1990s

Find some saggy pants or overalls and come on 

down for 90s day!

Apprentice

Complete all of the following:

1. Read A History of Us, volume 10, chapters 43-45

2. Write the definitions to the following terms from the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy on note cards:

• Y2K
• genocide

3. On your fold-out timeline in your history binder, look up the dates and label the important political events for the 1990s, including: Germany reunited, Hubble telescope launched, Mandela freed, Collapse of Soviet Union, Desert Storm, Apartheid repealed, Bosnian genocide, end of Cold War, L.A. riots, Rwandan genocide, Clinton impeached, Columbine High School shootings.

CONTEST: See if you can find important events for your timeline in other areas like science, entertainment, sports, etc. We will vote on the best or most unique one found! There will be a prize :)

4. Create a notebook page or two for your History binder on the events from the 1980s. Be creative and artistic. Include a summary of the chapters you read and include any applicable pictures and maps. Write a paragraph or two about your conclusions about these events. What do you think about them? Also, print or draw some pictures and write short bios on the following people: Nelson Mandela, Sadaam Hussein, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Muammar Qaddafi, and Bill Clinton. (These are also found in The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy.) 

Journeyman

1. The history book talked a lot about how crime became a real problem in the 90s, which led to debates about gun control, metal detectors in schools, etc. When I was in fourth grade, the school made a rule that you couldn't have a group of more than four students together on the playground because it was considered "gang activity." In our area it's hard to imagine this being a problem, but in inner cities it has become a real concern. Recently, mass shootings in public places have flared opinions around this issue as well. Research both sides of the issue of gun control. Form your argument. What do you think the answer is? Come to class ready to share. 

Master

1. Read Left to Tell* by Immaculee Ilibagiza

* Disclaimer: This book is comparable to The Hiding Place in that it tells the story of finding God in the darkest of trials. I think it is an important book for us in our day, and I hope all of you will read it. However, it is sprinkled with some grisly details of the Rwandan genocide. If you have a difficult time dealing with those things, then you may want to consider skipping this book or having a loved one edit out the more violent parts for you. Do remember though, that this is history. It is a first-hand eye-witness account of what happened, this is not made up. Much of history that we end up reading about has been edited for us already and we merely gloss over impersonal events, dates, and facts. History takes on a new meaning entirely when we read about its effects on living, breathing human beings. If it happened there, it can happen here, and that's why I think we should know.