UNTEST
This is an open note/material/resource assignment. You may discuss all you want about the Unit through Piazza, but this assignment is to be your own original work. All unit Untests will utilize the following format.
PART I. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS – 20 points total
In this section, you must create FOUR quality multiple choice questions over the basic facts of the unit. Create questions over key pieces of historical fact that are the most important for the overall understanding of unit materials. Questions can be over concepts, ideas, people, places, events, etc. The question should be meaningful and not a “gotcha” or trick question to see how close someone read. Your correct and incorrect answers should be clearly identified (you should have a minimum of 4 answers per question) and a test taker should have to stop and consider the answers carefully.
Once you have crafted your four question and provided four answers to choose from (identify your correct answer), you must then explain the question. Why did you think this question was important enough to be on your imaginary exam? Why is the correct answer correct and the incorrect answers wrong? Why did you choose the answers that you did? Do this for each of the four questions.
II. KEY ID – 20 points
In this section, you must create ONE ID for a test. IDs are key people, places, events, or concepts (so “George Washington” or “trickle-down economics” for example).
For each ID you will provide a sample answer (explaining the who/what, where, when, and why it is important). After providing your ID and sample answer, you will then need to explain why you chose this ID for the list, what makes it so key that it should appear on your imaginary test?
III. CONNECTIONS – 20 points
A connection is just that, an explanation of how two or more historical facts fit together.
Here is a non-history example that will give you an idea of what is expected:
Fact 1: Men’s College football teams at the NCAA I FBS level can award a maximum of 85 scholarships to players
Fact 2: The US Women’s National Team has just won the World Cup for the 4th time and has played in 5 of the 8 Women’s World Cup finals and US National Women’s Teams dominate Olympic competitions (Soccer, Softball, Ice Hockey, Volleyball, Rowing, Water Polo).
Connection: Title IX (of the Educational Amendments of 1972) legislation requires gender equity in both the classroom and school related activities at both the K-12 and collegiate level. At the time Title IX became law, women’s sports in schools and colleges was often underfunded or non-existent while men’s college football (and high school football in states like Texas) had money thrown at them. The law requires that men and women have proportional access to athletic scholarships at the collegiate level. Since most NCAA I level universities field large men’s football teams, they needed to field teams in women’s sports to remain in proportional compliance (you have to offset those 85 male players somehow). Therefore, high schools and colleges began fielding teams in quite a few different sports to be in compliance with Title IX and more American women began playing team sports. Today, the national averages are 1 in every 2.5 women play a sport in high school. The best of these female athletes now go on to play college sports, and national teams are pulled from the best of college athletes. Women have come to dominate Olympic Team Sports because American women have gender equity in team sports in high schools and colleges thanks to Title IX; few other countries have gender equity in sporting opportunities, particularly at the team level, for girls through schools and fewer girls play team sports in other parts of the world.
For this part of the Untest, I want you to make ONE connections from the time period covered in the unit. The facts should be different facts (not two sides of an issue, battle, debate, etc.) that may not seemingly be connected, but are. List the two historical facts and then explain the connection.
IV. Geographic Connections – 20 points
A geographic connection is similar to the connections above, except that at least one of the facts is related to geography, climate, or environment. (Remember the discussion of how geography and history are related). You need to make 1 geographic connections
V. Overall Takeaway – 20 points
This is an “un-essay.” Instead of giving you a prompt and having you write a full-length essay, I want you to sit back and think about the unit as a whole. What are your key takeaways (these are the most important overall themes of the units)? How would you explain these most important “big picture” concepts of American history? How would you explain this in a paragraph (think of this as a two-minute elevator speech on US History to someone who knows nothing about the subject).
Note that your paragraph (which should be 100-200 words) should follow rule of three formatting and contain a thesis statement and supporting evidence.
Example of what the teacher wants…MULTIPLE CHOICE EXAMPLES
HINT: YOU MUST CREATE 4 QUESTIONS.
You MUST have AT LEAST 4 ANSWERS PER QUESTION.
Correct and incorrect answers must be clearly identified.
Identify your correct answer.
Explain the question and the correct and incorrect answers.
EXAMPLES (not to be used): Format your untest answers the same way
When is Beringia (the land “bridge” between Asia and North America) first exposed?
- 33,000-35,000BP
- 20,000-21,000BP
- 10,000-20,000BP
- 40,000-36,000BP*
This is important to know because it is when the Americas are first populated. Prior to this course, I would not have suspected this was even an option for migration to the Americas. I chose the other option choices because they are close to the correct answer.
_______________________
In the 1700’s, the political structure of colonies were divided into categories. Which category was the most complex, involving delineating powers from executive, legislative and judiciary branches of government?
- Charter
- Proprietary
- Provincial
- Parliament
The correct answer is A. Charter colonies elected their own
from property owning men. This was the preferred method as opposed to having
appointed governors. I chose this question because political development played
such a critical role in the advancement of America. Historically, you can see
how politics have evolved and in many ways the traditional practices are still
in place. It is interesting to see how taxes, budgeting, and human rights were
being addressed back then as they continue to be a significant factor in
present day communities.
ID EXAMPLE
In this section, you must create ONE ID for a test. IDs are key people, places, events, or concepts (so “George Washington” or “trickle-down economics” for example).
Each ID MUST INCLUDE: an explanation of who or what/where (if applicable)/ when/why it is important & then you will need to explain why you chose that ID for the question.
EXAMPLE (not to be used): format your untest answer the same way
ID: Cahokia
Cahokia is a city created by the Mississippians along the Mississippi River just across from modern St. Louis (in modern Illinois). It was the political center of a chiefdom and was ringed by smaller hamlets (“suburbs”). Founded around 1150 CE and abandoned in the early 14th century CE. It was the largest city north of Mexico until Philadelphia in the early 1800s. Cahokia was a key trade center with trade routes reaching out along the Mississippi watershed and was ruled by a powerful paramount chief.
I chose this ID because of the importance of long distance trade networks in the Americas prior to 1492. Cahokia, along with sites such as Chaco Canyon in the southwest, were vital to the development of Indian political units, economy, and culture. I chose Cahokia to also represent the Mississippian culture, one of the key cultures in this time period in what is now the United States. Since Cahokia was the largest city in the US prior to 1800, it is also worthy of an ID on a test.
CONNECTIONS
HINT: You MUST MAKE 1 connections. The connections/facts must be different facts but facts that can be connected.
FACT 1 + FACT 2 followed by how they are connected.
EXAMPLES (not to be used): format your untest answer the same way
Fact 1: The Great Awakening was a tremendous shift in religion and politics. Church and State began separating. Created more emotional religious response.
Fact 2: Virginia Law – evidence of very strict religious based law. Church and state not separate. Religious acts, or lack thereof, could result in death.
Connection: Religion and Laws (government, state rule) are frequently interconnected throughout history. Colonies are founded on religious beliefs and rules that are expected of residents. People will use religion as a basis for expected behaviors and justification of punishment.
_________________________
Historical Fact #1: The French valued working with the Native Indians rather than conquering the land.
Historical Fact #2:The Dutch traded with the Indians and focused on establishing relations with the Indians rather than invading the land.
Connection: There is a historical connection in the Indian’s role in the French and Dutch colonization of North America. The French colonization was primarily developed through investment from trading in North America. The French had trading expeditions that traveled down the Atlantic Coast and a main focus was fur trade. This is where the connection with the Dutch comes into play. The Dutch believed that the Natives possessed the same rights as the Europeans. The connection between the French and the Dutch is one that involved the attempt of peaceful colonization involving trade and politics. The goal was to live in harmony with the Indians as opposed to the forceful colonization by others such as the Spanish.
Geographic Connections – 20 points
HINT: You MUST MAKE 2 CONNECTIONS. Similar to the connections you made above but this time – make geographic connections.
Geographic Fact 1 + Geographic Fact 2 followed by how they are connected.
EXAMPLE (not to be used): format your untest answer the same way
Fact 1: The Illinois River, Missouri River and Mississippi River all meet just north of present day St. Louis, Missouri.
Fact 2: The Cahokia (Mississippian) Indians built the largest civilization in North America just east of present day St. Louis.
Connection: River travel was an important way of reaching far off lands for trade. As the native peoples in North America had not been introduced to horses, any overland travel was done on foot, and was painstakingly slow and dangerous. The Mississippian Indians of Cahokia located themselves just south of the junction of the three rivers in present day Collinsville, Illinois. Because of their closeness to the rivers, and the trade potential that those rivers offered, artifacts from all over North and Meso America have been found at the Cahokia site, evidence of the long distance trade networks linking the Americas
Overall Takeaway
HINT: This section is about the unit as a whole. What is the overall big idea from those units and how do they connect to concepts of American History?
Follow the rule of three – 100-200 words long (which is less than a page – so a strong paragraph) – must contain a THESIS and SUPPORTING EVIDENCE. Citations are required.
