Thursday, May 26, 2016

Israel and Palestine, Day 2 - Class Recap


Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, everyone! Photo is of the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, Oregon. Taken in 2015.

Hi everyone,

Today was the last time for almost a week that I get to see you all! It is a very nice and long upcoming weekend. I hope that you take advantage of the last major rest period before our final push to finals and the end of the year! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "Look Into My Eyes" by Outlandish. Selected for today because of the obvious connection in the lyrics of the song to the Palestinian view of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

AGENDA 5/26/16:
News Brief – Eric
Perspectives
Final Project Options
Timeline Review

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade (updated on StudentVUE and on by ID number on the wall) and how to improve it, if possible. Keep working on your final project for the year (overview here). All late work or revisions due by today (Thursday). Next news brief: Matt.
---
News Brief: Eric had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Terrifying scene as migrant ship capsizes. We found Libya in our world map packet (as this is where the boat set out from) and noted we did a news brief story on it. I also showed a short video with pictures from this scene. Finally, we checked in about Memorial Day weekend and what people were up to.

The next news brief was assigned to Matt.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Perspectives: After the news brief, I played this music video, which was the soundtrack for today: "Look Into My Eyes" by Outlandish.


We looked at some of the lyrics to the song, including these lines:

See I've known terror for quite some time
57 years so cruel
Terror breathes the air I breathe
It's the checkpoint on my way to school
Terror is the robbery of my land
And the torture of my mother
The imprisonment of my innocent father
The bullet in my baby brother
The bulldozers and the tanks
The gases and the guns
The bombs that fall outside my door
All due to your funds
You blame me for defending myself
Against the ways of my enemies
I'm terrorized in my own land (what)
And I'm the terrorist?

This song was obviously a Palestinian viewpoint on the war. The other perspective is that of the Israelis, which was demonstrated in this overview video that we watched in class as well (starting from around 7 minutes in):


If you would like to see a similar video from the Palestinian perspective, here it is:


I also shared this post that my British Aunt Katy wrote about working and teaching inside Palestine recently. I'm hoping for her to to be able to Skype with the class soon!


The point here was to learn more about the perspective of each side. Our final project is a simulated peace conference, and it does no good to simply yell at the other side and demand concessions. You have to truly understand each side and what they want, in order to compromise and find a solution that might work.

Final Project Options: At this point in class, I passed out this paper, which goes over a variety of different ways to improve (or maintain) your grade on the five different proficiency learning targets that the final has as available options:


The really important part here is knowing your grade in the class, so that you know what would help improve your grade for finals, or maintain the grade that you want. Again, here is the overview of what the roles are, which I passed out last class:


Timeline Review: The rest of class was devoted to reading through an in class set of this reading, thinking about how you are going to construct your final presentation or writing:


As students were doing this independently, I talked with everyone in the class about what their current grade is, what learning targets they should focus on for the final, and how they might be able to demonstrate proficiency. I know it seems like the final is a long way away, but next week, we are watching a documentary in class, then there is 3 more days before the actual final day. There is lots of work to do during this time!

Have a great long weekend and keep working hard! We are almost done! :-)
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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Israel and Palestine, Day 1 - Class Recap


A sign that was in the hotel I stayed at in 2014 in Amman, Jordan, which was hosting refugees from the ongoing battles in the Gaza Strip.

Hi everyone,

Welcome back from the weekend, for a short 4 day week, followed by a 4 day weekend, followed by another short 4 day week! Today, we started work on our final unit for the year, on Israel and Palestine. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 2: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks. Selected for today because the end of the year feels like a battle, and because the country of Israel is seen as a battlefield by many. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 5/24/16:
News Brief – Kaleb
The Lesson of War
Brainstorm
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade (updated on StudentVUE and on by ID number on the wall) and how to improve it, if possible. Start working on your final project for the year (overview here). Next news brief: Eric B.
---
News Brief: Kaleb had the news brief today, but was not in the class at the start, so I filled in and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Obama lifts U.S. arms ban on Vietnam. We found Vietnam in the world map packet, and talked about why this is a big deal (the legacy of the Vietnam War, as well as the United States wanting to help other countries stand up to China, especially with the South China Sea). We also checked in about the weekend before moving on.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

The next news brief was assigned to Eric B.

The Lesson of War: To start the Israel and Palestine unit, we watched this video, about children on both sides of the recent war in the Gaza Strip:

I asked students to take notes about what was happening in the war and how each side was impacted.

Brainstorm: After the video, we brainstormed the conflict in Israel and Palestine by noting what we did know at this point, and questions we still had to learn the answers to. Here is what your class came up with:


We have lots to learn about, which is good!

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: This was a PowerPoint that I went through with the class. I decided to be nice and pre-print all of the notes to hand out, because I know that it has been a challenging last few months, and I wanted to give everyone a break. I did want to make sure everyone focused on the images and words in the presentation, too. Here's the PowerPoint, for those who missed class:


And here are the pre-printed notes that I handed out:


After the presentation, I passed out the first look at what your final project will be, which is a simulation on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. We went through this in class in detail, but basically, you can pick any (or all) of the five learning targets listed at the top of this post to show proficiency on, by either writing a paper to be turned in on finals day, or creating a presentation (which might also involve writing a paper), if you are in big time need of improving your grade. Here's the handout (note that the second page is the backside) that I passed out:


There were lots of questions here, which was good. Hopefully, students are starting to understand what I am going to be looking for!

Finally, at the end of class, we watched a VOX video on Israel and Palestine, which does a really good job at explaining a large amount of details about the conflict in 10 minutes. I know this was a lot at once, so turning the captions on is definitely a good idea:


This should give you a solid framework with which to start thinking about how you want to do your final project, and what you should focus on! We will continue to be investigating this in the next few classes. Thanks for your focus today! :-)
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Friday, May 20, 2016

Demographics, Day 5 - Class Recap


I will be gone at the state tennis tournament today (Friday) for Westview! This photo is of my favorite tennis player, Roger Federer, playing in Eugene, Oregon.

Dear class,

I really appreciate your hard work today in class, in advance, as we had a work day to wrap up the demographics unit and check in about grades in order to improve them by next Thursday, if possible. Here's what we did today in class (with the sub and Eli leading the way):

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 9: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own" by U2. Selected for today because we had a work day for me to help students in understanding how to improve their grade in class. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 5/20/16:
News Brief – Trevor
Election Review
Demographics Work
Grade Check

Homework: Read the blog! Finish your demographic unit work (see below for links). The last day I will accept any late/missing/revised work for the semester is next Thursday. Next news brief: _____.
---
News Brief: Trevor had the news brief today and (possibly) selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - EgyptAir Flight 804: Wreckage found, airline official says. We found Egypt in the world map packet and talked about this story, as it was breaking news as of this morning. It does sound like some of the wreckage has been found now.

Here's the link to see the latest one minute BBC World News update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


The next news brief was assigned to _____.

Demographics Work: The rest of class was spent as work time (hopefully you were able to turn in the whole packet today) for the demographics packet:

Google Drive: Demographics Development Indicators

Students needed to find the statistics for countries on the CIA World Factbook (some of the statistics might be found from other sources, too).

The next assignment was related to the Children of Syria documentary in class.

Here is the assignment that I passed out with the movie:


Here is a link to watch the documentary, if you missed class, or wanted to watch it again at home with your family. An hour really well spent:

Next, we did the End of Poverty reading and assignment last class:


Here is the reading that goes along with the assignment:


Finally, we watched World in the Balance and did an assignment related to that. Here is the assignment:


And here is the video we watched in class:


All four of the assignments, in order, were what was due today in class. I appreciate your work on this!

Grade Check: As students were working, I was hoping the sub and Eli would talk with everyone in class one by one, so they could go over every grade, along with what was missing (if anything) and needing to be turned in or revised by next week. You should have a plan of action for this weekend, if you need to do work for me! If you have everything in, rest up and get ready for the final unit of the year, which we will start next week! Have a great weekend, everyone!
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Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Demographics, Day 4 - Class Recap


The pathway along a Shinto shrine in Toyko, Japan. Today, we learned about the demographic pressures on Japan's population - especially when it comes to a very elderly population. Photo taken in 2014.

Hi everyone,

It is always nice to see you all in the morning! Today, we watched a documentary about population and demographics. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 9: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" by Tomoyasu Hotei. Selected for today because we learned more about Japan's battle against demographic trends in their population, and because it was Election Day yesterday, and because you are battling towards the end of the year!

AGENDA 5/18/16:
Election Night News Brief – Isaac
World in the Balance
Review
Demographics Work

Homework: Read the blog! Finish your demographic unit work (see below for links). The last day I will accept any late/missing/revised work for the semester is next Thursday. Next news brief: Trevor.
---
Election Night News Brief: Isaac had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Sri Lanka mudslide leaves scores missing. We found Sri Lanka in the world map packet and talked about this story, as well as saw an update about it on BBC World News.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


The next news brief was assigned to Trevor.

We also talked about the election results from the entire state of Oregon, which can be found here :


Here is the link for Multnomah County election results. My mom, Amanda Fritz, has won re-election to her job as Portland City Commissioner. Yay!


In the primary for local positions (like my mom's), a candidate needs over 50% of the vote in order to be declared the overall winner (no further election needed). If no candidate gets to 50%, then the top two candidates face off in the general election in November.

World in the Balance: This was a NOVA documentary that we watched together in class. I was asking students to write about the three countries in the film: India, Japan, and Kenya, and what their population/demographics is like. Here is the assignment that goes with this:


And here is the video we watched in class:


Thank you for your focus and interest in this! As I said before watching it, I think the issues are really interesting and worth our time to learn about.

Review/Demographics Work: We did not have much time at the end of class today, but I did want to link to the assignments in the demographics unit, which are as follows:

Google Drive: Demographics Development Indicators

Students needed to find the statistics for countries on the CIA World Factbook (some of the statistics might be found from other sources, too).

The next assignment was related to the Children of Syria documentary in class.

Here is the assignment that I passed out with the movie:


Here is a link to watch the documentary, if you missed class, or wanted to watch it again at home with your family. An hour really well spent:

Next, we did the End of Poverty reading and assignment last class:


Here is the reading that goes along with the assignment:


Please have all of your demographics work ready to turn in at the end of next class, as I will give work time and also check in about everyone's grades! Thank you!
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Monday, May 16, 2016

Demographics, Day 3 - Class Recap


My brother visited Portland this past weekend! Here I am with my sister and brother with my mom in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, over Winter Break 2014.

Dear class,

There was a fair amount of reviewing data and reading today - thanks for following along. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 9: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "The End" by The Doors. Selected for today because of "The End of Poverty" reading, and because we are approaching the end of the school year.

AGENDA 5/16/16:
News Brief – Christian H.
The End of Poverty
Group Work
Finish Demographic Packets

Homework: Read the blog! All late/missing/incomplete/revised work is due next Thursday, May 26. This is the last time I will accept any work from the semester before the final. Next news brief: Isaac.
---
News Brief: Christian H. had the news brief today and talked about this story for the news brief: CNN.com - Kenya's $13 billion railway project is taking shape. We found Kenya in the world map packet and talked about this story, including the importance of development in Africa, and why it might be that China is helping to finance the project. After the news brief, we checked in about the weekend.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

The next news brief was assigned to Isaac.

The End of Poverty: This was based on learning more about what life is like in different countries. I asked the class to split up based on how fast students thought they were at reading, and assigned this paper and reading to a group of four:


Here is the reading that goes along with the assignment:


Group Work: We spent a good time in class going through this in groups, and then going over it afterwards. Hold on to these completed assignments, please!

Finish Demographics Work: We did not have the time in class to do much of this, but your demographics work will be due later this week, so please finish all of the assignments related to it!

Thanks for your focus and work today in class!
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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Demographics, Day 2 - Class Recap


Photo taken in 2007 at the Denver Aquarium.

Dear class,

We continued looking at demographics today, through the very recent documentary "Children of Syria" which does a great job giving a case study of the Syrian refugee crisis. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 9: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. Selected for today because being happy could actually be considered a demographic indicator. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 5/12/16:
News Brief – Zack
Children of Syria
Review
Trends

Homework: Read the blog! Finish your demographics packet! Next news brief: .
---
News Brief: Zack had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Fort McMurray fire: 2,400 structures gone, 10% of city destroyed. We talked about this ongoing news story and found Canada in the world map. I also asked about what students were up to outside of the classroom, as always! :-)

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Children of Syria: This was a fantastic documentary that recently came out (like, within a month) on PBS Frontline. Part of the learning target for the unit is tying demographics in with current events, so this was perfect. Here is the assignment that I passed out with the movie:


Here is a link to watch the documentary, if you missed class, or wanted to watch it again at home with your family. An hour really well spent:


Review: After the documentary, I selected a few random students to answer questions from the documentary review. Thank you for your input and thoughts here! I was glad to see that almost everyone was really engaged with answering the questions and watching the film.

Trends: Next class, if you have any time remaining after the reading and group work, please use the time to work with your partners on writing down the demographic trend information for the USA, Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Strip in the packet we worked on last class. Thanks, everyone! I will miss you all - have a great rest of the week!
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Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Demographics, Day 1 - Class Recap


A Vietnamese man and his son, in the streets of Hanoi, 2011.

Hi everyone,

A lot of work today, with the start of our new unit on demographics! We also reviewed the religion test and then went to the Computer Lab. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 10: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Ordinary People" by John Legend. Selected for today because demographics is the statistical study of people. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 5/10/16:
News Brief – David
Demographics
Indicators
Computer Lab N210

Homework: Read the blog! Finish your one column (all four pages) of data for the country on the demographics profile. If you have not turned in your Historical Investigation, please do so immediately. Next news brief: Zack.
---
News Brief: David had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: Telegraph.co.uk - Snowboarders build a snowpark in an abandoned ski resort in Slovenia. We found Slovenia in the world map packed and noted that we did a news brief story about it. As usual, I asked the class if they were up to anything fun or interesting outside of class - especially with it being Mother's Day weekend.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


The next news brief was assigned to Zack.

I also talked about the short answer question on the back of the religion test, and how I used that as another opportunity to show proficiency on Critical Thinking LT 2 (another historical investigation target). If you did poorly on this test, you will have the opportunity to retake it with the final project.

Demographics: Our next unit is on demographics. We started this section of class by watching this video about population, health, and income over time, which I think is an amazing way to visualize all that data:


Demographics really help in determining what a country is like, when it comes to the people inside of it. We will be doing a lot of work with data and statistics in this unit!

Indicators: To further explain the concept of demographics, I went through this PowerPoint and asked students to take quick notes about what demographics are:


Hopefully, you are beginning to get an understanding about how demographics work and why they are useful in determining what is going on with people in a country.

After the presentation, I passed out this assignment, which we did today in the Computer Lab:

Google Drive: Demographics Development Indicators

To get the information needed to complete this (I asked students to just split the columns up for people to work on, like one person taking the United States), students needed to find the statistics for countries on the CIA World Factbook (some of the statistics might be found from other sources, too). Students did not need to do the last column (another country of choice).

Computer Lab N210: The rest of the class was spent working on finding different development statistics on the US, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip in the Computer Lab. Again, please have one full column (all four pages) completed for next class, when I will provide some time to finish (not in the computer lab) before we discuss the data and what it means.

Thanks for your continued hard work! Keep working on getting your grades up, if at all possible! :-)
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Friday, May 6, 2016

Religion, Day 8 - Class Recap


Today, we finished the religion unit in class - the last bit of fire has been extinguished on the unit! This is a photo of a pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, taken in 2011.

Dear class,

I did not anticipate the religion test taking quite so long today, but that's okay! I'm glad everyone worked hard and I am looking forward to grading them and getting them back to you soon. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 10: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Oye Como Va" by Carlos Santana. Selected for today because of it being Cinco de Mayo yesterday (remembering a famous Mexican victory over the French) and because Carlos Santana is an amazing Mexican-American guitarist. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 5/6/16:
News Brief – Christian L.
Religion Test
Demographics
Indicators

Homework: Read the blog! If you have not turned in your Historical Investigation, please do so immediately. Know your grade and how to improve it -  Russian Revolution work (found on this post), World War I work (found in this post) and finishing Historical Investigation if you have not - revisions needed, as well. (if you want to turn in a revised copy, please give me the original graded copy for review, as well). Next news brief: David.
---
News Brief: Christian L. had the news brief today and selected an article about Kyrgyzstan (honestly, I cannot find the article by searching for it, but it was apparently about the 138th anniversary of the capital, Bishkek, being created) to talk about. We found Kyrgyzstan in our world maps and noted that we did a news brief about it. We also talked about the presidential campaign and the weekend for a bit.

The next news brief was assigned to David.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Religion Test: After the news brief, we started the test (I hope you did your homework and studied)! As I wrote above, I was a bit surprised by how long this took (close to the entire rest of the class), but that is okay. I'm glad students were taking their time and being thorough with their work. At the end of class, we graded the multiple choice section together.

Next class, we will start learning about demographics and go to the computer lab to do some research on different demographic indicators. Thanks for your hard work and focus today in class! Moving on to the last new learning target of the year!
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Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Religion, Day 7 - Class Recap


Buddhist prayer flags at Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu. Photo taken in 2015.

Hi everyone,

I had a lot of fun today, playing Jeopardy to review religion concepts and vocabulary! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Duel of the Fates" from Star Wars. Selected for today because it is May the 4th - Star Wars Day!

AGENDA 5/4/16:
News Brief/Ballot – Grace
Crash Course
Jeopardy Review
Study Time

Homework: Read the blog! Study the religion vocabulary for test next class! Know your grade and how to improve it: Russian Revolution work (found on this post), World War I work (found in this post) and finishing Historical Investigation if you have not - revisions needed, as well. (if you want to turn in a revised copy, please give me the original graded copy for review, as well). Next news brief: Christian L.
---
News Brief/Ballot: Grace had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Syria conflict: 'Dozens killed' in Aleppo battle. This was a sad story out of Syria, which also related to our religion unit. We found Syria in the world map packet, and also checked in about what students were up to outside of class.

I also showed students my blank ballot to vote in the upcoming primary election. Obviously, this is more Government than Global Studies, and I still think it is important for everyone to know how voting works here in Oregon.

The next news brief was assigned to Christian L.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Crash Course: Before playing Jeopardy, I wanted to show part of a Crash Course video that might help students understand 1) Islam a bit better, 2) How religion impacts society in a variety of ways. It was only the first 4 minutes or so of this video - and there are lots of other Crash Course videos on the history of religion, if you are interested!


Again, just another opportunity for studying, if you want. I like that the videos are closed captioned, because they are very fast paced!

Jeopardy Review: Here is the PowerPoint we went through (I will post this after my class tomorrow plays), playing Jeopardy to review - this should help, along with going over your notes and asking others to help quiz you!


I told students that I would put a question from the test on the blog, in the hopes of encouraging students to look, so here it is:

The term that describes a "branch" of a religion is: a) Worship. b) Pillar. c) Secular. d) Sect

Keep studying!

Study Guide: At the end of class, it was study time for the test. Please note that there will also be a question or two based on some of the religions we talked last class, too! This guide is intended for you to help review your Religion PowerPoint notes. Here it is:


Be aware that Google Drive makes the sheet two pages, whereas the copy I passed out in class is just one page. Study the vocabulary and your notes from the religions we went over last class! The test will be next class! See you then! :-)
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Monday, May 2, 2016

Religion, Day 6 - Class Recap


The streets of Kathmandu at night are really something. The prayer flags lining the streets in Thamel are a nice touch. Photo taken in March, 2015.

Hi everyone,

Today was our last day of new religion content! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Mustt Mustt" by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Selected because this is a representation of Sufism (some consider this to be a branch of Islam), Explanation of the song can be found here.

AGENDA 5/2/16:
News Brief – Andrew
ISIS and Sunni/Shia
More Religions/Atheism
Vocabulary Guide

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade and how to improve it - Russian Revolution (found on this post), World War I work (found in this post) and finishing Historical Investigation if you have not - revisions needed, as well.  Next news brief: Grace.
---
News Brief: Andrew had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: NBCNews.com - Zika Virus Birth Defects May Be 'Tip of the Iceberg', Experts Say. We found Brazil on the world map and talked about this ongoing story. We then talked about other news, including what people were up to over the weekend.

The next news brief was assigned to Grace.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


ISIS and Sunni/Shia: To start this section, I asked the class to brainstorm what we knew about ISIS, especially as we have been talking about the group in our news briefs for the entire year so far. I wanted to hear what we remembered and also maybe some assumptions. Next, I asked students to get out paper for notes on the rest of the class and I played this video from VOX, which does a great job of quickly explaining the rise of ISIS and what is going on in the Middle East:


I also talked a bit about the demographics in the Middle East. Specifically, I wanted to look in depth at the central role that the two main sects of Islam have in conflict, by watching this video:


One of my main points with this is that we cannot stereotype "all Muslims" in many of the conflicts that the world is in, just as we cannot stereotype "all Christians" or any other religion. If you are really interested in learning a lot more about ISIS, I encourage you to read through this lengthy article: TheAtlantic.com - What ISIS Really Wants.

More Religions/Atheism: Next, we did a sort of blitz through a few other religions that students wrote to me they identified with (I think these are important to cover), along with Atheism (belief that there is no God or gods at all).

Here are the resources we looked at as a class, as students took brief notes (there will be a few questions about these on the test):

Shintoism (based in Japan, focused on ancestral spirits).

Jainism (based in India, focused on nonviolence and sanctity of life).

Taoism (mostly found in China, based on concept of yin and yang).

Sikhism (based in India, focused on one God, rejection of caste system).

Finally, we ended by watching part of this video about Atheism, which is the belief that there is no God or gods, and that faith, being unscientific and not testable, is impossible to prove:


I thought the above videos and articles did a pretty good job explaining the points of view of some important philosophies in a short amount of time. Thanks for hanging in there with me as we looked at all of these!

Vocabulary Guide: At the end of class, I passed out a vocabulary sheet to study for the quiz. Please note that there will also be a question or two based on some of the religions we talked about today in class, too! This guide is intended for you to help review your Religion PowerPoint notes. Here it is:


Be aware that Google Drive makes the sheet two pages, whereas the copy I passed out in class is just one page. Study the vocabulary and your notes from the beliefs we went over today! Next class, we will play PowerPoint Jeopardy to review, then take the religion test later in the week.
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