Monday, April 30, 2018

Religion, Day 4 - Class Recap


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

Dear class,

It was nice to be able to continue looking at how religion impacts society, and with taking notes on a new religion. Here's what we did today in class:

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

Soundtrack: "Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor" from The Pianist (Wladek Szpilman). Selected for today because the film The Pianist is about the Holocaust, and we are learning about Judaism in society. No lyrics, but listen here.

AGENDA 4/30/18:
Wildcat News Brief – Ella
Israel and Religion
Christianity
Grade Check

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade and how to improve it - Russian Revolution (found on this post), World War I work (found in this post) and finishing the Country Profile Project if you have not - revisions needed, as well. Next news brief: Kylie.
---
News Brief: Ella had the news brief today and talked about this breaking news story from this morning: CNN.com -  BBC reporter and famed photographer among 31 killed in Afghanistan. We found Afghanistan in the world map and talked about this horrific story, as well as the importance of journalism in covering conflict.

 We watched this video on the historic meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea yesterday: Twitter.com - @CNNi: Korean Leaders Meet. We found North Korea in the world map packet and talked about this story, along with a bit about what is happening there with this peace conference.

The next news brief was assigned to Kylie.

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

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


Finally, we also watched Westview Wildcat News for the week. Here it is if you missed class or wanted to see it again:



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


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

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

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

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


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

Grade Check: So, because I was feeling nice, instead of having the rest of class be devoted to grade checks, we played the country naming game on Sporcle! It was a really fun end to the day - thanks everyone! All of that said, it is still very important to stay on top of your grades, especially now that the Country Profile Project grades have been handed back! See you next class!
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Thursday, April 26, 2018

Religion, Day 3 - Class Recap


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

Hi everyone,

It was a fun class today! Thanks for participating in our class activities! Here's what we did today in class:

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

Soundtrack: "Beach Chair" by Jay Z and Chris Martin. Selected for today because of the breathing exercises we did, envisioning ourselves at the beach! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/26/18:
News Brief - Haddie
Buddhism in Myanmar
Breathing
Judaism
Failing Religion

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade and how to improve it. Finish Country Profile Project if you have not and submit ASAP.

If you would like to attend Ryenn's Period 8 class on Peace during your Study Hall (apologies, this only is for students with Period 8 as a Study Hall), please fill out her survey, here:


Next news brief: Ella.
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News Brief: Haddie had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Swaziland has a new name - eSwatini - but will anything else change?. We found Swaziland/eSwatini in our world maps and talked about this very interesting story!

The next news brief was assigned to Ella.

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):


Buddhism in Myanmar: As part of this section, I showed this clip of a Daily Show episode about the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar being pushed out by Buddhists (including the president, who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner):


This is another relationship of religion to society, which is our learning target for this unit. I showed this article explaining the Rohingya crisis: AlJazeera.com - Rohingya crisis explained in maps. We have been seeing this crisis play out all year on BBC World News, so I thought it would be important to highlight in class.

Here is another video that goes into some more specifics about exactly what is happening:


Breathing: I was really excited to try this today! Thank you for being willing to participate in doing some breathing and meditation type exercises! The whole point of this was to just relax. Hopefully, it did the trick! We did the guided breathing exercise on the third page of this document (which I altered slightly for context):

Judaism: With the shortened Community schedule, we continued with the religion notes before the end of class, using the Cornell Notes format. Here is the PowerPoint again:


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

Please make sure you are working hard to review your notes, and improve your grade if at all possible! Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help! Thank you!
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Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Religion, Day 2 - Class Recap


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

Dear class,

I am enjoying our new religion unit, especially because this I get to use a lot of the photos I have taken and experiences I have had around the world! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

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

AGENDA 4/24/18:
News Brief - Olivia
Mad About Cows
Modi and Hindu Nationalism
Religions PowerPoint

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade and how to improve it, if possible. Finish and turn in the Country Profile Project if you have not. Next news brief: Haddie.
---
News Brief: Olivia had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Toronto van attack: Alek Minassian charged with 10 counts of murder. We found Canada in our world maps again and talked about this news story from yesterday.

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


The next news brief was assigned to Haddie.

Mad About Cows: This was a group activity designed to try and understand how Hinduism is playing a role in Indian society. To begin, we watched this video from the New York Times:


This was the article we looked at after, which relates to the unit learning target of how religion helps shape society: NYTimes.com - Indian State Is Expanding Penalty for Killing a Cow to Life in Prison.

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

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

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

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

Another example (we did not go over this in class) is this recent New York Times editorial about Modi and how India is promoting mass conversions of Christians and Muslims to Hinduism: NYTimes.com - Modi's Dangerous Silence.

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

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


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

Please make sure you are working hard to review your notes, and improve your grade if at all possible! I have updated your grades online to reflect whether or not you have turned in your Country Profile Project as well. Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help! Thank you!
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Friday, April 20, 2018

Religion, Day 1 - Class Recap


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

Hi everyone,

Today, we started our religion unit. I really enjoy talking about religion and learning more about different religions, which always happens when I teach it! Hopefully this is an interesting unit for students, too. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

Soundtrack: "Congratulations (Clean)" by Post Malone. Selected for today because the Country Profile Project was due, and if you are done, you deserve a hearty congratulations!

AGENDA 4/20/18:
News Brief - Max
Respect
What is Religion?
Religions PowerPoint

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade and how to improve it. Please turn in the Country Profile Project if you have not. Next news brief: Olivia.
---
News Brief: Max had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: Bloomberg.com - Romanian President Condemns Cabinet Plan to Move Israel Embassy. We found Israel in our world maps and talked about this development. We will talk much more about this at the end of the semester!

The next news brief was assigned to Olivia.

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):


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

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


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


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

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


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

There is definitely a lot to learn about! We are going to keep moving forward with new material. If you are needing to improve your grade, please work hard on that, too! I am here to help! :-)
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Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Country Profile Project, Day 8 - Class Recap


A tree with prayer flags on the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu. It was quite an experience to climb up to this point! Photo taken in 2014.

Dear class,

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

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 10: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

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

AGENDA 4/18/18:
News Brief - Tristan
Peer Review
Work Time
Conferences

Homework: Read the blog! Final draft of Country Profile Project is due at the start of next class (submitted on Google Classroom or printed if you cannot turn it in there). Complete your CPP Reflection if you would like to try for college dual credit! Next news brief: Max.
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News Brief: Tristan had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Zimbabwe sacks thousands of nurses on strike. We found Zimbabwe in our world maps and talked about this interesting story. Thanks, Tristan!

The next news brief was assigned to Max.

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):


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


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

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


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

As always, if you are confused about what to do, please email me or comment and I would be happy to help. I suspect at this point most students know what to do - they just wanted to put it off until the very last moment to get it done. Well, that moment has arrived. Work hard to get this done, please. Thank you!
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Monday, April 16, 2018

Country Profile Project, Day 7 - Class Recap


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

Hi everyone,

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

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 10: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

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

AGENDA 4/16/18:
News Brief - Desi
Rough Draft Expectations
Final Questions?
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Your Country Profile Project rough draft is due next class. Next news brief: Tristan.
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News Brief: Desi had the news brief today and selected this article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - China's Sina Weibo backtracks from gay content ban after outrage. We found China in our world maps and talked about this tragic story.

The next news brief was assigned to Tristan.

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):


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



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


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

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


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

Work Time: The rest of class was devoted to working in class on the assignment, and I was happy to try and answer questions, as well as help as much as I could. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do! Almost done! Keep it up!
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Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Country Profile Project, Day 6 - Class Recap


Flying over New Delhi, India in 2015. Check out the population density of the buildings below!

Hi everyone,

Only one more day of in class work time after today on the Country Profile Project! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 10: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele. Selected for today because of the rainy weather outside. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/11/18:
News Brief - Emina
Calendar Review
Late Work
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Country Profile Project rough draft due on 4/18 (B Day). Keep working on it outside of class! Next news brief: Desi.
---
News Brief: Emina had the news brief today and selected this article about this story to talk about: Telegraph.co.uk - Australian party girl who faked cancer to get donations from friends and family jailed for ‘despicable’ scam. We found Ausralia in the world map, and talked about this story for a bit.

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

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

The next news brief was assigned to Desi.

Calendar Review: There is a lot coming up with work on the Country Profile Project and a few changes to be aware of, so we went through the latest updates on the calendar, which is here:


Late Work: Because Friday is our last Grading Day of the semester (aside from after finals) and your only Progress Report grade, I wanted to make sure that students knew that they could turn in any late/missing/revised work for grading by Friday to improve their grade for the Progress Report. If you have any questions or need help, please let me know!

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


Here is a new, more detailed outline for the research paper, if you would like it:


Remember, there are plenty of research tools and examples on Google Classroom for you to take a look at!
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Monday, April 9, 2018

Country Profile Project, Day 5 - Class Recap


Some students are researching the France for their Country Profile Project. Here is the French flag waving in Paris, in 2013.

Dear class,

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

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 10: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

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

AGENDA 4/9/18:
Wildcat News Brief - Bella
Calendar Review
Research Outline
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Country Profile Project rough draft due on  4/18 (B Day). Keep working on it outside of class! Next news brief: Emina.
---
Wildcat News Brief: Bella had the news brief today and selected this article about this story to talk about: NPR.org - Palestinian Journalist Fatally Shot While Covering Gaza Protest. We found Israel/Gaza in the world map, and talked about the story for a while. I noted that we will learn a lot more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with our final unit of the year. Thanks, Bella!

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

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

The next news brief was assigned to Emina.

Finally, we watched Wildcat News together in class. If you missed it or wanted to see it again, it is here:



Calendar Review: There is a lot coming up with work on the Country Profile Project and a few changes to be aware of, so we went through the latest updates on the calendar, which is here:


Research Outline: Next, I showed students an overview for the research essay (50% of the grade for the college project), and a helpful way to break down what you need to research. Copies for each student are in Google Classroom.


I hope this helps in terms of understanding what you need to do! We also looked at the Culturegrams website as being a helpful source of information, just like the CIA World Factbook.

Remember, there are plenty of research tools and examples on Google Classroom for you to take a look at!

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

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you be successful!
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Thursday, April 5, 2018

Country Profile Project, Day 4 - Class Recap


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

Hi everyone,

It's time to get back to work as we get closer to the end of the year! We had a day in class of researching for the Country Profile Project. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 10: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.Behavior LT1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Come Together" by The Beatles. Selected for today because we began to work on Part A and Part B. Beatles. Part B. Get it? Also, because peer review involves coming together to improve. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/5/18:
News Brief - Varsha
Economics
Parts A and B
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Keep working on your Country Profile Project. If you do not have your Current Event turned in, you are behind! Next news brief: Bella.
---
News Brief: Varsha had the news brief today, but missed class, so I filled in and talked about this story: Telegraph.co.uk - Queens' clash at church goes viral to expose tensions in Spanish royal family. We found the Spain in the world map packet and talked about this story for a bit, 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 Bella.

Current Events were due in class today for students. Make sure you upload it on Google Classroom so that I can grade it and give you feedback for revisions! It is also a good idea to get a peer review on this.

Economics: To try and help students understand some main economic concepts some more, in order to incorporate them into your Country Profile Project research summary, we took a look at this document (also on Google Classroom) together:


Use these to identify what kinds of economic systems are in your country!

Parts A and B: Next, we started the bulk of the Country Profile Project by looking into more depth at the countries. This was the worksheet to start (also on Google Classroom):


Here's an example of how to do this:


Hopefully, by analyzing the maps and looking at the countries students are becoming more familiar with geographic and human characteristics.

After this activity, I passed out this guide for taking notes as students conduct research and start outlining what the final product should look like:


We will have in class research and writing time for much of the next few classes, with your first draft of research summary being due by 4/10 (A Day) or 4/11 (B Day).

Work Time: The rest of class was devoted to working quietly on the Country Profile Project assignment, and I was happy to try and answer questions.

Thank you for your hard work - please let me know if there is anything else I can help with!
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Monday, April 2, 2018

Country Profile Project, Day 3 - Class Recap


Over Spring Break in 2015, I traveled to India, and went to Mahatma Gandhi's home. These footsteps mark where he was, leading up to the spot where he was assassinated. Photo taken in March of 2015.

Hi everyone,

Welcome back from Spring Break! We have plenty to do in class, in finding information to complete your Current Event and then using that research to write. Here's what we did in the last class before the break:

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

Soundtrack: "Give Your Heart A Break" by Demi Lovato. Selected for today because hopefully you feel rested up and ready to get back to work. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/2/18:
News Brief/Spring Break - Mr. Fritz
Current Event Expectations
Research
Lit and Comp Book Selections

Homework: Read the blog! Your typed Current Event is due next class! See example for what to do here. Next news brief: Varsha.
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News Brief: I had the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: BBC.com - Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed wants to resolve Eritrea disputes. We found the Ethiopia in our world map packet and noted we did a story on this event, before moving on.

We checked in about what students were up to over Spring Break this year. I hope everyone is feeling ready for the last two and a half months of the school year! We have lots of work to do.

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):


Finally, we watched Wildcat News in class. Here it is if you missed class or wanted to see it again:


Current Event Expectations: Next class, your CPP Current Event is due. It should be 2-3 pages with at least two research sources, cited in MLA format (use EasyBib.com to help with this for the Works Cited page, and remember to use the author's last name for in-text citations). Again, please be following the calendar for what we are working on in class. Remember to use this guide for taking notes on your Current Event and that your articles do have to be on the same topic.

Also, please remember that the grading rubric for the college dual credit portion of this assignment has these expectations:

1. Current Event explained in terms of economic and geographic principles such as location, organization, space, and place.

2. Impact of the event on individuals or groups in particular places is described.

3. Analysis is presented in an appropriate, clear and coherent manner.

Research: After explaining all of this, we had in class work time. I know this is quite a lot of information, all at once, so I tried to check in and help students figure out something to write about.

Lit and Comp Book Selections: The last 40 minutes or so of class was dedicated to looking into more depth with regards to Lit and Comp book club selections. Here is the PowerPoint we went through:


The link to a Google Form to select which books are your first/second choices is on your Lit and Comp Google Classroom for Mr. Puterbaugh. Select wisely! :-)

See you next class, when your Current Event will be due and we will then start working on the bulk of your Country Profile Project.
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