Vlad and I sat together while he read and highlighted Chap. 6 focused primarily on the Constitutional Convention and life in the U.S. through the 1790s. This ensures that Vlad reads the material and we will discuss it tomorrow as our new approach to A.P. U.S. History. Vlad likes the new approach proposed for learning this course yesterday and he wants to give it a try. So, this week Chapters 6 & 7. Over the holiday break, Vlad says he will read chapters 8, 9 and 10.

Vlad and I had a very good discussion regarding our future approach to learning. I shared with Vlad that he failed his most recent Chap. 5 test on the American Revolution - that was open book. We also discussed that since the testing is difficult for Vlad,he has not only failed 4 out of 5 tests, but the prep for these tests is causing us to fall behind. Vlad really likes U.S. History, too. I reminded him that there are grade level and honors sections of U.S. History - BUT Vlad is committed to remaining in A.P. It is incredibly admirable that Vlad has a sincere interest in the advanced subject matter. Part of the issue is the required high level of reading comprehension. Another issue is that Vlad has a lot going on outside of school, so reading and studying the material on his own is a substantial challenge for Vlad. That said, Vlad does not want to divert from A.P. So that leaves us with the challenge of giving this curriculum all we can for Vlad's learning style which repels the reading, highlighting and note-taking that is a must for this course. Therefore, we decided that we are gong to cover Chap. 6 & 7 in class this week. Vlad has assured me that he will read Chap. 8 - 10 over winter break. Naturally, we will continue to discuss the content, as we always do. Vlad finds the content truly interesting. We will pick up the pace and move through the material so we have time left 2nd semester to work and basically perform regular drills on many A.P. U.S. History sample tests. Our hope is that that this approach works and that Vlad achieves the success and scores necessary.I am 100% in Vlad's corner and routing for him!

The formation of the first political parties: Federalists and Republicans, The Bank of the U.S., the Whiskey Rebellion, Native Americans and the Constitution, Jay's Treaty, Pinckney's Treaty, Washington's Farewell Address, John Adams becomes the 2nd U.S. President in 1796, Jefferson becomes 3rd president of the U.S. in 1800.

This period was spent celebrating and decorating ornaments at the school holiday party.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787. The VA and NJ plans. The creation of the THREE federal branches: Legislative (Congress), Executive (President) Judicial (Supreme Court), checks and balances, The Great Compromise,James Madison,The Federalist Papers, President Washington's first Cabinet, relocation of the nation's capital city.

Vlad completed the open book test on the American Revolution.

Vlad studied for the ACT in preparation for his test in two months.

Vlad sought me out early this morning before first period. He wanted to let me know that he is not ready for today's American Revolution Test scheduled for 4th period. He said he didn't have his Mac Book charger at home last night and therefore, could not access the review questions I gave him yesterday in class. I told him he may take the test tomorrow during 4th period. I shared that he will spend the entirety of 4th period today working on those review questions. I will be there to answer any questions. We are moving at too slow a pace in this class and I shared this with Vlad. I advised him that we have to pick up the pace.

Today, Vlad actually viewed the test he will take in class, open book tomorrow. He will answer 20 multiple choice and 2 out of 3 short answer questions. I then went through the Chapter with Vlad to show him where he needs to look for information to answer these questions tomorrow, explaining that open book tests can often be more time consuming than other tests. Some of the challenges in reviewing today for Vlad is that he is still not taking consistent notes or highlighting everything he needs to in the book. So, we worked on that today. Vlad was sent home with 20 review questions typed into his lap-top to assist him with preparation tonight.

The concepts of democracy, republicanism, civic virtue, limiting popular power and religious freedom played important roles in conceiving the new federal govt. These rights, however, did not apply to people of color, women and Native Americans. The Articles of Confederation were the first form of federal gov't. from 1777 - 1789. We discussed its weaknesses and why it needed to be changed (and will be replaced by the U.S. Constitution). The Ordinance of 1784 divided the Western Territory into 10 self-governing districts. The Ordinance of 1785 created a system for surveying, selling and dividing land for human use. It can be seen in the shapes of many mid-western and western states and their counties today.