Oregon Trail Game- Scratch Project

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4/29 - 4/30 Class Update

For the past two days in class, Mr. Boyle has been out. He let us bring in our laptops to work on our Scratch projects, which are due on Thursday. Mine's almost done, so I might upload it later tonight- it was done but then none of the scripts worked, so I have to redo them all and figure out what went wrong.

4/24 - 4/25 Class Update

Yesterday, we went to the media lab to create presentations about different products that would've helped Homesteaders. My group was assigned the thresher, a machine used to separate grain from stalks.

Today, we presented the presentations that we made yesterday to the class and a panel of "entrepreneurs." It was decided that the thresher was a good choice for the entrepreneurs to purchase.

4/22 - 4/23 Class Update

Yesterday, we went to the computer lab to begin "Triton 16% Time", or our class's version of Google 20% Time. This gives us approximately one day per cycle to work on what we're interested in. We're working on different badges using the Smithsonian Quests Program. It's not being graded and the only assessment that's being done is by a group of experts selected by the Smithsonian Institution. We'll still be presenting the work we had to do for the badge later in the year. I chose to do H2O Hero. None of the activities required for this badge seemed to be too difficult or labor-intensive. I may or may not have finished earning the badge in one class period, but the page changed and had different activities after I submitted my work, so I'm not sure what's going on with that.

Today, we had a sub. We went to a couple of different stations where we learned more about soddies. The different stations included (sort of) living in a soddy/arranging where things like eating, sleeping, and sitting would be done, taking a (fake) picture of a person who would've lived in a soddy, and smelling sod. We had a competition going for who could stand the smell for the longest. Brittany had 32 seconds, but Jess beat her with 2 minutes 18 seconds. Some questions I have to answer in this blog post:

What's your overall impression of living in a soddy? It's really dark and there's not much you can do in your house because of this. If you lived in one, you better hope it doesn't rain so that you could go outside to do everything that requires being able to see what you're doing.

How long would you last living in a soddy? It depends on how long it would take for me to get used to the smell and how limited I would be by not being able to see anything. Probably a couple hours, at most.

Based on what you've learned, would you leave for the city or stay in the great plains? I would definitely leave for the city. Any plans of farming would be crushed by the difficulty of farming the land, so combining that with the condition of homes, I'd be in the city as fast as I could.

4/11 - 4/12 Class Update

Yesterday, we were put into pairs to write a skit about Manifest Destiny based on Horace Greeley's quote from the New York Tribune in 1851, "Go west, young man, and grow up with the country." The skits answered questions like what was in the west, if only young men went west, and if we would follow Greeley's advice if we were living in the 1800's.

Today, we learned about the push and pull factors. These are the different things that either pushed or pulled people out west. 

Manifest Destiny

Today, we were put into pairs to write a skit about Manifest Destiny based on Horace Greeley's quote from the New York Tribune in 1851, "Go west, young man, and grow up with the country." The skits answered questions like what was in the west, if only young men went west, and if we would follow Greeley's advice if we were living in the 1800's. I liked doing the skits because they showed what we had actually learned without us just writing an essay. Plus, skits end up with quotable moments, like "Someday, in Mr. Boyle's sophomore English class..this is history.."

I forget what the actual question I'm supposed to answer here is, but I'm pretty sure it was something along the lines of, "Was 'Manifest Destiny' good or bad for the United States and why?", so I'll answer that. The benefits of Manifest Destiny for the United States included more land for people who were willing to travel and live in a new place to get it, as well as new opportunities to be successful for individuals and families in the 1800's. Overall, it was good in terms of expansionism and new opportunities, but it still came with downsides. These include people needing to completely uproot their lives and starting the Mexican War over territory disputes.

Diary Entry on Erie Canal

Assignment: write diary entry as person assigned in class (settler) on positive/negative effects on the Erie Canal.

As a settler, the Erie Canal was greatly beneficial for me. It posed many positive economic effects, as well as some positive social effects. Due to the Erie Canal, the costs of shipping have gone down and created a bigger industry for goods. Things like books and newspapers are in higher demand to be printed because they're less expensive. Before the Erie Canal, workers had to shovel grain and transport it by carrying it; now a conveyor scoops and transports the grain, which is much more efficient. Industry is also boosted by steam engines and lots of merchandise. In fact, Syracuse has since become a large industrial center, which wouldn't have happened without the Erie Canal. All of this new industry and lower shipping costs have improved settlers' standard of living. The only downside to the Erie Canal that I can see is the increased pollution to the lakes.

4/4 - 4/5 Class Update

Yesterday, we learned about the War of 1812. When we got to class, we were put into pairs to create a slogan, icon, and poem based on different documents that we were given. My group had the British's view on the War of 1812. They were at war with France at the same time and didn't really care about their war with America. Our slogan was, "You can't get to the top without making a few enemies." The icon was a British ship between America and France, both of which were pointing weapons at the ship. Our (unfinished) poem was:
You can't get to the top
Without making an enemy or two
You can't be the best in the world
Without fighting each battle through

All energy must be focused
On the enemies in France
Send over a few ships
America should have no chance

Today, we didn't have class due to the half day.

4/2 - 4/3 Class Update

Yesterday, we had a snap debate on the most significant factor for the start of the War of 1812. Overall, the most people chose Orders in Council as the most significant factor. Impressment came in second, the Chesapeake Affair came third, and no one chose incitement.

Today, we technically had class but only one person was actually in class because we all had Accuplacer testing.

Snap Debate Takeaway

I'm sticking with Orders in Council as the most significant factor. Impressment didn't affect absolutely everyone, like the Orders in Council did. The Chesapeake Affair resulted in the Embargo Act, which was pretty much the United States equivalent of the Orders in Council. Incitement didn't change my opinion because Britain being hostile to Americans wasn't a new thing- it was already present in the Orders in Council.