Geography, Day 9 - Class Recap

This is me doing the Gangnam Style dance, at Gangnam Station in Seoul, South Korea, in January of 2014. Yes, the Korean girl who took this was laughing at me.

Dear class,

We are finally done with map quizzes and most of the Geography unit! Thank you for your patience and understanding as we finished today and there was a flurry of activity. I will grade your packets in the coming days for your upcoming progress reports. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets:
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Gangnam Style" by PSY. Selected because we had our last map quiz today, on Asia. South Korea is where PSY is from, which is in Asia. Lyrics (which are mostly Korean, and hilariously translated to the English alphabet) here.

AGENDA 10/5/17:
News Brief – Kiran
Asia Map Quiz
5 Themes/Map Work
Turn in Collection of Evidence

Homework: Read the blog. Your geography packet needed to be turned in today, so if you have parts you did not turn in, please get it to me ASAP. Next news brief: Bob.

News Brief: Kiran brought in an article about this story for the news brief: NYTimes.com - Inside North Korea, and Feeling the Drums of War. We found North Korea in the world map packet and then had an extended conversation in class (I love these!) about the Korean War, daily life in North Korea, and what is happening there. Thanks, Kiran! Bob was selected to do the next news brief.

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

Asia Map Quiz: This was the last map quiz opportunity (remember, you had 6 possible opportunities with different map quizzes - 4 of which you choose as your best work to be graded along with the other geography work we have been doing). We graded and passed this back in class, so everyone should have had all the graded quizzes available for selection.

Atlas/Map Work: There was time in class for students to be finishing any geography unit work, after the Asia quiz. I hope you used your time wisely! The assignments for the unit are:

1) The completed world map packet, labelled and colored. Link here.
2) Your choice of the top four out of the six map quizzes that we took in class.
3) Latitude and Longitude in Central Asia worksheet. Link here.
4) The Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity. Link here - also on Google Classroom to submit there.

Turn in Collection of Evidence: Finally - the first graded packet of work for the semester! This was the accumulation of all the work we have done with the geography unit - the quizzes, five themes papers, the latitude and longitude assignment from Asia, and your completed world maps by continent (colored and labelled). Here is the rubric students used in class to self assess (I will be using this same paper to write grades and comments on):

Google Drive - Geography LTs 7 and 10 Self Assessment Rubric

I will look at what students wrote on this, along with the work that was stapled and turned in with it, in order to determine your proficiency grades are for these two learning targets, which is what the first grades of the year will be based on. Thus, if you did not do well with keeping up with your maps, doing well with the quizzes, and making sure to use class time effectively for the Five Themes of Geography packet, you may have some unfortunate news coming soon if you do not make up the work.

Next class, we will start our look at culture in depth. See you then!

Geography, Day 8 - Class Recap

The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, taken in July of 2014. Today, we had our Africa map quiz in class, which included Egypt!

Dear class,

Welcome back to our first week of October! This week should close out the first big unit of the year, on Geography. Next class is our last map quiz, and then we will start moving on to Culture later in the week! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Runnin' Down a Dream" by Tom Petty. Selected for today because of Mr. Petty passing away yesterday at the age of 66. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/3/17:
News Brief – Rachel
Africa Map Quiz
Latitude/Longitude
Atlas/Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Finish Asia/Middle East maps (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Bring all of your other geography unit work/quizzes to be able to turn in - your completed map packet, top four quiz scores, latitude/longitude worksheet, and 5 themes map activity (on Google Classroom). Next news brief: Kiran.

News Brief: Rachel had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: CNN.com - Two women accused of murdering Kim Jong Nam plead not guilty. We found North Korea in our world maps and talked for a bit about what happened with the assassination and why it could have happened. Thanks, Rachel! Kiran was selected as the next person up.

I also checked in about the weekend with everyone to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun, 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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Africa Map Quiz: The second to last map quiz out of the six! Remember that your top four scores will be turned in for your grade for the geography targets. We corrected the quiz in class and then passed them back.

Latitude/Longitude: I wanted to make sure that we went over the concepts of latitude and longitude again, in identifying where places are in the world. With that, I passed out this worksheet having to do with Asia (which, not so coincidentally, students were labeling in class today):

Google Drive - Asia Latitude and Longitude Worksheet

I will collect these as part of the collection of evidence for the geography learning targets later in the week, along with your top four map quizzes, finished map packet, and Five Themes of Geography packet.

Atlas/Map Work: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the Asia and Middle East sections of the map packet, in order to be able to use it on the last map quiz next class. For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This island country—an archipelago made up of many atolls—is located south and west of India. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Here's the Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity to continue working on (which mostly has to be in class with the atlases here):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

Make sure to have your map packet completed, and as much of the Five Themes packet done as possible for next class!

Geography, Day 7 - Class Recap

Today's map quiz was on Europe. In 2013, I took a two month trip to Europe and traveled by plane, train, and bus all around. Here's a collage of photos from each stop of the trip.

Hi everyone,

We are getting close to the end of the Geography unit! Thank you for your patience and understanding that geography is really important! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.
Knowledge LT 6: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate the ability to use geographic tools.

Soundtrack: "Trans Europe Express" by Kraftwerk. Selected for today because it was the Europe quiz in class, naturally. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/29/17:
News Brief – Omar
Europe Map Quiz
Geographic Literacy
Atlas/Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Finish Africa map (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Next news brief: Rachel.

News Brief: Before the news brief today, we went over to Mr. Puterbaugh's class to give everyone high fives because it was Friday! Hooray! Omar had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: CNN.com - Russia warns U.S. over treatment of its media outlets. We found Russia in our world map packet (helpfully in the same continent we were taking the map quiz on) and talked about this story for a while - lots of excellent questions about Russia and their influence in the United States election. We also talked about Space X and their latest rocket announcement, as well as lots of other related questions. Rachel was selected as the next person up.

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

I asked about the weekend and if anyone had any plans, before moving on.

Europe Map Quiz: The fourth map quiz out of the six! Remember that your top four scores will be turned in for your grade for the geography targets. We corrected the quiz in class (making sure to note the updated answers from the map quiz key) and then students passed them back to each other.

Geographic Literacy: I know that class has been a little repetitive lately, with quizzes and work time, I wanted to show again why it is important that we are learning about geography. So, I played this clip:

Yikes, to say the least! "Name a country in South America." "Uh... Africa?"

The problem is that this is not uncommon. To back up my point that we really need to know our geography as a society, I showed this article about the results of a 2006 National Geographic study:

NationalGeographic.com - Young Americans Geographically Illiterate, Survey Suggests

Some of the statistics on there (granted, almost a decade old, but I would be willing to bet the numbers have not changed that much) are really frightening, about how little Americans the age of the students in our class know about geography. Less than 20% of young Americans even OWN a world map, which is a reason why I really care that you do! With that in mind, we moved on to continuing to label and prepare for the next map quiz.

Finally, we watched this clip of John Oliver making fun of people for not knowing their geography:

Pretty funny, and it also reinforces the point about needing to know where places are!

Atlas/Map Work: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the Africa section of the map packet, in order to be able to use it on the upcoming quiz next class. For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This mountainous central African country is located between Uganda and Burundi. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Also, here's the Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity to continue working on (which mostly has to be in class with the atlases here):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

Have a great weekend, everyone! See you next week. :-)

Geography, Day 6 - Class Recap

Today, we took the North America quiz and worked on identifying the states. This is a picture I took at the California Poppy Reserve in 2008.

Dear class,

Today was another quiz and work day, as we progress through the maps of the world and being able to identify where countries are. We also had a solid amount of work time at the end of class to be studying and completing the Five Themes of Geography packet. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "I Want it That Way" by Backstreet Boys. Selected for today because the Backstreet Boys are from the United States, which is in North America, and I wanted you do to well on your map quiz today! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/27/17:
News Brief – Peter
North America Map Quiz
5 Themes
Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Finish Europe map (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Next news brief: Omar.

News Brief: Peter had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: BBC.com - Saudi Arabia women hail end of driving ban. We found Saudi Arabia in the world map and talked about this story and why the change in the law (set to be in practice next year) was made. Thanks, Peter! Omar was selected as the next person up.

We also checked in about what people were up to in class. As part of this, I talked about the protests during the national anthem over the weekend, and talked about student rights regarding the ability to protest at school and athletic events: EdWeek.org - Students Have a Right to Protest During National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance.

As part of the News Brief section, we watched the one minute world news from the BBC,  Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day:

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

I think being aware of what is going on around the world is an important habit to develop! :-)

North America Map Quiz: The third map quiz out of the six! Remember that your top four scores will be turned in for your grade for the geography targets. We corrected the quiz in class - please keep all copies of your map quizzes in your binder to select the top four at the end of the unit!

5 Themes/Map Work: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the Europe section of the map packet (there are a lot of countries in Europe and it is pretty detailed, so I understand if you are using arrows to label), in order to be able to use it on the upcoming quiz next class. For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This small country is a principality located between Switzerland and Austria. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Also, here's the Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity to continue working on (this is also on Google Classroom for you to create a copy of):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

Thanks, everyone! You did a great job of focusing and being able to self-direct your learning in class today!

Geography, Day 5 - Class Recap

Today's map quiz was on Oceania. I told the class that I once visited Kiribati (pronounced Kire-eh-bahs) for a couple of hours in 2014. That was on purpose on a layover from Fiji from Hawaii! One of my very favorite passport stamps!

Hello everyone,

I had a lot of fun with today's class, and I hope you did, too! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Back in Black" by AC/DC. Selected for today because AC/DC is from Australia, which the map quiz was on today! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/25/17:
Wildcat News Brief – Ree
Oceania Map Quiz
Island Mountains
Atlas/Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Finish North America map (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Next news brief: Peter.

News Brief: Ree had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: USAToday.com - Now-and-then satellite photos show Maria's ravaging of Dominica. We discussed this ongoing story for a bit and found Dominica in the world map packet to note we had done a news brief on it. Thanks, Ree! Peter was selected to be the next person up.

We also checked in about last weekend and what people were up to outside of class.

Finally, we watched BBC World News for the day, before moving on.

Here was the Westview Wildcat News for the week, if you wanted to see it again or missed class:

Oceania Map Quiz: The next map quiz out of the six! Remember that your top four scores will be turned in for your grade for the geography targets. We corrected the quiz in class and I gave students back the South America quiz results.

Island Mountains: I loved doing this activity with my classes! I was taught how to do this lesson years ago when I was getting my Masters at Lewis and Clark. It was so cool to see all of the different islands that students created! The directions for this activity were:

Crumple up a white piece of paper.

Wrap a writing utensil around the middle, so there is a bump in the paper.

Lay it down on a blue piece of paper. Cut off the corners, so that the bottom is circular/curved.

Tape the sides down.

Start coloring the mountain with:
Forests (a ring of green around the middle)
Rivers (blue streams down the sides of the mountain)
Cliffs and rocks (brown or grey)
Lava (red, if you want),
Beaches (yellow/orange).
The only part to your island that could be majority white is the top (snow).

Draw some houses on the flat parts to your island, next to the rivers that would provide water. Where would ships go? Draw a harbor there.

Identify where humans and the environment (Knowledge Target 10 shout out!) would be interacting on your island. Give your island a name and write it on the blue of the ocean!

Make a key for your map – how big is each inch? A mile? Draw a compass (North, South, East, West) for your map!

Here's one resulting map, which was super awesome:

Woo hoo! I hope you enjoyed this activity (really focusing on the behavior target of self-directing learning), but also about Oceania/islands and human/environment interaction!

Atlas/Map Work: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the North America/Caribbean section of the map packet, in order to be able to use it on the upcoming quiz next class. For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This country, the furthest east of all the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, is east of St. Lucia. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Also, here's the Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity to continue working on (which mostly has to be in class with the atlases here):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

We did not have a ton of time in class to work on this, due to the fun mountain making activity, So, I took a picture of the North America/Caribbean section (remember that these are two different map pages in your map packet) to help with labeling and coloring at home for the next quiz:

If you click on it, the image should get much bigger.

Have a great day, everyone! I appreciate all of your hard work so far in class. 

Geography, Day 4 - Class Recap

My friend Ryan and I, on a mountain looking over Bogota, Colombia in 2009. We had our South America map quiz today in class, which included Colombia!

Hi wonderful students,

Great to see you all again today! It was a quiz and work day in class. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Es Por Ti" by Juanes. Selected for today because Juanes is a singer from Colombia, which is in South America, which is what our map quiz today was about! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/21/17:
News Brief – Naomi
South America Map Quiz
5 Themes/Map Work
Oceania

Homework: Read the blog. Finish Oceania map (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Next news brief: Ree.

News Brief: Naomi had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: TheGuardian.com - Russian helicopter accidentally fires rocket at onlookers. We found Russia in our world map packet (in Asia!) and talked for a bit about this story. Thanks, Naomi! Ree was assigned to do the next news brief.

We also talked about what students were up to outside of the classroom and 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

South America Map Quiz: As promised, the first map quiz. This was for South America and it is probably the easiest map quiz of the six we will do. I let students use their South America maps if they had completed them before class. Hopefully, you understand the importance of having a completed map to use on the test, and of reading the blog! We corrected the quiz in class and I passed it out for students to see what they got, before collecting them to be returned for good next class.

Five Themes/Map Work: This was the atlas work packet that we have been working on in class the last few days. This will be due at the end of the Geography unit (in about 3 classes, when we are done with each of the continents) and will count towards the assessment of a learning target. If you missed class, the packet is here (you need to work in class with the atlas in order to complete this):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

Please keep at this in class and work hard to get it done!

Oceania: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the Australia/Oceania section of the map packet, in order to be able to use it on the upcoming quiz next class. This is much tougher than the South America quiz, so be ready! For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This is the northernmost country in Oceania, with U.S. territories to the west and east. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Again, mostly a work day today. Thanks for your focus today. See you next class!

Geography, Day 3 - Class Recap

This is a globe that was in a house that George Washington stayed at for a few weeks in Barbados. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to another week of Global Studies! Today, we learned about the Five Themes of Geography and did some more map work with the atlases in class. Here's what happened:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Maps" by Maroon 5. Get it? Because we are learning about Geography and maps? Ha, ha. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/19/17:
News Brief – Linh
Maps
Themes of Geography
Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Bring a photo for the wall if you have not already. Study for South America map quiz next class (need completed and colored map of South America done in order to use). Next news brief: Naomi.

As a reward for reading the blog (and doing your homework), one of the questions on the quiz is: This country shares its longest border with Argentina.

News Brief: Linh had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to bring in: TheGuardian.com - Earthquake in Turkey and Greece leaves at least two dead in Kos. We found the Turkey in our world map packet and noted we did a news brief story there. We also talked for a bit about this story and what happened (although it appears that this was from July, so not all that recent). Thanks, Linh!

Naomi was assigned the next news brief.

We took the time to check in about the weekend and what people were up to, as well.

As part of the news brief, 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

Maps: With this next section in class, we continued working with maps and geography. You will be using your world map packet every day for the rest of the year - specifically during the News Brief section, but also during this unit, where we will be filling out the map packet and taking geography quizzes on the different continents to get to know where everything is located.

I showed this video of many different time lapses on the ground, in various different countries. This one makes me smile, because I have been to a few of these places! :-)

I showed this in class to hopefully help inspire you to learn about where these places are and maybe one day to travel there! We are going to keep looking at geography throughout the year.

Themes of Geography: Basically, this was a PowerPoint presentation in combination with a work packet online for notes on each of the themes and an activity using Google to find relevant maps. We began this section by watching the Five Themes of Geography rap:

The Five Themes of Geography are:

Movement
Regions
Human Environment interactions
Location
Place

Or: MR. HELP!

For those that were not in class or wanted to see the presentation again for additional review, here it is:

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography PowerPoint

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Worksheet Handout

(this is linked to on Google Classroom as your personal copy to fill out)

This is one way in which you will be able to demonstrate proficiency with LT 10 in class. Thanks for your focus and participation in taking notes! I appreciate it!

Map Work: To finish class, I passed out a huge map packet (not regular sized paper) for students to fill out. Specifically, work on identifying the countries in South America on the first page, to begin. You need to have the country name written in and the country colored (so not two touching countries are the same color) in order to be able to use them on the map quiz (it is virtually impossible to pass the map quiz without your completed map). Just in case you want to see the files again (printing them on smaller paper is not advised), here it is:

Google Drive: Fill in World Maps

Map Packet Expectations:
1 = Maps lack detail, color, and/or labels. Maps are sloppy or messy.
2 = Maps are labeled and colored but there may be inaccuracies. Maps could be neater.
3 = Maps are labeled and colored completely, accurately, and neatly.
4 = Maps are labeled and colored completely, accurately, and neatly, and include at least one piece of  other information, such as capitals, land forms, water features, flags, or resources.

That was it for today! Bring your maps for next class, because we will continue working on them. They are not homework for now! We will use them during the news brief, too.

Again, a heads up that you need your completed South American map, with the countries labeled and colored to use next class on the quiz. Please use a website like Google Maps, or ask questions if you need help!

Sound good? See you next class!

Geography, Day 2 - Class Recap

Ayers Rock/Uluru in the Australian outback. Photo taken in January 2014.

Dear class,

I loved getting to really talk more about geography in depth today, and explore a little bit about countries around the world! I am a huge fan of geography and knowing about different countries, so hopefully that excitement translated well.

Learning Targets Addressed: 

Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Such Great Heights" by the Postal Service. Selected for today because we started looking at the world from above, in terms of maps (and also the space station video that I played in class). Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/15/17:
News Brief - McKenzie
Photos/Over The Summer
Geography
Maps

Homework: Read the blog and post a comment (if you have not already). Bring a photo if you have not already! The next news brief is assigned to: Linh.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by McKenzie who selected an article about this story: USGS.gov - M 3.2 - 70km WNW of Skagway, Alaska. We found Canada on Google Maps and talked about this story for a bit before moving on. Thanks, McKenzie! We also checked in about the upcoming weekend and what people were up to.

Linh was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, 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

Photos/Over The Summer: After the news, I gave the class another chance to showcase a photo from around the world or their family, if they had not done their homework last class.

We then went back and I asked about any major events we could think of that happened over the summer. This was another way of just gauging what the class knew about news around the world. Thanks for participating!

Geography: Next up, I showed this clip of Miss Teen South Carolina 2007, trying to answer a question about why many Americans cannot locate the United States on a world map:

I didn't mean to further embarrass Miss Teen South Carolina. I just wanted to show why it is important that we know our geography! So, I passed out a blank piece of paper that asked everyone to try and draw a world map from memory, labeling as much as possible. Some of these were pretty good! Others, not so much. That's okay! We definitely can improve on our geography skills, and I am excited to teach the class about it.

I also talked about how important it is to be able to assess your own work as a student. Do you know what a "4" looks like? How about 3, 2, and 1 on the proficiency scale? I had the class assess their work on the "Draw Your Own Map" activity we did last class, now that we could look at the atlas in class. Here's the activity again if you missed it either day:

Google Drive - Draw a Map of the World: Self-Assessment Practice

As I said in class, I expect that most students would be in the 1 or 2 grade range for the proficiency scores. That's totally fine! I haven't taught you anything about it, yet! You should be at that level, unless you have lots of prior knowledge!

Maps: After the fun of trying to draw the world we played the Sporcle online map game. You all were good for the first time! A score of 123 out of 197 in 15:00 minutes is decent for a first time playing. Again, we will get better about learning about the world! Here's the game to play if you are a huge nerd like me (yes, I have named all of them in 15 minutes before):

Sporcle.com - Geography: Name the Countries of the World Game

Next, I showed a few links that have to do with creatively thinking about geography. It's so much more than just blank maps and countries! These are real places with real people and amazing scenery! The first link was: TwistedSifter.com - 40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World. I didn't show all of the maps in class, but I did particularly enjoy a few, like the map of every country in the world that the United Kingdom has invaded at one point or another.

After that, I showed this video that is a time lapse of some shots from the International Space Station, orbiting around the Earth at night. Incredible! See if you can identify the countries and places by their lights at night.

That was it for today, due to time (as it was a short class on Wednesday with early release). We will get back to it on Tuesday!

Thanks for your focus and participation here! See you next week!

Geography, Day 1 - Class Recap

The ball of yarn that we used in class today for the Class Unity Activity! Thanks for participating in this!

Dear class,

I enjoyed getting to know you all a bit better today! We had a productive time with the yarn activity and learning more about what is going on in the world at the end of the class. I also loved seeing your photos and having them put up on the walls!

Learning Targets Addressed: 

Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Soundtrack: "Comin' From Where I'm From" by Anthony Hamilton. Because today, we talked about where we are from and how we got to be at Westview, via our family background. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/13/17:
News Brief - Bailey
Photos/Finish Fear
Class Unity Activity
The Summer

Homework: Read the blog and post a comment (if you have not already). Bring a photo if you have not already! The next news brief is assigned to: McKenzie.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Bailey, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Mexico earthquake: Rescue efforts continue as death toll rises. We talked about what is going on with the impacts of the earthquake in Mexico and looked at the geography of the region a bit. I also asked about if anyone was up to anything particularly fun or interesting outside of class. I like checking in and giving the opportunity to see what students are up to!

McKenzie was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, 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

Photos: After the news, we heard from students who remembered to do their homework and bring in a photo from a place they have been, a place they want to go, or a picture of their family. I really enjoyed this, and it was so cool to see everyone's photos and hear stories! If you did not bring in a picture, please do so next class.

Class Unity Activity: I always love this, for many reasons. One, because I love hearing about how everyone came to be in our classroom. Two, because of how the yarn connects us all. Three, because it helps the class (and me) learn names and a little about each other! Thank you for participating in this. It can get lengthy, I know, but I value it so much more than just lecturing for that time. It was nice to enjoy the sun outside for a bit, too!

Finish Fear: At the end of the class, we shared a bit about the "fear" stories I had the class write last time, because I talked about how the U.S. felt a lot of fear after September 11th. It was interesting (and sometimes pretty funny) to hear the stories that were shared out!

We finished with that. We will work a bit more on what happened over the summer next class. Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks!

Government, Day 1 - Class Recap

On the roof of the Bundestag building in Berlin, Germany. This is where the government of Germany meets. Photo taken in 2013.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to a shortened week, with Veterans Day on Friday and a staff development day on Thursday! I really enjoyed the discussion today in class. I'm sure it was a nice change from all of the writing students have had to do in the last few days for the class! Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Communication LT 1:  I can use language and  style that is appropriate to the content area.

Soundtrack: "The Final Countdown" by Europe. Selected for today because it is the final countdown (of hours!) until the end of the 2016 Presidential Election! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/8/16:
News Brief – Makayla
The Election
Culture Presentations
Forced Choice

Homework: Read the blog. Watch the election night coverage tonight! Next news brief: Caleb.

News Brief: Makayla had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Philippine militants claim German kidnapping after body found on boat. We found the Philippines in our world maps and noted that we did a news brief on the country, before moving on.

Caleb was selected to do the next news brief.

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

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

I also asked about the weekend and what people were up to.

The Election: Because today is the presidential election, I made sure to go through what is happening and when to expect results. We went through a few websites for this:

1) The FiveThirtyEight.com election forecast. I have been showing this all semester in class, and it appears that the polls have recently tightened a bit, though Hillary Clinton is still favored to win a majority of the time. As a reminder: it is not who wins the most votes in the country, it is who wins the amount of states that add up to at least 270 electoral votes that wins.

2) A map of poll closing times for each state, when results begin to be announced. Yay for geography and maps! I pointed out some keys in the early states to look for in terms of who might be ahead. Virginia and Georgia at 4:00 PM are two examples of important indicators. At 8:00 PM on the West Coast, polls close, and it is likely that within the next couple of hours after that, we will know who will be the next President of the United States.

3) A map of how long it took to determine who won each state in 2012. Helpful to know how long things might take!

Culture Presentations: Because I wanted to give as much time in class last time to writing the DBQ, we did not have the time for presentations (for the students who chose to do a presentation for the culture project). I enjoyed everyone that went today! Thank you for your effort in crafting great presentations and visuals.

Forced Choice: We will start this activity next class! It was cut short today because of the DBQ time.

See you on next Monday, when we will surely have lots to talk about! :-)

Geography, Day 9 - Class Recap

This is me doing the Gangnam Style dance, at Gangnam Station in Seoul, South Korea, in January of 2014. Yes, the Korean girl who took this was laughing at me.

Dear class,

We are finally done with map quizzes and most of the Geography unit! Thank you for your patience and understanding as we finished today and there was a flurry of activity. I will grade your packets in the coming days for your upcoming progress reports. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets:
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.
Knowledge LT 6: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate the ability to use geographic tools.

Soundtrack: "Gangnam Style" by PSY. Selected because we had our last map quiz today, on Asia. South Korea is where PSY is from, which is in Asia. Lyrics (which are mostly Korean, and hilariously translated to the English alphabet) here.

AGENDA 10/6/16:
News Brief – Oliver
Asia Map Quiz
Atlas/Map Work
Turn in Collection of Evidence

Homework: Read the blog. Your geography packet needed to be turned in today, so if you have parts you did not turn in, please get it to me ASAP. Next news brief: Olivia.

News Brief: Oliver brought in an article about this story for the news brief: BBC.com - Typhoon Chaba batters South Korea and heads to Japan. We found South Korea in the world map packet (handy, since we did the Asia map quiz today in class) and talked about hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones. Thanks, Oliver! Olivia was selected to do the next news brief.

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

We also checked in about the upcoming presidential debate on Sunday, as well as what students are up to outside of class over the weekend. It was great to see many of your parents at Back to School Night yesterday!

Asia Map Quiz: This was the last map quiz opportunity (remember, you had 6 possible opportunities with different map quizzes - 4 of which you choose as your best work to be graded along with the other geography work we have been doing). We graded and passed this back in class, so everyone should have had all the graded quizzes available for selection.

Atlas/Map Work: There was time in class for students to be finishing any geography unit work, after the Asia quiz. I hope you used your time wisely! The assignments for the unit are:

1) The completed world map packet, labelled and colored. Link here.
2) Your choice of the top four out of the six map quizzes that we took in class.
3) The Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity. Link here.
4) Latitude and Longitude in Central Asia worksheet. Link here.

Turn in Collection of Evidence: Finally - the first graded packet of work for the semester! This was the accumulation of all the work we have done with the geography unit - the quizzes, five themes papers, the latitude and longitude assignment from Asia, and your completed world maps by continent (colored and labelled). Here is the rubric students used in class to self assess (I will be using this same paper to write grades and comments on):

Google Drive - Geography LTs 7 and 10 Self Assessment Rubric

I will look at what students wrote on this, along with the work that was stapled and turned in with it, in order to determine your proficiency grades are for these two learning targets, which is what the first progress report will be based on. Thus, if you did not do well with keeping up with your maps, doing well with the quizzes, and making sure to use class time effectively for the Five Themes of Geography packet, you may have some unfortunate news coming soon if you do not make up the work.

Next class, we will start our look at culture in depth. See you then!

Geography, Day 8 - Class Recap

The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, taken in July of 2014. Today, we had our Africa map quiz in class, which included Egypt!

Dear class,

Welcome back to our first week of October! This week should close out the first big unit of the year, on Geography. Next class is our last map quiz, and then we will start moving on to Culture later in the week! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck. Selected for today because an anonymous student commented on the blog with it as a suggestion. For future reference, I like song requests to tie in to what we are doing in class somehow, so for this, I said that today we are taking our fifth map quiz of the geography unit. :-)

AGENDA 10/4/16:
News Brief – Jimmy
Africa Map Quiz
Latitude/Longitude
Atlas/Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Finish Asia/Middle East maps (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Bring all of your other geography unit work/quizzes to be able to turn in. Next news brief: Oliver.

News Brief: Jimmy had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: CNN.com - Hurricane Matthew: Jamaica and Haiti brace for 'life-threatening' storm. We found Haiti in our world maps and talked for a bit about what this dangerous storm is up to. Thanks, Jimmy! Oliver was selected as the next person up.

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

I also checked in about the weekend with everyone to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun, before moving on.

Africa Map Quiz: The second to last map quiz out of the six! Remember that your top four scores will be turned in for your grade for the geography targets. We corrected the quiz in class and then passed them back.

Latitude/Longitude: I wanted to make sure that we went over the concepts of latitude and longitude again, in identifying where places are in the world. With that, I passed out this worksheet having to do with Asia (which, not so coincidentally, students were labeling in class today):

Google Drive - Asia Latitude and Longitude Worksheet

I will collect these as part of the collection of evidence for the geography learning targets later in the week, along with your top four map quizzes, finished map packet, and Five Themes of Geography packet.

Atlas/Map Work: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the Asia and Middle East sections of the map packet, in order to be able to use it on the last map quiz next class. For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This island country—an archipelago made up of many atolls—is located south and west of India. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Here's the Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity to continue working on (which mostly has to be in class with the atlases here):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

I am looking forward to meeting your parents Wednesday night at Back To School Night! You can bet that the blog will feature heavily. Make sure to have your map packet completed, and as much of the Five Themes packet done as possible for next class!

Geography, Day 7 - Class Recap

Today's map quiz was on Europe. In 2013, I took a two month trip to Europe and traveled by plane, train, and bus all around. Here's a collage of photos from each stop of the trip.

Hi everyone,

We are getting close to the end of the Geography unit! Thank you for your patience and understanding that geography is really important! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.
Knowledge LT 6: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate the ability to use geographic tools.

Soundtrack: "It's The End of the World As We Know It" by R.E.M. Selected for today because Jim wrote a comment on the blog to suggest it, and we are currently learning about world geography. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/30/16:
News Brief – Sophia
Europe Map Quiz
Geographic Literacy
Atlas/Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Finish Africa map (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Next news brief: Jimmy.

News Brief: Sophia had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: TheGuardian.com - World Health Organisation declares Sri Lanka malaria-free. We found Sri Lanka in our world map packet and students talked briefly with Mr. Puterbaugh about this story, before we did some Friday high fives. Thanks, Sophia! Jimmy volunteered for the next news brief.

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

I asked about the weekend and if anyone had any plans, before moving on.

Europe Map Quiz: The fourth map quiz out of the six! Remember that your top four scores will be turned in for your grade for the geography targets. We corrected the quiz in class (making sure to note the updated answers from the map quiz key) and then students passed them back to each other.

Geographic Literacy: I know that class has been a little repetitive lately, with quizzes and work time, I wanted to show again why it is important that we are learning about geography. So, I played this clip:

Yikes, to say the least! "Name a country in South America." "Uh... Africa?"

The problem is that this is not uncommon. To back up my point that we really need to know our geography as a society, I showed this article about the results of a 2006 National Geographic study:

NationalGeographic.com - Young Americans Geographically Illiterate, Survey Suggests

Some of the statistics on there (granted, almost a decade old, but I would be willing to bet the numbers have not changed that much) are really frightening, about how little Americans the age of the students in our class know about geography. Less than 20% of young Americans even OWN a world map, which is a reason why I really care that you do! With that in mind, we moved on to continuing to label and prepare for the next map quiz.

Finally, we watched this clip of John Oliver making fun of people for not knowing their geography:

Pretty funny, and it also reinforces the point about needing to know where places are!

Atlas/Map Work: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the Africa section of the map packet, in order to be able to use it on the upcoming quiz next class. For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This mountainous central African country is located between Uganda and Burundi. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Also, here's the Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity to continue working on (which mostly has to be in class with the atlases here):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

Have a great weekend, everyone! See you next week. :-)

Geography, Day 6 - Class Recap

Today, we took the North America quiz and worked on identifying the states. This is a picture I took at the California Poppy Reserve in 2008.

Dear class,

Today was another quiz and work day, as we progress through the maps of the world and being able to identify where countries are. We also had a solid amount of work time at the end of class to be studying and completing the Five Themes of Geography packet. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "I Want it That Way" by Backstreet Boys. Selected for today because the Backstreet Boys are from the United States, which is in North America, and I wanted you do to well on your map quiz today! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/28/16:
News Brief – Rachel
North America Map Quiz
Google Classroom
Atlas/Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Finish Europe map (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Next news brief: Sophia.

News Brief: Rachel had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: ABCNews.go.com - Israel Mourns as Preparations Begin for Peres' Funeral. We found Israel on the world map (in the Middle East) and discussed this for a bit. Thanks, Rachel! Sophia was drawn as the next person up.

We also checked in about what people were up to outside of class, including clubs that students were signing up for.

As part of the News Brief section, we watched the one minute world news from the BBC,  Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day:

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

I think being aware of what is going on around the world is an important habit to develop! :-)

North America Map Quiz: The third map quiz out of the six! Remember that your top four scores will be turned in for your grade for the geography targets. We corrected the quiz in class - please keep all copies of your map quizzes in your binder to select the top four at the end of the unit!

Google Classroom: Along with Mr. Puterbaugh, I will be using Google Classroom for some aspects of the class this year, so I had students sign up to enter the class online. That's all we did with this today, but there will certainly be more we do in the future with assignments and readings through Google Classroom.

Atlas/Map Work: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the Europe section of the map packet (there are a lot of countries in Europe and it is pretty detailed, so I understand if you are using arrows to label), in order to be able to use it on the upcoming quiz next class. For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This small country is a principality located between Switzerland and Austria. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Also, here's the Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity to continue working on (which mostly has to be in class with the atlases here):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

Thanks, everyone! You did a great job of focusing and being able to self-direct your learning in class today!

Geography, Day 5 - Class Recap

Today's map quiz was on Oceania. I told the class that I once visited Kiribati (pronounced Kire-eh-bahs) for a couple of hours in 2014. That was on purpose on a layover from Fiji from Hawaii! One of my very favorite passport stamps!

Hello everyone,

I had a lot of fun with today's class, and I hope you did, too! Thank you for all of your support this week, as it was a difficult one personally with remembering my dad, and also a really great one here at Westview. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Back in Black" by AC/DC. Selected for today because AC/DC is from Australia, which the map quiz was on today! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/26/16:
News Brief – Kira
Oceania Map Quiz
Island Mountains
Atlas/Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Finish North America map (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Watch the Presidential debate tonight at 6 PM. Next news brief: Rachel.

News Brief: Kira had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: CNN.com - Olympic runner Feyisa Lilesa: 'I will be killed if I go back to Ethiopia'. We found Ethiopia in the world map and talked about the ongoing issue, especially as related to what happened at the Olympics this summer. Thanks, Kira! Rachel was drawn as the next person up.

We also checked in about last weekend.

Finally, we watched BBC World News for the day and talked a bit about our own presidential election, before moving on.

Oceania Map Quiz: The next map quiz out of the six! Remember that your top four scores will be turned in for your grade for the geography targets. We corrected the quiz in class and then you got them back for now.

Island Mountains: I loved doing this activity with my classes! I was taught how to do this lesson 7 years ago when I was getting my Masters at Lewis and Clark. It was so cool to see all of the different islands that students created! The directions for this activity were:

Crumple up a white piece of paper.

Wrap a writing utensil around the middle, so there is a bump in the paper.

Lay it down on a blue piece of paper. Cut off the corners, so that the bottom is circular/curved.

Tape the sides down.

Start coloring the mountain with:
Forests (a ring of green around the middle)
Rivers (blue streams down the sides of the mountain)
Cliffs and rocks (brown or grey)
Lava (red, if you want),
Beaches (yellow/orange).
The only part to your island that could be majority white is the top (snow).

Draw some houses on the flat parts to your island, next to the rivers that would provide water. Where would ships go? Draw a harbor there.

Identify where humans and the environment (Knowledge Target 10 shout out!) would be interacting on your island. Give your island a name and write it on the blue of the ocean!

Make a key for your map – how big is each inch? A mile? Draw a compass (North, South, East, West) for your map!

Here's one resulting map, which was super awesome:

Woo hoo! I hope you enjoyed this activity (really focusing on the behavior target of self-directing learning), but also about Oceania/islands and human/environment interaction!

Atlas/Map Work: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the North America/Caribbean section of the map packet, in order to be able to use it on the upcoming quiz next class. For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This country, the furthest east of all the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, is east of St. Lucia.. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Also, here's the Five Themes of Geography Atlas activity to continue working on (which mostly has to be in class with the atlases here):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

We did not have a ton of time in class to work on this, due to the fun mountain making activity, So, I took a picture of the North America/Caribbean section (remember that these are two different map pages in your map packet) to help with labeling and coloring at home for the next quiz:

If you click on it, the image should get much bigger.

Have a great weekend, everyone! I appreciate all of your hard work so far in class. 

Geography, Day 4 - Class Recap

My friend Ryan and I, on a mountain looking over Bogota, Colombia in 2009. We had our South America map quiz today in class, which included Colombia!

Hi wonderful students,

Great to see you all again today! It was a quiz and work day in class. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Es Por Ti" by Juanes. Selected for today because Juanes is a singer from Colombia, which is in South America, which is what our map quiz today was about! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/22/16:
News Brief – Reese
South America Map Quiz
Atlas/Map Work
Oceania

Homework: Read the blog. Finish Oceania map (colored and labeled) for the quiz next class. Next news brief: Kira.

News Brief: Reese had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: BBC.com - Egypt migrant boat capsize: Hundreds feared dead. We talked about human movement (a theme of geography) as related to the refugee crisis in this region (a theme of geography) of the world, as well as some other issues in the area. Thanks, Reese! Kira volunteered to do the next news brief.

We also talked about what students were up to outside of the classroom and 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

South America Map Quiz: As promised, the first map quiz. This was for South America and it is probably the easiest map quiz of the six we will do. I let students use their South America maps if they had completed them before class. Hopefully, you understand the importance of having a completed map to use on the test, and of reading the blog! We corrected the quiz in class and I passed it out for students to see what they got, before collecting them to be returned for good next class.

Five Themes Work: This was the atlas work packet that we have been working on in class the last few days. This will be due at the end of the Geography unit (in about 3 classes, when we are done with each of the continents) and will count towards the assessment of a learning target. If you missed class, the packet is here (you need to work in class with the atlas in order to complete this):

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Atlas Packet

Please keep at this in class and work hard to get it done!

Oceania: The last part of class was dedicated to labeling and coloring the Australia/Oceania section of the map packet, in order to be able to use it on the upcoming quiz next class. This is much tougher than the South America quiz, so be ready! For checking the blog, here's a question from the quiz: This is the northernmost country in Oceania, with U.S. territories to the west and east. If you are missing your map packet and know you need to have it done, please print out another and have it ready to go for next class:

Google Drive - World Maps Packet

Again, mostly a work day today. Thanks for your focus today. See you next class!

Geography, Day 3 - Class Recap

This is a globe that was in a house that George Washington stayed at for a few weeks in Barbados. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to another week of Global Studies! Today, we learned about the Five Themes of Geography and did some more map work with the atlases in class. Here's what happened:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Maps" by Maroon 5. Get it? Because we are learning about Geography and maps? Ha, ha. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/20/16:
News Brief – Skyler
Maps
Themes of Geography
Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Bring a photo for the wall if you have not already. Study for South America map quiz next class (need completed and colored map of South America done in order to use). Next news brief: Reese.

As a reward for reading the blog (and doing your homework), one of the questions on the quiz is: This country shares its longest border with Argentina.

News Brief: Skyler had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to bring in: CNN.com - Ahmad Khan Rahami: What we know about the bombing suspect. We found Afghanistan (where Rahami was born) in the world map and noted we did a news brief there, as well as talked about this developing story. Thanks, Skyler.

Reese was randomly selected for the next news brief.

We took the time to check in about the weekend and what people were up to, as well.

As part of the news brief, 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

Maps: Next, I showed a few links that have to do with creatively thinking about geography. It's so much more than just blank maps and countries! These are real places with real people and amazing scenery! The first link was: TwistedSifter.com - 40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World. I didn't show all of the maps in class, but I did particularly enjoy a few, like the map of every country in the world that the United Kingdom has invaded at one point or another.

After that, I showed this video that is a time lapse of some shots from the International Space Station, orbiting around the Earth at night. Incredible! See if you can identify the countries and places by their lights at night.

Finally, I showed this video of many different time lapses on the ground, in various different countries. This one makes me smile, because I have been to a few of these places! :-)

I showed these in class to hopefully help inspire you to learn about where these places are and maybe one day to travel there! We are going to keep looking at geography throughout the year.

Themes of Geography: Basically, this was a PowerPoint presentation in combination with a handout for notes on each of the themes and an activity using the atlases that I will pass out next class. We began this section by watching the Five Themes of Geography rap:

The Five Themes of Geography are:

Movement
Regions
Human Environment interactions
Location
Place

Or: MR. HELP!

For those that were not in class or wanted to see the presentation again for additional review, here it is:

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography PowerPoint

Google Drive - Five Themes of Geography Worksheet Handout

(this will be passed out next class)

This is one way in which you will be able to demonstrate proficiency with LT 10 in class. Thanks for your focus and participation in taking notes! I appreciate it!

Map Work: To finish class, I passed out a huge map packet (not regular sized paper) for students to fill out. Specifically, work on identifying the countries in South America on the first page, to begin. You need to have the country name written in and the country colored (so not two touching countries are the same color) in order to be able to use them on the map quiz (it is virtually impossible to pass the map quiz without your completed map). Just in case you want to see the files again (printing them on smaller paper is not advised), here it is:

Google Drive: Fill in World Maps

Map Packet Expectations:
1 = Maps lack detail, color, and/or labels. Maps are sloppy or messy.
2 = Maps are labeled and colored but there may be inaccuracies. Maps could be neater.
3 = Maps are labeled and colored completely, accurately, and neatly.
4 = Maps are labeled and colored completely, accurately, and neatly, and include other information, such as capitals, land forms, water features, or resources.

That was it for today! Bring your maps for next class, because we will continue working on them. They are not homework for now! We will use them during the news brief, too.

Again, a heads up that you need your completed South American map, with the countries labeled and colored to use next class on the quiz. Please use a website like Google Maps, or ask questions if you need help!

Sound good? See you next class!