Religion, Day 4 - Class Recap

We took notes about Christianity today in class. This is a photo from the top of a mountain overlook Cabo San Lucas, at the tip of Baja California in Mexico. Taken over Winter Break, 2014.

Dear class,

It was nice to be able to continue looking at how religion impacts society, and with taking notes on a new religion. 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: "Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor" from The Pianist (Wladek Szpilman). Selected for today because the film The Pianist is about the Holocaust, and we are learning about Judaism in society. No lyrics, but listen here.

AGENDA 4/26/17:

News Brief – Samuel Ro.
Israel and Religion
Christianity
Grade Check

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. All late work for this progress report is due at midnight on Thursday. Next news brief: Rachel.

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News Brief: Samuel Ro. had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - China launches aircraft carrier, boosting military presence. We found China in the world map packet and talked about this story, along with a bit about what is happening there in terms of the tensions between the United States and North Korea about a possible nuclear bomb test.

The next news brief was assigned to Rachel.

As usual, we has a spirited conversation about the weekend and what people were up to. I always enjoy hearing about life outside the classroom!

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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Israel and Religion: To focus on how the Jewish religion impacts and shapes society, it is easy to point to the only country in the world where Judaism is the main religion: Israel. To start this section, I played this video, which is about the Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel, and stopping everything for a minute to reflect:

The next document I showed the class was this recent survey of Americans about their attitudes towards Israel: Gallup.com - Seven in 10 Americans Continue to View Israel Favorably. I showed this to demonstrate that there is still huge support for Israel here in the United States, and I talked about the reasons why this might be - again, how religion impacts society.

Finally, I showed this video from the New York Times: NYTimes.com - Israelis Split Over Service. This was to show the conflict within Israel between Ultra-Orthodox Jews and the military, who mandates that people of the country serve when they turn 18.

After the video, I asked the question of whether or not students thought the Jewish people in the video should be forced to serve in the military, and we had an interesting discussion about it. Thank you for your participation here!

Christianity: Next, we continued with the religion notes, using the Cornell Notes format. Here is the PowerPoint again:

Google Drive: Major Religions of the World PowerPoint

Today, we finished the fourth religion in the PowerPoint - Christianity. I appreciated your focus on it! I enjoyed, as always, explaining and trying to answer questions from the class. :-)

Grade Check: So, because I was feeling nice, instead of having the rest of class be devoted to grade checks, we played the country naming game on Sporcle! You were able to beat your previous score and now top the three classes - way to go! It was a really fun end to the day - thanks everyone! All of that said, it is still very important to stay on top of your grades, especially now that the historical investigation grades have been handed back! See you next class!

Religion, Day 3 - Class Recap

Today, I wanted students to envision themselves at a beach. This is one of my favorite beaches in the world: Maho Beach, St. Martin, in the Caribbean. Home to one of the greatest places to photograph planes on Earth! Photo taken in 2009. 

Hi everyone,

It was a fun class today! Thanks for participating in our class activities! 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: "Beach Chair" by Jay Z and Chris Martin. Selected for today because of the breathing exercises we did, envisioning ourselves at the beach! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/24/17:

News Brief - Caleb

Failing Religion
Breathing
Judaism

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade and how to improve it. Finish Historical Investigation if you have not and submit ASAP (if you do not want an F on the upcoming progress report). Next news brief: Samuel Ro.

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News Brief: Caleb had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - India Maoist rebels kill 24 CRPF policemen in Chhattisgarh. We found India in our world maps and talked about this story, which involved knowing about communism and democracy.

The next news brief was assigned to Samuel Ro.

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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Failing Religion: This section was looking at an article on American's knowledge of religion. We numbered off the paragraphs together, then students were in small groups to read through the article together and answer the questions at the end:

Google Drive - USAToday: Americans Get an 'F' in Religion Assignment

As part of this section, I showed this clip of a bar owner in Myanmar being accused of insulting Buddhism by having an online advertisement with headphones on a Buddha, connected to a dance party with alcoholic drinks:

This is another relationship of religion to society, which is our learning target for this unit. I showed this article about the man being sentenced to two years in prison, as well: NYTimes.com - Myanmar Sentences 3 to Prison for Depicting Buddha Wearing Headphones.

Breathing: I was really excited to try this today! Thank you for being willing to participate in doing some breathing and meditation type exercises! Usually, I go outside for this, but the weather unfortunately did not cooperate today. The whole point of this was to just relax. Hopefully, it did the trick! We did the guided breathing exercise on the third page of this document (which I altered slightly for context):

Google Drive: Guided Meditation Class Activity

Judaism: At the end of class, we came back to the room and continued with the religion notes, using the Cornell Notes format. Here is the PowerPoint again:

Google Drive: Major Religions of the World PowerPoint

Today, we finished the third religion in the PowerPoint - Judaism. This was somewhat lengthy, so I appreciate your focus to it! :-)

Please make sure you are working hard to review your notes, and improve your grade if at all possible! Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help! Thank you!

Religion, Day 2 - Class Recap

At the end of class today, we took notes on the aspects of Buddhism. This is a statue of Buddha at the Monkey Temple in Kathmandu. Photo taken on Spring Break 2015.

Dear class,

I am enjoying our new religion unit, especially because this I get to use a lot of the photos I have taken and experiences I have had around the world! 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.
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

Soundtrack: "What Goes Around... / ...Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake. Selected for today because we continued looking into Hinduism, in which the concept of karma is very important. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/20/17:

News Brief - Elena

Mad About Cows
Modi and Hindu Nationalism
Religions PowerPoint

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade and how to improve it. Finish and turn in the Historical Investigation if you have not. Next news brief: Caleb.

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News Brief: Elena had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Venezuela crisis: Three killed at anti-government protests. We found Venezuela in our world maps and talked about the ongoing struggles over the political situation there, including the government takeover of a General Motors plant there yesterday.

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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

The next news brief was assigned to Caleb.

Mad About Cows: This was a group activity designed to try and understand how Hinduism is playing a role in Indian society. This was the article we were looking at, which relates to the unit learning target of how religion helps shape society: NYTimes.com - Indian State Is Expanding Penalty for Killing a Cow to Life in Prison.

The directions were: Get into groups of FOUR (there may be 1-2 groups of three). Read the article together and try to summarize the article as a group. Then, answer the questions below, before we watch the video:

1) What impact is Hinduism having in shaping India’s society in this article?
2) Why was this law passed? What are the benefits to the B.J.P.?
3) Are there any religious practices that similarly shape our own culture?
4)  “Protection of cows is the single-most important principle towards saving the whole world from both moral and spiritual degradation” – why would this be, in the eyes of Hindus and the B.J.P.?
5) How is religion being used as a force for nationalism in India?

We had a fair amount of time in class to go through this together, then we moved on to the next section.

Modi and Hindu Nationalism: After reading the article, I played this video (warning: some graphic descriptions of violence) about the history of India's new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Again, we were looking at how society is impacted by religion, and it is clear that Modi's Hindu nationalist party (the Bharatiya Janata Party) is shaping society through religion in one way or another.

Another example is this recent New York Times editorial about Modi and how India is promoting mass conversions of Christians and Muslims to Hinduism: NYTimes.com - Modi's Dangerous Silence.

With over a billion people, India is the world's largest democracy. Having just visited during Spring Break in 2015, I was especially interested in focusing on it!

Religions PowerPoint: At the end of class, we continued the religion notes, using the Cornell Notes format. Here is the PowerPoint again:

Google Drive: Major Religions of the World PowerPoint

Today, we finished the second religion in the PowerPoint - Buddhism. Next class, we will look at how Buddhism shapes society and then move on to taking notes on Judaism. See the pattern here? :-)

Please make sure you are working hard to review your notes, and improve your grade if at all possible! I have updated your grades online to reflect whether or not you have turned in your Historical Investigation, as well. Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help! Thank you!

Religion, Day 1 - Class Recap

We started going over some of the world's major religions today in class. The first one in the PowerPoint was Hinduism. This is a Hindu temple in New Delhi, India! Photo taken over Spring Break, 2015.

Hi everyone,

Today, we started out religion unit. I really enjoy talking about religion and learning more about different religions, which always happens when I teach it! Hopefully this is an interesting unit for students, too. 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.

Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

Soundtrack: "God Moving Over The Face of The Waters" by Moby. Selected for today because we started talking about religion today in class. This was an instrumental song with no lyrics. Listen to it again if you want here.

AGENDA 4/17/17:

News Brief - Ranger

Respect
What is Religion?
Religions PowerPoint

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade and how to improve it. Please turn in the Historical Investigation if you have not. Next news brief: Elena.

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News Brief: Ranger had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Portugal plane crash: Five dead in Tires near Lisbon. We found Portugal in our world maps and talked about this developing story in class. Thanks, Ranger!

The next news brief was assigned to Elena.

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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Respect: To start the religion unit, I went back to our class Ground Rules that we made at the start of the year and noted that respecting each other was a big part. When we are talking about religion, it is important to know that we are not going to be debating religion as a topic or in specific religions and which is the best, or correct one, or anything like that. The goal with this unit is to simply learn as best as we can about religions around the world, so we can understand how they impact society, and students can make up their own mind about them.

What is Religion?: We started the religion unit by completing a pre-assessment in class, which students turned in after completing. Remember that there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to what you personally believe. Our study of religion is based on simply understanding what people think about spirituality around the world, which has a huge impact on life. Here's the pre-assessment:

Google Drive - World Religions Pre-Assessment

It seemed like most students were interested in talking about religion, which was good to see! If you would rather remain private about your own religion, I totally understand that, too. It is a very personal decision! Here's the video we watched for the end of the pre-assessment, which does a great job of going over five of the major world religions:

The point here was to learn some new information about major religions! I think it is a really good overview video.

Religions PowerPoint: Next, we started (it will take us a long time to finish) the religion notes, using the Cornell Notes format. These are particularly famous in Ms. DeFrance Gilman's classes. I spiced them up a bit with photos from my travels as a part of the slides! Here is the PowerPoint:

Google Drive: Major Religions of the World PowerPoint

We made it through Hinduism (the first religion covered) today, and will keep going with learning about it next class. If you want to get ahead of the game at home, go ahead and check out the rest of the slides!

There is definitely a lot to learn about! We are going to keep moving forward with new material. If you are needing to improve your grade, please work hard on that, too! I am here to help! :-)

Historical Investigation, Day 7 - Class Recap

A tree with prayer flags on the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu. It was quite an experience to climb up to this point! There are multiple students studying an aspect of a Chinese revolution for their historical investigation. Photo taken in 2014.

Dear class,

Today was our last day working with the historical investigation in class (hooray!) which means there is a lot of work ahead before Monday, especially for students that did not have completed rough drafts today! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Behavior LT 1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "You've Got A Friend" by Carole King and James Taylor. Selected for today because a good friend doing a peer review helps a lot, and I wanted everyone to know I was going to try to help as much as possible to get you in a position to be successful on this project. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/13/17:

News Brief - Irene

Peer Review
Work Time
Conferences

Homework: Read the blog! Final draft of Historical Investigation is due at the start of next class (submitted on Google Classroom or printed if you cannot turn it in there). Next news brief: Ranger.

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News Brief: Irene had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Swedish anti-abortion midwife loses court case. We found Sweden in our world maps and talked about this story for a bit, in terms of trying to understand what was going on. We will start the religion unit next class, so more insight might be given as a part of that. Thanks, Irene!

The next news brief was assigned to Ranger.

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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Peer Review: Today's class was supposed to be focused on getting as many good peer reviews on your historical investigation as possible. Here was the sheet I passed out in class for people to use.

Google Drive - Historical Investigation Peer Review Rubric

Make sure that you look to correct spelling and grammar, as well as the format issues!

Work Time: The rest of class was devoted to working on review or doing whatever possible on the historical investigation. Here is the final assignment, again, if you need to look at it:

Google Drive: Historical Investigation - Detailed Assignment

Conferences: As students were working on review, I called every student that I could in the class up to talk about where they were at, what support was needed, what changes I saw needed to be done, or in some cases, just asking what in the world has been going on for the last month, since there was so little productivity to be seen. For many students, there is a LOT of work over these next couple of days to be done.

As always, if you are confused about what to do, please email me or comment and I would be happy to help. I suspect at this point most students know what to do - they just wanted to put it off until the very last moment to get it done. Well, that moment has arrived. Work hard to get this done, please. Thank you!

Historical Investigation, Day 6 - Class Recap

Mahatma Gandhi's bed at his home in Delhi, India. Sometimes, simple living can be powerful - Gandhi's message helped prompt a revolution! Photo taken in March of 2015.

Hi everyone,

Today was our last day of in class time working for the Historical Investigation before next class, when the rough draft is due to be peer reviewed! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "This Time is the Last Time" by Mae. Selected for today because it was the last time we worked together as a class before the Historical Investigation rough draft was due! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/11/17:

News Brief - Adamari

Rough Draft Expectations
Final Questions?
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Your Historical Investigation rough draft is due next class. Next news brief: Irene.

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News Brief: Adamari had the news brief today and selected this article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Russia could soon control a U.S. oil company. We found Russia in our world maps and talked about why Russia continues to face sanctions/restrictions after their take over of Crimea, in Ukraine.

The next news brief was assigned to Irene.

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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Rough Draft Expectations: Here's a copy of how you will be peer reviewing the Historical Investigation next class, which is so important to being able to turn in a good research paper:

Google Drive - Historical Investigation Peer Review Rubric

Please be sure to bring in your Chromebook (or if you do not have a Chromebook, a printed version of your paper) at the start of class  so that we can peer review and I can have a look at it as well. I will call students up one by one in class so we can look at it together and I can go over any last changes that I am requesting. Make sure that you look to correct spelling and grammar, as well!

Final Questions? Here is the final assignment, again, if you need to look at it:

Google Drive: Historical Investigation - Detailed Assignment

It seemed like students knew what they were doing at this point and wanted to get to work, so we started up work in class.

Work Time: The rest of class was devoted to working in class on the assignment, and I was happy to try and answer questions, as well as help as much as I could. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do! Almost done! Keep it up!

Historical Investigation, Day 5 - Class Recap

Some students are researching the French Revolution for their Historical Investigation. Here is the French flag waving in Paris, in 2013.

Dear class,

Thank you for your continued hard work on the Historical Investigation. Only about a week left until it is all due! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. Selected for today because was recently April Fools Day! I did not try to fool anyone in class. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/6/17:

News Brief - Miriam
Parts C and E

H.I. Questions?
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Historical Investigation rough draft due next Wednesday. Keep working on it over the weekend and submit what you have on Google Classroom if you want my feedback and revision suggestions! Next news brief: Adamari.

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News Brief: Miriam had the news brief today and selected this article about this story to talk about: NYTimes.com - Mapping the Targets of the American Military Attack on Syria. We found Syria in the world map, and talked in depth about this story for a while, in terms of trying to understand what happened and why. Thanks for all the questions, everyone.

We also checked in about the weekend and what people were up to.

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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

The next news brief was assigned to Adamari.

Parts C and E/HI Questions? During the Russian Revolution unit, I passed out a guide to help with Part E (an OPVL analysis of the sources you used in your Part B research). The last part of your historical investigation is this analysis of your sources. It is page 5 on this document:

Google Drive: Historical Investigation - Detailed Assignment

I explained that if you are not up to Part C (the conclusion, which is on page 4), you are behind schedule, but there is still time to make it up and I am here to help! Part B (all the research and finding good sources) is the most difficult part, for sure. Let me know if you are in need of help!

Work Time: The rest of class was devoted to working in class on the assignment, and I was happy to try and answer questions, as well as help as much as I could. I was really pleased by how hard everyone seemed to be working - I hope it is all coming together for you!

Have a great weekend! Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you be successful!

Historical Investigation, Day 4 - Class Recap

Revolution Square, in Bucharest, Romania has this monument to King Carol I. The square is quite famous in Romanian history! Photo taken in 2013.

Hi everyone,

Welcome back from Spring Break! We had a day in class of peer review and working on the historical investigation. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Come Together" by The Beatles. Selected for today because Part B was due. Beatles. Part B. Get it? Also, because peer review involves coming together to improve. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/4/17:

News Brief - Kenny

Part B/D Peer Review
Part C
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Keep working on your Historical Investigation. If you do not have Parts A, B, and D at least as a rough draft, you are behind! Next news brief: Miriam.

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News Brief: Kenny had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Syria chemical 'attack': Russia clashes with West at UN. We found Russia in the world map packet and noted we did a story related to it, as we talked about chemical weapons in Syria and what happened with this tragic story.

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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

The next news brief was assigned to Miriam.

Part B/D Peer Review: There were many students who needed me to help them print their Part B documents, and it seemed like lots more who need to catch up with the rest of the class. If you have not finished the first draft of Part B and D, you are behind! Here's the peer review form/checklist that I passed out today to help with getting better:

Google Drive - Peer Review for Parts A, B, and D of Historical Investigation

It is your responsibility to get a great peer review and give one, too! It helps make everyone's work better. Please continue working on improving these sections!

Part C: For students who were done with Part B, I introduced Part C, which is the conclusion, where you answer your research question, now that you have found and used your sources of information in Part B. but it is on page 4 here:

Google Drive - Historical Investigation Assignment Details

We will continue to work on this next class! If you are on schedule with your historical investigation, these next two days in class will be spent wrapping up your work and refining your final paper.

Work Time: The rest of class was devoted to working quietly on the assignment, and I was happy to try and answer questions along with print off papers.

Thank you for your hard work - please let me know if there is anything else I can help with!