A sign that was in the hotel I stayed at in 2014 in Amman, Jordan, which was hosting refugees from the ongoing battles in the Gaza Strip.
Hi everyone,
Welcome back from the weekend, for a short 4 day week, followed by a 4 day weekend, followed by another short 4 day week! Today, we started work on our final unit for the year, on Israel and Palestine. Here's what we did today in class:
Welcome back from the weekend, for a short 4 day week, followed by a 4 day weekend, followed by another short 4 day week! Today, we started work on our final unit for the year, on Israel and Palestine. Here's what we did today in class:
Learning Targets:
Communication LT 2: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.
Communication LT 2: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.
Soundtrack: "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks. Selected for today because the end of the year feels like a battle, and because the country of Israel is seen as a battlefield by many. Lyrics here.
AGENDA 5/24/16:
News Brief – Kaleb
The Lesson of War
Brainstorm
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The Lesson of War
Brainstorm
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade (updated on StudentVUE and on by ID number on the wall) and how to improve it, if possible. Start working on your final project for the year (overview here). Next news brief: Eric B.
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News Brief: Kaleb had the news brief today, but was not in the class at the start, so I filled in and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Obama lifts U.S. arms ban on Vietnam. We found Vietnam in the world map packet, and talked about why this is a big deal (the legacy of the Vietnam War, as well as the United States wanting to help other countries stand up to China, especially with the South China Sea). We also checked in about the weekend before moving on.
We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):
The next news brief was assigned to Eric B.
We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):
The next news brief was assigned to Eric B.
The Lesson of War: To start the Israel and Palestine unit, we watched this video, about children on both sides of the recent war in the Gaza Strip:
Brainstorm: After the video, we brainstormed the conflict in Israel and Palestine by noting what we did know at this point, and questions we still had to learn the answers to. Here is what your class came up with:
We have lots to learn about, which is good!
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: This was a PowerPoint that I went through with the class. I decided to be nice and pre-print all of the notes to hand out, because I know that it has been a challenging last few months, and I wanted to give everyone a break. I did want to make sure everyone focused on the images and words in the presentation, too. Here's the PowerPoint, for those who missed class:
I asked students to take notes about what was happening in the war and how each side was impacted.
Brainstorm: After the video, we brainstormed the conflict in Israel and Palestine by noting what we did know at this point, and questions we still had to learn the answers to. Here is what your class came up with:
We have lots to learn about, which is good!
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: This was a PowerPoint that I went through with the class. I decided to be nice and pre-print all of the notes to hand out, because I know that it has been a challenging last few months, and I wanted to give everyone a break. I did want to make sure everyone focused on the images and words in the presentation, too. Here's the PowerPoint, for those who missed class:
And here are the pre-printed notes that I handed out:
After the presentation, I passed out the first look at what your final project will be, which is a simulation on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. We went through this in class in detail, but basically, you can pick any (or all) of the five learning targets listed at the top of this post to show proficiency on, by either writing a paper to be turned in on finals day, or creating a presentation (which might also involve writing a paper), if you are in big time need of improving your grade. Here's the handout (note that the second page is the backside) that I passed out:
There were lots of questions here, which was good. Hopefully, students are starting to understand what I am going to be looking for!
Finally, at the end of class, we watched a VOX video on Israel and Palestine, which does a really good job at explaining a large amount of details about the conflict in 10 minutes. I know this was a lot at once, so turning the captions on is definitely a good idea:
This should give you a solid framework with which to start thinking about how you want to do your final project, and what you should focus on! We will continue to be investigating this in the next few classes. Thanks for your focus today! :-)
Do we write a paper, make a power point, or all for the Performing side and in addition to that, when we pick a side, do we talk about why that side needs the land._.
ReplyDeleteThis will all become much more clear next class, when we review the learning targets you could be going for on the final! :-)
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