Takaki - Chapter 9

My practicum is really trying to emphasize with me the importance of warm ups and their necessary place in the classroom routine. In addition, he is also trying to help me focus on effective warm ups that will tie together the previous day's lesson and/or homework, as well as set the stage for that day's lesson.

With that said, and assuming that my students read Takaki chapter 9 the night before, I would pose the following question to my students for their warm up: Did Indian assimilation work? In answering the question, be sure to consider the cultural pros and cons of assimilation in general. Today, does the United States government want all citizens to be exactly alike?

This warm up would not only allow for students to think reflectively on Takaki's chapter, especially about Francis Amasa Walker, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, as well as the Dawes Act. If I had students who required a more specific question or more direction in coming up with their answer, I might provide them with a list of people and terms pertinent to the question, including Walker and the Dawes Act.

In general, this response would set up students for almost any lesson that covered this chapter because it is not only open ended but also reflective of the gist of the chapter.