Period 2: Historical Investigation, Day 5 - Class Recap

Today, we started talking about 9/11 and the impact it has had on the world. I told you that I was on the exact same plane that crashed in Pennsylvania (United Flight 93), earlier in my life. Here's a picture of one of the remaining scraps from the plane, at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Dear class,

Only five class periods left as your substitute teacher! I'm getting sad already. Thanks for a really interesting class today. I appreciated the huge amounts of energy, even if it does get a little tiresome to keep waiting for quiet to move on. I would much rather have that problem over a completely non-responsive group. On to the recap!

Essential Questions: What brings people together? What tears people apart?

Soundtrack: “Mean” by Taylor Swift. Selected for today because you might think I am mean for assigning you the historical investigation and because we were learning about some pretty mean people. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/8/13:
News Brief
9/11
The “F” Word
Parts C + D/Study for Map Quiz

Homework: Work on Part C and D, ready to type next class! Study for Middle East map quiz (I'll warn you when this is coming). Next news brief: Connor J. and Ethan.
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News Brief: The two news articles brought in today (by Molly J. and Ben H.) were: CNN.com - Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female PM, dead at 87 and CNN.com - U.S. diplomat died 'doing what she loved' in Afghanistan. I talked a little bit about "The Iron Lady" - Margaret Thatcher - and her importance to the United Kingdom. The second article was a very nice transition into talking about the importance of September 11th, considering the United States is still fighting a war in Afghanistan, over a decade after it started.

9/11: To begin this section, I asked the class to write a response to these questions: What do you know about September 11th, 2001? What have you heard about it? Do you remember anything? What have you learned before, in class, or from parents?

While the class was writing, I played this video without warning (before this, I said that anyone who felt the need to step out and compose themselves could do so without asking):

The point for playing this in the middle of writing was to kind of send a shock to the system. This is what I felt like on September 11, 2001, when I was almost exactly the age many of you are now (15 years and a little less than two months old). I told my story of September 11th and how I learned that I flew on one of the hijacked planes a few years earlier. Here's my Flight Memory map that I showed in class.

I asked the class for some reactions and memories (there were some very powerful ones), then played another video, which goes over the basic timeline of that day: YouTube.com - 9/11 Video Timeline: How the Day Unfolded.

The "F" Word: As I said at the start of class, this probably wasn't the one you were thinking of. ;-) No, this was FEAR. For sure, when September 11th happened, I was definitely in a state of fear about what was going on in the world. Next, I had the class write out a time that you experienced fear in your life, responding to these questions: What is a time in your life that you felt fear? How did it make you feel? What would you be willing to do to get away from that fear?

After responding, the class shared within small groups, then we talked about a few overall. I shared that I have a fear of letting down my parents, who have been simply incredible to me for my entire life. We will look at the role that fear plays in starting conflicts, especially with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Parts C + D/Study For Map Quiz: For the last part of class, I explained what Part C (your analysis essay for the historical investigation, which needs to be at least a page) and Part D (the conclusion) should look like. I showed the class the Historical Investigation Assignment again, which details how to write this. I am confident that everyone knows how to write an essay at this point, since you have done it multiple times for both Mrs. Carpenter and I.

As for the map quiz: if you want to get ahead of the game, here's a site you could be studying from - Rethinking Schools - Middle East Map Quiz.

At the end of class, I had students turn in Parts A, B, and E for the Historical Investigation. If you did not have this in by the end of the school day, I will attempt to try and call home to let your parents know that you are behind on the biggest assignment of the year. If you did not get this in today, please see the blog post below for instructions on what to do. Thank you!

Period 2: Historical Investigation, Day 4 - Class Recap

A few students are working studying the revolution in Vietnam - the August Revolution. This is a picture on top of what was formerly known as Independence Palace and is now Reunification Palace in 
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Dear class,

Plenty to go over today, because there is a whole lot due next class. No playing around: let's get to it. Read on and be sure to ask questions if you are confused!

Essential Questions: What brings people together? What tears people apart?

Soundtrack: "Survival" by Muse. Chosen for today because it was a song that played before each event at the Olympics. Check out the video! Hopefully, you will survive this assignment and "win" a good grade!

AGENDA 4/4/13:

News Brief

Part B Q/A

Computer Lab - N210

Homework: ***DUE AT THE START OF NEXT CLASS, ON MONDAY** 

Part A: Research Question paragraph. This should already be done, before Spring Break. Even if you have handed your Part A to me in the past (or emailed it to me), I still want you to include a copy on Friday. If you don't have Part A done, this is how you will do it: Part A Paragraph Steps.

Part B: Your investigation of evidence. Remember, you need to have 4 sources. One of those has to be an in-person print source. Here is the template to help get you the information you need. Here is the overview of  what to do in Part B. Again, you are just summarizing information from your sources (as to how they relate to your research question) and combining it into a 2-3 page paper. NOT your own analysis. That is Part C, which you are doing next week.

Part E: The bibliography of your four sources. This is the full citation for each source. Here is the MLA guide for this (the second page contains the information you need for Part E, the first page has the "in text" citations for Part B).

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News Brief: The news brief articles today were brought in by Claire and Molly H. Here they are: USAToday.com - S. Korea: N. Korea moves missile to east coast and NYTimes.com - Record Flooding Kills Dozens in Argentina. The North Korea article, in particular, is one that is currently dominating conversation about current world affairs. Again, it is quite unlikely that North Korea would be able to fire a missile that could make it all the way over to the United States right now. It is quite alarming to hear that they are thinking about it, though!

Part B Q/A: I tried as best I could to explain (yet again - this was the third class in a row that I've talked about what to do) how to complete the 2-3 pages of Part B. This is just a summary of what you found in your research. Make sure to cite your sources!

Computer Lab - N210: We went to the computer lab to work on Part B. Hopefully, everyone knows what you need to be doing!

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Please let me know if I can help you with anything! I know this is quite a lot of work. I am confident that you can do this.

Period 2: Historical Investigation, Day 3 - Class Recap

One of the places I visited during Spring Break was Multnomah Falls (I took this picture on Friday). I actually ended my 4.5 mile hike at the bottom of the falls. It was great to get out and explore a bit!

Dear class,

It was so great to see everyone again! A week off certainly seemed like a long time to me. Now back to school with three and a half weeks left until Mrs. DeFrance Gilman comes back. Crunch time for me! Here's to a great end to my tenure as your teacher. On with the recap:

Essential Questions: What brings people together? What tears people apart?

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

AGENDA 4/2/13:
Spring Break Report
Part B, Explained
Library Research/Writing

Homework: ***Important*** Find all four sources for Part B – be ready to type up next class! Remember that Part B is due on Monday! Next news brief: Claire and Molly H.

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Spring Break Report: No news brief today, because I didn't assign one last class. Instead, we went around the room and said one thing we liked about Spring Break and one thing we didn't like. Students could "pass" if they wanted, but most participated and it was great to briefly hear about what many of you were up to!

Part B, Explained: Next up, I passed out the template for writing Part B of the Historical Investigation. Here it is if you missed class or somehow lost your copy:

Google Drive: Historical Investigation - Part B Template

I am going to try and make this really simple. You are finding a total of four (4) sources that help answer your research question. One of those sources has to be a book/print source. The rest can be electronic based sources.

If you are having trouble finding good sources of information online, here are a few links that might help:

1) Google Scholar web search.

2) Westview High School Library - Check out the "Research Help & Test Prep" section in the middle. Click on the "OSLIS" state logo, which will take you here. Then click on Find Information, then "High Schoolers."

You could also go to Wikipedia and look at the sources that are cited at the bottom of the page. If there is a link to see the source, evaluate it (is it a good source of information, or probably not?) check it out and see if it works for you. Again, you may NOT use Wikipedia itself as a source. Also, try not to use sources that are really old.

Once you have all four of your sources (and the template written out for each, if that will help), start thinking about how you are going to organize the information into your final Part B product. You are "telling the story" of what you found in your research!

Library Research/Writing: For the rest of class, we went up to the library and tried to find books to use as sources. Many of you worked well during this time, others were really struggling to focus and get good material.

Remember: next class you need to have all four sources (or at least an idea) that you want to use, so that you are ready to type it up in the Computer Lab. If you want to go ahead and have most or all of your Part B finished before class, that is fine, too. Just be aware that next class is the only time I am providing to be able to type up the 2-3 pages of Part B!

Please feel free to ask questions if you need help! Remember, this is going to take you quite a while. It's not like you are automatically going to be a be able to find 3 great sources that directly relate to your research question!