Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Ladakh Final - Class Recap


Congratulations! If you passed the class, you have completed a semester of Global Studies! Photo taken at Niagara Falls in 2010.

Dear class,

Today was finals day in class and, as promised, we did a essay test on the Ladakh, with multiple different possibilities for learning targets to address. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1:  I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.

Soundtrack: "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin. Selected for today because Ladakh is located in Kashmir, India. A classic song! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/31/18:
News Brief – Emma
Grades
Ladakh Final
Study Time

Homework: Read the blog. Good luck on the rest of finals! Next news brief: Bailey.

News Brief: Emma selected an article about this story for the news brief today: BBC.com - Paris officials investigate suspected anti-Semitic attack on schoolboy. We found France in the world map packet and noted we did a news brief story about the country. Especially after studying the Holocaust recently, this is horrifying to read about.

Bailey was assigned to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update in class. 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):


Grades: After the news and checking in with students about if anything fun or interesting was going on outside of class, I talked about how grades for the class (and the final) would work. Basically, the Westview Global Studies team has a general agreement to use the final to help improve student grades, instead of bring them down. That said, if there is an obvious lack of effort or knowledge, we will take that into account, as well. So, if you are an A student, you can be almost assured of keeping that grade. If you have a lower grade, the final is an opportunity to improve. I am only going to put scores in the gradebook (StudentVUE) that improve grades (so you might just see a blank grade for your final), so that I can finish grading everything by the deadline. We have a grading day on Friday, so I expect your scores will be entered and grades will be posted by then.

Ladakh Final: This was the assignment for the rest of class. As promised, I let students use notes from the previous classes on Ladakh. The test itself was four questions (all the questions needed to be answered), followed by a short response essay for each one. There were five different learning target possibilities that the final addressed (written out above). I am looking forward to reading these over and assessing where you are at! If students finished early, there was time to quietly work in class.

Final grades for the semester are due by Monday, February 5. I anticipate that I will submit them far before then, but just a heads up. Thanks for your hard work, everyone! See you next class, when we will start the second semester! :-)
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Monday, January 29, 2018

Ladakh, Day 4 - Class Recap


We finished the Ladakh documentary in class last time, in which we learned that many of the people there are Buddhist. This is a famous Buddhist temple (Swayambhunath) in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo taken in 2015.

Hi everyone,

Today was our last day of preparation for the semester final, which will be the next time I see you. I think we are generally in a good place and ready to take it! Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1:  I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.

Soundtrack: "Final Hour" by Lauryn Hill. Selected for today because it is the last class before finals, and Ms. Hill references a thesis in her song lyrics.

AGENDA 1/29/18:
Wildcat News Brief – Naomi
Class Feedback
Surveys
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Prepare for finals (see below)! Next news brief: Emma.

News Brief: Naomi selected an article about this story for the news brief today: NPR.org - Venezuelan Supreme Court Bans Opposition Leaders From Upcoming Presidential Election. We found Venezuela in our world map packet and discussed this story together, before moving on. We also checked in about the weekend and what students are up to outside of class.

Emma 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

If you missed class or wanted to see it again, here is Wildcat News for the day:



Class Feedback: In the spirit of assessment, I asked students to provide me with some feedback about how class has been going this year so far, and what can be improved. The four questions that I asked students to anonymously answer were:

What do you like about this class? What do you think you as students are good at doing in this class?

What does this class (you, as students) need to improve at doing? What could you do better at with class?

What do you like about Mr. Fritz as a teacher? What is Mr. Fritz good at as a teacher?

What does Mr. Fritz need to improve at as a teacher? What could be better about this class?

I will show everyone the combined results from this after finals, so we can learn about what is working and what could be improved. Thanks for participating in this!

Surveys: For the rest of class, it was study time (students should have been able to finish their notes on the Ladakh handout in class), as well as helping some of my Diversity and Social Justice students out by taking some of their surveys for their final project. Here are the surveys:




Work Time: As I have been explaining in class, your final will be based on a case study of what happened in Ladakh, which is an region in India. Students will be asked to write short responses (about a paragraph each) about many different aspects of the Ladakh, using almost all of the learning targets we have been through this semester.

Here is the reading packet I passed out in class to study from. Students were taking notes on the back page during the documentary:

We watched this famous documentary the past two classes, looking at traditional Ladakh.  Students are analyzing how it has changed, and how geography, culture, and structures of power play a role in the society.



This is an old movie, for sure (I remember watching it when I was in high school), and also so good at going over the themes we have been talking about all semester.

Please finish your notes on the different learning targets and how they relate to the case study of the Ladakh by reviewing the reading material! Let me know if you are confused about how to prepare.

Here is the schedule for finals this semester:


Good luck on all of your finals, everyone! See you next class, for our last meeting of the first semester!
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Thursday, January 25, 2018

Ladakh, Day 3 - Class Recap


Prayer flags in Kathmandu, Nepal - a region very similar to Leh and Ladakh! Photo taken in 2015.

Dear class,

We continued preparing for the semester final today in class! Plenty to go through. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1:  I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.

Soundtrack: "A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. Selected for today because of the change we saw in Ladakh in the documentary today. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/25/18:
News Brief – Logan
Modern Ladakh
Reading Analysis
Finals Prep

Homework: Read the blog. Continue preparing for your finals! Next news brief: Naomi.

News Brief: Logan selected an article about this story for the news brief today: DailyPost.ng - POLITICSObasanjo’s statement on Buhari: APGA blasts former president. We found Nigeria in our world map packet and talked about this story for a bit, as well as a little bit about the geography regarding religion in the country, which is the most populated in Africa.

Naomi 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):


Modern Ladakh: Next, we continues with the final unit of the semester. Here is the reading packet I passed out in class on Tuesday. Students were taking notes today on the second (pages 4-6) section, about modern Ladakh:

We watched the second part of this famous documentary, looking at traditional Ladakh (starting at about 24:45 in and finishing the rest of the video). Students are analyzing how the region has changed, and how geography, culture, and structures of power play a role in the society since the modernization of Ladakh.



This is an old documentary, for sure (I remember watching it when I was in high school), and also so good at going over the themes we have been talking about all semester. Thanks for your hard work here!

Reading Analysis: As with last class, students had plenty of time at the end of class to be reading through the handout about traditional and modern Ladakh, writing notes on the learning targets, and getting prepared to write for the final next week.

Finals Prep: At the end of class, we did an activity that focused on preparing for your first finals of high school. Here is the worksheet we went through and discussed:


As a heads up, the top of the worksheet is incorrect - Friday is your Period 7 final and Monday is Period 8. Here is the actual schedule for finals this year:


Next class, we will have as a study period, because I do not want to introduce new content before finals. See you then!
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Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Ladakh, Day 2 - Class Recap


Yesterday, we opened the walls so it was one big classroom with Mr. Puterbaugh, and talked about "Night" themes! This is a photo of Long Beach, California at night.

Hello everyone,

I enjoyed opening the walls up to have one big class together yesterday! Today, we got back to preparing for the Global Studies final. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Behavior LT 2:  I can self-direct my learning.
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

Soundtrack: "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" by Pink Floyd. Selected for today because we took down the wall between the two classrooms yesterday! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/23/18:
News Brief – Bob
Seminar Defrief
Traditional Ladakh
Reading Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Continue preparing for all of your finals! Next news brief: Logan.

News Brief: Bob selected an article about this story for the news brief today: BBC.com - Syria war: 'Civilians flee' Turkish assault on Afrin enclave. We talked about this story for a little bit and found Syria in our world maps, before moving on.

Logan 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):


Seminar Debrief: I wanted to talk a little about how the Socratic Seminar on the Rise of Hitler reading went last class. I was super pleased with how students were able to take control and lead the discussion! I also randomly chose a few students today in class to give their opinion on the activity. It did seem like the consensus was that it was worthwhile and interesting, so I will look for ways to incorporate it again in the future!

I also told everyone that the Behavior Learning Target grades (students did a self assessment for this in class today) for the mini-unit on the Holocaust are in the grade book soon and can be looked at on StudentVUE. I think it is a good indication of where everyone is at! Thank you for participating!

Traditional Ladakh: Next, we started with the actual final unit. Here is the reading packet I passed out in class. Students were taking notes on the first section, about traditional Ladakh (very similar to the first video we analyzed last week):

We watched the first part of this famous documentary, looking at traditional Ladakh (through about 24:45 in, before stopping).  Students are analyzing how the region has changed, and how geography, culture, and structures of power play a role in the society.



This is an old movie, for sure (I remember watching it when I was in high school), and also so good at going over the themes we have been talking about all semester. After the first part of the video, I gave students the rest of class to be reading the Traditional Ladakh portion of the handout (the first three pages) and completing the notes on the different learning targets. We will pick back up next class with learning about Modern Ladakh! Thanks, everyone!
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Friday, January 19, 2018

Ladakh, Day 1 - Class Recap


Today, we started preparing for our final unit of the semester, which features many of the learning targets that we have worked on this year. We will be looking at a region of India - this is a photo that I took at the Taj Mahal on Spring Break of 2015!

Hi everyone,

We had our Socratic Seminar and began preparing for the semester final today in class! As such, there is a lot to talk about. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1:  I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.

Soundtrack: "Video" by India Arie. Selected for today because we watched a couple of videos in class, and because we are learning more about a region of India! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/19/18:
News Brief – Kiran
Socratic Seminar
Final Unit
Traditional Ladakh

Homework: Read the blog. All late/missing/revised work is due by today! Next news brief: Bob.

News Brief: Kiran selected an article about this story for the news brief today: UN.org - UN poised to scale up support for Libya’s post-conflict transition, Security Council told. We found Libya in our world map packet and talked about this story for a bit, as well as what has been happening in Libya since the "Arab Spring."

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):


Socratic Seminar: Next, we had the discussion that we started preparing for the last few classes. This was the first time we have attempted to do this in class, and I think it went well! I was proud of everyone participating.

This was the reading that we were discussing in class:


The questions and answers that I wanted the class to do in preparation for the discussion on this were:

1) What happened so that Hitler could get power?

2) Make three discussion questions (not yes or no answers) about the reading. Try to base your questions on specific quotes from the reading.

To help with this, I passed out these tips for helping the conversation flow:


I explained that I wanted the discussion to be student led and directed, and then I tried to get out of the conversation as much as possible. Overall, I was pleased with the conversation and I think you touched on some really important issues and questions! Thanks for being willing to participate. I also told everyone that the Behavior Learning Target grades (students did a self assessment for this in class today) for the mini-unit on the Holocaust will be in the grade book soon and can be looked at on StudentVUE. I think it is a good indication of where everyone is at! Thank you for participating!

Final Unit: As I explained in class, your final will be based on a case study of what happened in Ladakh, which is an region in India. Students will be asked to write about many different aspects of the Ladakh, using almost all of the learning targets we have been through this semester. To begin with this process, I asked students to make a grid in their notes to practice what we would be doing later in class. The four learning targets are: Location and Region (where is it? what is it like?), Human and Physical Systems (how does it work?), Culture (Surface and Deep Characteristics), and Structures of Power (Government and Economic Systems). Here is the video we practiced with:



We talked as a class about what we saw with the four targets and analyzed the connections as practice. We will continue preparing for the final next class! Have a good weekend!
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Wednesday, January 17, 2018

The Holocaust, Day 4 - Class Recap


A quote on the wall of the Miami Holocaust Memorial. Our discussion today in class had a large part to do with whether or not we believe something like this could happen again. Photo taken in 2011.

Dear class,

Today's shorter schedule meant that my hopes of having the Socratic Seminar today in class were dashed, so we spent much of class preparing to have the conversation by watching an video. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Behavior LT 2:  I can self-direct my learning.
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

Soundtrack: "Talk" by Coldplay. Selected for today because most of next class will be made up of students talking about the rise of Hitler and whether or not it could happen again. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/17/18:
News Brief – Megan
The Path to Nazi Genocide
Socratic Seminar
Debrief

Homework: Read the blog. All late/missing/revised work due by this Friday! Next news brief: Kiran.

News Brief: Megan selected an article about this story for the news brief today: CNN.com - Russia's hidden world of North Korean labor. We talked for a bit in class about this story and North Korean workers around the world, as well as the news that there will be a united Korea at the Opening Ceremony of the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Kiran was selected to do the next news brief.

Mr. Puterbaugh sent me this article to talk about with the class, as well, and I said I would link to it on the blog: NYTimes.com - German Idea to Fight Anti-Semitism: Make Immigrants Tour Concentration Camps. What do you think of this idea?

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 Path to Nazi Genocide: To finish preparing for the discussion in class, we watched the following film from the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, which aims to place many of the events and issues that we learned about into a concise documentary (students had been asking for something like this in class):



As students were watching, I encouraged notes to be taken on questions that came up, as well as connections to what we have already talked about with the unit.

Socratic Seminar: This was the reading that we will be discussing next class:


The questions and answers that I wanted the class to do in preparation for the discussion on this were:

1) What happened so that Hitler could get power?

2) Make three discussion questions (not yes or no answers) about the reading. Try to base your questions on specific quotes from the reading.

To help with this, I passed out these tips for helping the conversation flow:


See you on Friday, as we finish the Holocaust unit with our conversation!
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Friday, January 12, 2018

The Holocaust, Day 3 - Class Recap


The Boston Holocaust Memorial was one of the most powerful I have seen. As you walk through the glass, steam comes up from the grates, and names of people that were killed in various concentration camps are on the sides of the glass. Photo taken in 2013.

Hi everyone,

We are getting closer and closer to finals! Just a couple of more weeks to go. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Behavior LT 2:  I can self-direct my learning.
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

Soundtrack: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2. Selected for today because the song is in large part about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who we honor on Monday with a day of service! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/12/18:
News Brief – Kanta
Group Activity
Rise of Hitler
Socratic Seminar Prep

Homework: Read the blog. Finish reading the Could Hitler Happen Again article and making 3 discussion questions for next class. Next news brief: Megan.

News Brief: Kanta selected an article about this story to bring in: BBC.com - Ritz Paris robbery: Jewellery worth millions seized in armed heist. We found France on our world maps and noted that we talked about it with some of the details of this story.

I also read a quote from Elie Wiesel's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech at the start of class, as it connects to our unit and your reading of his book "Night" next door with Mr. Puterbaugh.

We also checked in about the weekend. Please remember that although you have Monday off of school, the whole idea behind the holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is that it should be a day of service to the community in some way. As such, there are a ton of events that people can participate in around town - or, you could take the initiative to do something else in our community. Here's a list:


Megan 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):


Group Activity: After the news, we did a group activity that aimed to try and learn a bit more about key events and figures in the Nazi rise to power. Instead of just giving students a reading, I though this was a more interesting way for everyone to learn (and move around, and talk with each other) about some key figures and events in Nazi Germany. Here is the assignment that students filled out:


And here is the document of different events and people that students were learning about, in terms of their importance in helping the Nazi government establish and maintain power (the knowledge target for the unit):


Thanks for doing a good job with this activity!

Rise of Hitler: I asked how the Holocaust was possible, and if we could consider something like this happening to us - either as the Nazis or the persecuted people. I think it is hard to consider ourselves capable of such horrific acts. Which is why the Stanford Prison Experiment is so famous. Basically, it was a psychological experiment based on assigning roles to Stanford students (really smart people) - either as "prison" guards or prisoners. The prisoners were taken and not allowed out for six days (until the experiment ended early). The prison guards turned into awful, terrible people. Here's the clip we watched in class (there are many others out there - do a search if you want to learn more):


After the clip, I came back to the idea of wondering if something like the Holocaust could happen again. It's a difficult question for historians, and for people in general. We want to believe that people are good. If we aren't careful about learning the history and psychology to combat it, I think there is a better chance of something like this happening again.

Another psychological experiment that is very famous for its connection to how the Holocaust happened is the Milgram Experiment. A modern day version of the experiment is what I showed in class, here:



With these ideas in mind, I passed out this reading, which has to do with how the Nazi political party and Hitler came to power in Germany, and if something like it could happen again:


The questions and answers that I wanted the class to do in preparation for a discussion next class on this were:

1) What happened so that Hitler and the Nazis could establish power and commit the atrocities of the Holocaust? Could this happen again?

2) Make three discussion questions (not yes or no answers) about the reading. Try to base your questions on specific quotes from the reading and grounded in reality (NOT: what if World War II never happened?).

Socratic Seminar Prep: Next class, we will have a graded (on the behavior targets) discussion on the Rise of Hitler reading, so I wanted to go over how that will work.

Two blog exclusive items that will help in this:


To go along with the preparation, here are some tips on how a good Socratic Seminar works (it is my hope to sit back and let students run the discussion, so that it is more authentic with participation):


The rest of class was devoted to reading the article and preparing discussion questions. Next class, I am hoping that we can have an interesting, student led discussion on the article and the questions it generates - specifically about if this could possibly happen again.

Thank you for your hard work, everyone! See you next class.
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Wednesday, January 10, 2018

The Holocaust, Day 2 - Class Recap


The barbed wire around Auschwitz I in Poland. Photo taken in 2013.

Hi everyone,

Today was another day looking into more depth on the Holocaust genocide. I showed some of my pictures from visiting Auschwitz in 2013, we finished the textbook work, and began a group activity. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.

Soundtrack: "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie. Selected for today because of the people that rebelled against the Nazis during the Holocaust. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/10/18:
News Brief – Josiah
Photos from Auschwitz
Finish Textbook Work
Group Activity

Homework: Read the blog. Check your updated grades and know what to do to improve! Next news brief: Kanta.

News Brief: Josiah had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: Reuters.com - Turkey urges Russia, Iran to stop Syrian army offensive in Idlib. We found Turkey in the world map packet and discussed this story along with the geography of the region, before moving on to talk about what students were up to outside of class.

Kanta was selected 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

Photos from Auschwitz: After the news brief, I showed students photos from my visit to Auschwitz in the summer of 2013. I wanted everyone to see what it actually looks like, and explain what it was like to visit there. Hopefully this was interesting! I would highly encourage anyone interested in history to visit at some point. It was incredibly powerful and horrifying.

Textbook Work: We finished going through the Modern World History textbook and what it has to say about the Holocaust on pages, 502-505. The assigned work in class was:

Summarize the two sections: The Holocaust Begins + The Final Solution

Write out vocab definitions (words in blue)

Complete questions 1-8 at the end of the Chapter (page 505).

After about 15 minutes of work, we went over the answers together, as I randomly called on students. Keep these papers - they will help you with understanding the vocabulary in the unit and in our upcoming discussion!

Group Activity: We did not have time to start this today, due to the shortened Wednesday schedule, so we will start it next class. Thanks, everyone!
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Monday, January 8, 2018

The Holocaust, Day 1 - Class Recap


Auschwitz II in 2013. The chimneys are the only remainder of much of the camp.

Dear class,

Since everyone is going to be reading "Night" in Mr. Puterbaugh's class, I thought it was especially important to go over some of the basics of the Holocaust in class. Today was our first day looking more in depth at what happened. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.

Soundtrack: "So What?" by Miles Davis. An instrumental jazz song for today as we learned about "so what happened in the Holocaust?".

AGENDA 1/8/18:
Wildcat News Brief – McKenzie
The Holocaust
Textbook Work
Grade Checks

Homework: Read the blog. Check your updated grades and know what to do to improve! Next news brief: Josiah.

News Brief: McKenzie had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CBC.ca - Who's going to fly the plane? Pilot shortage could get worse for regional carriers.

We talked for a while in class about Canada, in terms of what is happening there with regional airline pilots and why. I also asked about the weekend and what people were up to, before moving on.

Josiah 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

For those who missed class or wanted to watch it again, here is the Westview Wildcat News for the day:



The Holocaust: Again, I think it is really important that I not gloss over the history here (especially with Mr. Puterbaugh teaching Night next door), so we began looking at the Holocaust in depth today. To begin, I asked students to make the Cornell Notes template on a blank sheet of paper (if they wanted to), then went through this PowerPoint:


All of the pictures in the PowerPoint are from my own travels. I made sure to try and explain each slide in depth and I was happy to try and answer all of the questions from the class.

Along with the PowerPoint, here are two extra resources for the blog. A map of the concentration camps and death camps in Europe, along with some statistics about the Holocaust:


And, a timeline of the Holocaust and a "Pyramid of Hate":


All of these are resources that should help you better understand the Holocaust and what Mr. Puterbaugh has been teaching you through "Night."

Textbook Work: Near the end of class, we started looking at the Modern World History textbook and what it has to say about the Holocaust. A mere four total pages, 502-505! That said, it does have a quote from Night at the end, and I did use it to reinforce the vocabulary terms and concepts. The assigned work in class (we will finish next class and go over it together) was:

Summarize the two sections: The Holocaust Begins + The Final Solution

Write out vocab definitions (words in blue)

Complete questions 1-8 at the end of the Chapter (page 505).

That was where we ended for the day. Next class, you will finish the work in the textbook, go over some more information about the Holocaust and how it relates to our lives today, as well as learn about how the Nazi party rose to power.

Grade Checks: At the end of class, I went through everyone's grades on a 1-1 basis, so you should know exactly where you are at in the class. I also talked about your Rwanda speech grades in class, which have been posted. Here was the comment online that I included: Thank you for your hard work on your individual Rwanda speech! Your grades have been entered in StudentVUE. Some main points.

1) If you did not address imperialism in Rwanda at all, you received a score of 1 on that target. If your description was unclear or needed more detail, that is how you can improve.
2) The communication target was the score for how well your individual paper followed the format we talked about in class with a thesis statement, five paragraphs, with introduction and conclusion.
3) The critical thinking/multiple perspectives target was for talking about the United Nations own definition of genocide, and talking about the perspective of the people of Rwanda during the genocide in your written speech.

If you have individual questions, I would be happy to answer them in person (I will try to conference with everyone in class as we get closer to the end of the semester). As with any assignment, you can always revise it (or resubmit it, if you haven't turned it in) to demonstrate a higher level of proficiency, if needed.

Please make sure you are working on any missing or late work that you need to revise! Let me know if I can help with anything!
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Thursday, January 4, 2018

Genocide in Rwanda, Day 8 - Class Recap


The sun has set on the Rwanda unit! Hopefully it had a great impact on you. Next week, we will move on to the last (shorter) unit before finals! Photo taken in Washington, 2009.

Dear class,

Today was spent finishing Hotel Rwanda. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.

Soundtrack: "Welcome Back" by Ma$e. Selected for today for obvious reasons. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/4/18:
News Brief - Mr. Fritz
Finish Hotel Rwanda
Movie Assignment
Make Up/Late Work

Homework: Read the blog. Work on any late or incomplete work. Next news brief: McKenzie.

News Brief: I had the news brief today due to the long break and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Iran protests pose an unpredictable challenge for authorities. We talked for a while in class about Iran, in terms of what is happening there and why.

I also talked about the reason I was absent from school just before Winter Break started: my uncle and aunt were killed in a bus accident in Mexico that made the news, here: WashingtonPost.com - Americans among 12 killed in bus crash during Mexican cruise excursion. After my dad's death, I became even closer with my Uncle Andy and Aunt Jody, so their deaths are especially hard to fathom, as well. The memorial service for both of them is this Saturday in Olympia, Washington. It was a very challenging break, for sure. I appreciate everyone's kindness and understanding during this time.

McKenzie 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):


Finish Hotel Rwanda: We finally were able to completely finish the movie today! Here is the worksheet of questions to answer as we watched:


I hope you enjoyed the film and found it powerful. I've now seen it dozens of times and I am always struck by how good it is - especially about showing the stages of genocide. Thank you for your focus and attention here!

Movie Assignment: After finishing Hotel Rwanda, I gave students most of the rest of class to be working on the notes that went with the movie. I had students turn the assignment in at the end of class.

Make Up/Late Work: We didn't have time in class to check in about grades on a 1-1 basis. I will try to find time to do so next week! Please know what you need to be working on to improve your grade.

Have a great weekend! Next week, we will start a smaller unit on the Holocaust, which ties in with Mr. Puterbaugh's class and your reading of "Night" there.
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