World War I, Day 1 - Class Recap

Your anonymous feedback for what you like about this class! :-) 

Hello everyone,

Welcome to a new semester and a new unit to study! Today, we started looking at World War I and making connections to what we have already learned about as far as imperialism in Rwanda, the Holocaust and the rise of Hitler, and everything else we have talked about. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Critical Thinking and Analysis LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems, and concepts.
Knowledge LT 20: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.

Soundtrack: "Brand New Day" by Sting. Selected for today because it is a brand new semester and a chance to start again! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/9/17:
News Brief - Sam
Review Class Feedback
Ominous Beginnings PowerPoint
Murder of the Archduke

Homework: Read the blog and post a comment again! Finish the reading questions if you did not in class. Next news brief: Jimmy.

News Brief: Sam had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: ABC.net.au - Buddhist monk arrested in Myanmar with more than four million methamphetamine pills. We found Bangladesh (it looks like maybe it should have been Myanmar?) on the world map and talked about this story for a bit, before moving on.

Jimmy 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

Review Class Feedback: We looked at the anonymous feedback that students gave me before the Ladkah semester final about how the class was going, and how I am doing as a teacher. Here it is again if you want to check it out:

Google Drive - Period 2 January Class Feedback

Some observations:

1) It looks like students really love what we learn about in class, which is awesome to see!

2) The class knows it could get better at participating.

3) You like that I am good at explaining concepts and that I am a fun teacher.

4) However, some students feel like I could do a better job of going slower with material (if anything at all).

Ominous Beginnings PowerPoint: To start up the World War I unit, I showed this recent clip from the BBC about what millennials know about it.

I went over the definition of "ominous" and used the example of music in a scary movie: you know something bad is about to happen. The rest of the PowerPoint was about the M.A.I.N. causes of World War I. The class took notes (Cornell Notes would be awesome!) on each slide - which will come in handy at the end of this unit. Please review the presentation if you missed class, or did not have enough time to finish up your notes:

Google Docs - World War I: Ominous Beginnings PowerPoint

Thank you so much for your focus during this part of class! You all seemed to really be getting what I was talking about, which is great to see.

Murder of the Archduke: I passed this document around, and read it aloud to the class, trying to describe what happened in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. - Borijove Jevtic: The Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo, 28 June 1914. This is the story of how World War I started. I had the class answer the analysis questions at the end, as well. It is such an important event in history - all set up by the MAIN causes of World War I. The questions at the end were what we finished class with. We will start next time by going over the answers together.

This was what we ended class with! Thank you for your participation and focus today! :-)

Ladakh Semester 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 2/7/17:
News Brief – Reese
Grades
Class Feedback
Ladakh Final

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

News Brief: Reese selected an article about this story for the news brief today: CNN.com - Der Spiegel's Donald Trump cover sparks controversy. We found Germany in the world map packet and noted we did a news brief story about the country. We also checked out the cover, and talked about what we were up to over the weekend.

Sam 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):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

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 do not have a grading day, due to the snow, so I am hoping to try and grade these as quickly as possible so you have an up to date grade ASAP.

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?

What does this class (you, as students) need to improve at?

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?

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

Ladakh Final: This was the assignment for the rest of class. As promised, I let students use notes from the previous class(es) 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 Tuesday, February 21. 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! :-)

Ladakh Final Prep - Class Recap

We finished the Ladakh documentary in class today, 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 later this week. 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 2/2/17:
News Brief – Olivia
Seminar Debrief
Ancient Futures
Ladakh Final Prep

Homework: Read the blog. Prepare for finals (see below)! Period 2 final is Tuesday! Next news brief: Reese.

News Brief: Olivia selected an article about this story for the news brief today: NYDailyNews.com - Bangladeshi girl, 10, may be first female with ‘tree man syndrome’. We found Bangladesh in our world map packet and discussed this interesting medical case together, before moving on.

Reese 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

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 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!

The Behavior Learning Target grades for the mini-unit on the Holocaust are now in the grade book and can be looked at on StudentVUE. I think it is a good indication of where everyone is at! Thank you for participating!

Ancient Futures: 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 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 last class. Students were taking notes on the back page during the documentary:

Google Drive: Intro to Ladakh Readings

We watched the rest of this famous documentary, 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.

Ladakh Final Prep: 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. See you next class, for our last class of the semester!