Category Archives: Reconstruction

History is turned on its head

Posted on February 8, 2016 by jyourist

Today is the 100th anniversary of the opening of Birth of A Nation, at Clunes Auditorium in Los Angeles. The first feature length film ever produced (three hours and ten minutes), this film was the technical and acting tour de … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War, film, history, movies, Reconstruction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

15th Amendment

Posted on February 3, 2016 by jyourist

Today is the anniversary of the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, the amendment securing the right of black males to vote, though the word black is not mentioned in the amendment itself. During Reconstruction, the period right after … Continue reading →

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Foner or “ma hand”

Posted on January 28, 2016 by jyourist

Sometimes, for an 8th grader, late on a Thursday afternoon after a very long review of Reconstruction, drawing “ma hand” is a lot more compelling than reading Eric Foner.

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Use it or lose it

Posted on January 13, 2016 by jyourist

In class today we talked about Obama’s State of the Union last night. The students claimed they were not bored listening to it like Donald Trump was who claimed in a tweet, “It was boring.” They were intrigued with the … Continue reading →

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Eric Foner makes my Bucket List yet again!

Posted on June 5, 2015 by jyourist

It was the last day of 8th grade today. Next week is graduation rehearsal and graduation, but today was the last day of classes. All my students’ papers have been graded and handed back, accomplished after some very late nights and … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reconstruction, relationship | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hiram Revels

Posted on February 25, 2015 by jyourist

One hundred forty-five years ago today, on February 25, 1870, Hiram Revels (1827-1901) was sworn in as a U.S. Senator from Mississippi, the very first black man to hold this position. This was during Reconstruction, that brief, decade-long experiment in … Continue reading →

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Eric Foner loves me

Posted on February 12, 2015 by jyourist

For Valentine’s Day at school, students can purchase Lindt truffles for friends and they are delivered on the last day of school before Valentine’s Day. The ASA (Asian Students Association) sponsors this activity and the money raised is donated to a … Continue reading →

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15th Amendment

Posted on February 3, 2014 by jyourist

Today is the anniversary of the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, the amendment securing the right of black males to vote, though the word black is not mentioned in the amendment itself. During Reconstruction, the period right after … Continue reading →

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HITACHI, cause of the Civil War

Posted on January 17, 2014 by jyourist

We are setting the scene for Reconstruction by exploring the causes of the Civil War. I assigned pairs of students a single cause that they researched and presented to the class using powerpoint. The students took notes during each presentation … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War, Reconstruction, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

My Bucket List with Eric Foner

Posted on June 7, 2013 by jyourist

It was the last day of 8th grade today. Next week is graduation rehearsal and graduation, but today was the last day of classes. I had a big pile of papers to get back to my students and I actually … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reconstruction, school | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments