians, but was the best possible option, that saved the most lives, both of the Americans and the Japanese.

What's True and What's Right


At the time when America's atomic bomb was released to Japan, I could understand understand why Truman decided to do it. Many bad things had been happening with the issue of World War II but America had not been involved in the war until the unforgettable day of Pearl Harbor. the bomb that had shook Hawaii killing many people. Truman knew that we could not back down after being officially invited into the war. The attitude was "they hit us, we hit them back." That's why Truman jumped at the opportunity to be able to bomb "the enemy."


While America was planning attack, Japan was getting prepared with warnings that dropped from the sky stating there would be a bomb. When the bomb was dropped, all Hell broke loose. people were faced with the same effects as Pearl Harbor. Fire, blown up buildings, homes were no more. Again, many were killed with the effects. I feel sorry for what happened to Japan. There were many innocent people that died. I understand why America did it, but I'm sorry for the effects.

Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Danielle

Could you imagine sitting at home in your house, and suddenly, BANG! Evereything you had is gone, blown over by a fire. You only breathe in smoke, and your entire body is burning. Your skin is peeling, and you can't see anything. It would be quite a scary experience. Could you imagine inflicting this upon someone? This is what the U.S. did when they bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese people were warned, but still the bombing was surprising. The bomb was meant to end the war, but for the Japanese people it started another one. A war with their health. The innocent people suffered from so many different causes, it makes you wonder if the bombing was worth it.

I have mixed feeling about whether or not the U.S. did the right thing by bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I understand that the first bombing was to end the war. I do not think that our country new exactly what power the bomb possessed at first. I'm sure they didn't know all the effects that the bomb would have on the people of Japan. The original bombing of Hiroshima was meant to destroy the military base, but it also ended up destroying many homes. This bomb did probably save the lives of many Americans. It stopes the process of Japan discovering an atomic bomb. After they discovered the devastation, you would think that they would not bomb the country again. Japan didn't surrender, forcing the U.S. To bomb Nagasaki. In my opinion,
they should not have bombed Nagasaki. They knew how terrible the injuries of innocent civilians was, so why bomb them again? The innocent victims suffered from severe radiation, burns, and deep cuts. They lost all of their homes, their families. Some lost the ability to have healthy children. The effects of the radiation from the atomic bomb are still showing in children today.

If I was the one to decide whether or not to bomb Japan, I wouldn't have known what to do. The bombing did save many Americans. Which brings me back to the question, is it ok to kill someone if it will save someone else? I do not know the answer. I'm sure there are reasons for each side of the argument. But at the moment, I do not know which side I am on.

Andy's and Logan's Thoughts on the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

We had many, many thoughts on the topic of whether or not bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki was right. In our opinions, bombing both of them was the right thing to do. Many would argue that it was completely wrong, but we disagree. The reason we, the U.S., bombed the two places was to save the citizens, even if it meant ending the lives of others. As a country, we think it is our duty to put ourselves before another nation. We were simply looking out for ourselves. These thoughts of ours brings us to the big question, "Is it okay to kill someone if it will save someone else?"

We believe it all depends on the situation. In our case (the case of bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki), we think it was 100% okay. Like we said, it's our duty to put ourselves before another country. Those on the side of "it wasn't right to bomb the Japanese" probably think that it wasn't because thousands of lives were lost. What they probably don't take into account is that it was done to protect the U.S. It was done for best of our nation.

Max's Opinion on the Atomic Bomb



I think that the U.S.A did do the right thing by dropping the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was a justifiable and moral decision. Yes, the results were sad and devastating but it was the right thing to do. It saved many American lives by destroying the Japanese military bases.


The firsthand accounts were sad and made me really think about what I thought about the issue. I think that in certain occasions it is okay to kill someone to save someone else, like if you kill one person to save twenty. This was a dilemma that the U.S. government had overcome to bomb Japan.

Matt Angle's First Thoughts About The A-Bombs Of World War II

The questions, is it okay to end the life of one person to save the lives of others and was it okay to drop the atomic bombs on the island of Japan are huge questions that deeply inflict thought on our society and even the history of our species.

To answer the first question (Is it okay to end the life of one person to save the lives of others?) in my opinion, I would say that it is okay under the circumstances of kidnappings, holding people for ransom, terrorist organizations, and enemy countries. If it is certain that an enemy nation will inevitably destroy the foundation of our country then we (the government of America and her Allies) could make a step to avoid that. That step could very well involve killing some people (people that have to be killed in the process) to save the lives of many, many citizens of our democratic establishment. If an enemy country attacks us before we attack them (Pearl Harbor) and then plans an even bigger invasion on the weakened area, I think that it is okay to invade, attack, and/or bomb that threatening region of the world to save all of our lives and our country. Another example where I feel it is justifiable to take another person's life is if a person or a group of people captures someone or a lot of people and brings them to a room, holds them there and are about to kill them, and then you come in and shoot them (the kidnapping murderers) dead. You just saved the lives of innocent people but took the life of the opposing force(s).

To answer the second question (Was it okay to drop the atomic bombs on the island of Japan?) in my opinion, I feel that it was okay. It might have been very disastrous, but okay in the mindset that a horrific attack to the U.S. was abruptly stopped. I think that it was okay because the Empire of Japan attacked America just before, a devastating blow that forced us to join the war. Once we won against Europe, we still had Japan and the Pacific to take care of. They were preparing to launch a gigantic invasion. In order to save millions of people in America and avoid a continuous war, we unleashed our scientific knowledge of harnessing the force and might of atomic power to seal the victory, the Allies' victory of World War II.



Harrison's Opinion on the Atomic Bomb


I think that Truman dropping the Atomic bomb on the two Japanese cities is justifiable. The US government gave the Japanese a warning before the first one, and a warning before the second one. It is the Japanese fault that it was dropped. If they would have surrendered after the warning, and even after the second warning, then more people would be alive.
I also think it is a good thing that Truman dropped the atomic bomb on Japan because now that we did that, Japan and the USA have a better relationship as countries. It is good that we did it also because now the world knows the power that it has on cities and the world. It is better than a nuclear war breaking out with more atomic bombs on more cities and more deaths.

On the other hand, it is so wrong to kill so many people just to destroy a military base. We wouldn't like it if Japan blew up area 51 with a nuclear bomb, and all the radiation killed everyone in Las Vegas. In my opinion, it is wrong to kill innocent people in a war between governments.

All in all, I am still not sure what my opinion is. For all we know, if we didn't drop the two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we might not have ended the war.

Victoria, Lauren, and Hannah's thoughts


Our group had lots of thoughts on if the US did the right thing or not. We all believe that the US did the right thing by dropping both bombs on Japan. We believe that it was the right thing to do, because if we didn't we might have never ended the war, and more people would be killed in both America, and Japan. This question, of was it the right thing to do, goes back to the question we talked about in class which was, is it ok to kill someone if it will save someone else. In this case, our group believes that this is OK.

In Victoria's perspective, dropping the bombs in Japan was OK, because our country was protecting he future generations in America by killing one generation in Japan. In Lauren's thought, she believes that dropping the bomb was maybe not the BEST idea because it killed SO many people, but however it did stop the war, causing MANY lives to be saved. We are at a loss for words with Hannah's perspective, because she was not here today to give us feedback on her opinion. All in all, out group believes that dropping the bombs was for the best.

When we look at this HUGE event from the Japanese perspective, it was a GREAT upset. Not only did thousands upon thousands of people die, but families were destroyed as well as buildings. Knowing this information, is important for when we as a group make our opinions, because going by what happened on just one side (US) is not getting the whole story. It's exactly like if you hear a rumor and your trying to decide if its true info or not, and to get that information, you need to get both sides of the story. This was a sad time in our history, but our group believes that it was for the best.

Margo and Katie's blog


Margo and I feel that even if the US didn't drop the A-Bomb we would be at war and lots of people would die anyway. The US also had good intentions, even though they made some bad decisions like dropping the second bomb. They intended to end the war by dropping the bombs, and that is what happened. Japan ended up surrendering because they wanted to protect the emperor and the other Japanese people. Although the atomic bombs were successful in what they set out to do, they killed hundreds of thousands of people, and their effects are still wreaking havoc in Japan. There are countless children getting radiation poisoning or cancer, and adults with lasting emotional problems, like PTSD. We think it was bad in on a personal level, for the people involved; but good on a worldwide level, for the end of the war that was tearing apart our earth.

February 13, 2011

Hiroshima & Nagasaki in the Eyes of the People

Question of the week:  Did the US government do the right thing?

Monday and Tuesday Workshop Directions: 

You may collaborate with a partner or two (three in a group max.) or by yourself. 

Step1 - Japanese Perspective
Visit the sites below and browse the first person narratives about the dropping of the a-bombs.  These all provide the Japanese perspective. 

Sites:

What effects did the bomb have on civilians in Japan?  Make a t-chart in your notebook or in Word.  Write down effects on the left.

Watch this National Geographic video about the effects of radiation.  Add to your t-chart.







Step 2 - US Government Perspective

Read the White House Press Release Announcing the Bombing of Hiroshima (Aug. 6, 1945) on p.113-115 in your unit packet or online at PBS.  What reasons does Truman give to justify the use of the bomb?  Write down reasons on the right side of your t-chart.

Watch an excerpt from the BBC Documentary about dropping a second bomb on Japan, this time on the city of Nagasaki.  Add to your list of reasons.


Step 3 - Question:  Did the US do the right thing?
Now that you've read from both perspectives, you must ask yourself, "Did the US do the right thing?"  Look at your t-chart carefully.  Was dropping the bomb justifiable?  If you feel you need more information, please feel free to do additional research.

Step 4 - Tagxedo OR Wordle
Your next task is to use Tagxedo or Wordle to create a word cloud that reflects your answer to the question, "Did the US do the right thing?"  Tagxedo is a web site similar to Wordle but with greater design powers.  Like Wordle, Tagxedo will make more frequently used words larger.  Depending upon your answer to the question, select texts to use in your cloud.  For example, if you think Truman was right on, use his speech. If you think it was a terrible decision, you might use one or more of the Japanese accounts.  If your view is more mixed, you can use texts from both perspectives!  NOTE - You can copy and paste these texts over.  There is no need to manually type them in!  You can add words from your t-chart as well.  Use the shape picker, font and color choices to design your cloud so that it is intriguing, thought-provoking and reveals your understanding and view.  You will need to save your word cloud as a JPG (Tagxedo) OR take a screenshot (Wordle).

Step 5 - Blog Post

Create a new post on our class blog; include your cloud and a meaty 1-2 paragraph reflection in response to the question, "Did the US do the right thing?"  You might include your personal thoughts about dropping the bomb as opposed to your historical understanding, your reaction to the firsthand accounts, your thoughts about the big question, "is it okay to kill someone if it will save someone else," what and how you've learned today...