Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Historical Investigation, Day 4 - Class Recap


A picture that I took on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates during Spring Break. I used my dad;s camera (a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, which is super nice) and a 15mm fisheye lens to make it look like the world was a city. Fun effect!

Dear class,

Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope you enjoyed the week off from school. Now there is plenty of work for all of us to get back to! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 20: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.
Communication LT 3: I can effectively use the conventions of writing.
Research LT 1: I can develop and refine a research question or topic.
Research LT 3: I can responsibly and accurately cite sources.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Jai Ho" by A.R. Rahman. Selected for today because I was in India over Spring Break, and this song is from Slumdog Millionaire, which is a movie set in India.

AGENDA 3/31/15:
News Brief
Spring Break
Part B Recap
Computer Lab S219

Homework: Read the blog! Part B (2-3 pages of research summary) due next class. Next news brief: John.
---
News Brief: I had the next brief today, because it was a long Spring Break. Here's the article that I chose to talk about: NYTimes.com - Iran Backs Away From Key Detail in Nuclear Deal. This week is the latest deadline for a diplomatic agreement between Iran and some major powers in the world - especially the United States, when it comes to Iran's nuclear program. Iran says that it is for peaceful energy purposes, while many in the world believe they are trying to make a nuclear bomb. In any case, these are very high stakes negotiations!

We also watched VICE News for the day, before moving on.

The next news brief was assigned to John.

Spring Break: I asked the class if there was anything interesting or noteworthy that happened over Spring Break. It is always nice to check in with everyone about what you are up to outside our classroom! As part of this, I showed a few photos from my trip to Dubai, India, and Nepal. It was a lot of travel and I am still gaining my feet back! Still, I love exploring the world and teaching about it, too!

Part B Recap: Before we headed over to the Computer Lab again, I went over the MLA citations guideline and how you should be citing your information that you find as part of your investigation. Here is the paper that I passed out in class: MLA citation guide - 7th edition. Every source that you use for your project should fit into one of those categories on the second page. That is what you are adding to your bibliography (Part E) as you go along.

Finally, for Part B - the Summary of Evidence, here are the two documents you will need to look at as you are researching. Feel free to download and print them out during class, study hall, or after school:


That document will help you with understanding what Part B is all about.

To help with Part B, here is the second document - a template for filling out as you find good sources of information that relate to your research question:


This is a nice and easy way to complete Part B. Remember that you need to have at least four sources (so you could fill out this document four different times, if you wanted) - a maximum of three can be electronic sources. Again, no Wikipedia - the source has to be reliable information.

A GREAT way to find good, reliable information is through a search on Google Scholar, which looks through academic articles (make sure you aren't using a book review as a source, though).

Another way to find good academic sources is through the Westview Library's Power Search option (the second link in the middle). Remember, if you are researching at home, the login information for this is:
username = beaverton
password = oslis

If you want to see what a possible final product looks like (Part B would begin after the first paragraph), here is an example paper:


I know this is a LOT to take in. Please let me know how I can help better explain what you need to do.

Computer Lab S219: After explaining all of this, we headed over to the Computer Lab to work. Part B is due as a rough draft next class! This means having two to three pages of research summary, like an essay (in paragraph format with citations).

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Historical Investigation, Day 3 - Class Recap


My Spring Break is full of 18,841 miles worth of flying! Portland to Seattle to Dubai to Delhi, India to Kathmandu, Nepal. Plus various activities on the ground in those places, too. This was from the $400 round trip ticket to India that I bought last October. It will be a fun adventure! If you want, follow along on Twitter and/or Instagram!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Spring Break! Remember that you definitely have at least some work (let's put it at like two hours) to do before I see you again. Here's what we did in the last class before the break:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 20: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.
Communication LT 3: I can effectively use the conventions of writing.
Research LT 1: I can develop and refine a research question or topic.
Research LT 3: I can responsibly and accurately cite sources.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Roam" by The B-52's. Selected for today because of my encouragement to explore the world around you, even if you are staying at home during Spring Break! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/20/15:
News Brief - Nick
Spring Break
Part B, Explained
Library

Homework: Read the blog! Please work on Part B - researching your historical investigation! 2-3 pages will be due on the second class after break! Have a great and safe Spring Break!
---
News Brief: Nick had the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: CNN.com - Yemen: 120 killed in 2 mosque attacks in capital. This was a breaking news story from this morning. I commented on the fact that I will be in the same region (in Dubai) on Sunday night!

We also watched VICE News for the day, before moving on.

There is no assigned news brief for the class right after break - it would be difficult to remember, I think.

Spring Break: I wanted to check in and see what everyone was looking forward to as far as Spring Break. I have been particularly looking forward to this Spring Break for a long time. It should be a really fun one! That said, if I expect you to work, I will also be here for you in answering emails and comments when I can!

Part B, Explained: Before we headed over to the Computer Lab again, I went over the MLA citations guideline and how you should be citing your information that you find as part of your investigation. Here is the paper that I passed out in class: MLA citation guide - 7th edition. Every source that you use for your project should fit into one of those categories on the second page. That is what you are adding to your bibliography (Part E) as you go along.

Finally, for Part B - the Summary of Evidence, here are the two documents you will need to look at as your are researching over the break. Feel free to download and print them out during class, study hall, or after school:


That document will help you with understanding what Part B is all about. Remember, Part B (which is 2-3 pages) is due for Period 2 on Thursday, April 2nd - the week we get back. It is very important that you get a good start on this.

To help with Part B, here is the second document - a template for filling out as you find good sources of information that relate to your research question:


This is a nice and easy way to complete Part B. Remember that you need to have at least four sources (so you could fill out this document four different times, if you wanted) - a maximum of three can be electronic sources. Again, no Wikipedia - the source has to be reliable information.

A GREAT way to find good, reliable information is through a search on Google Scholar, which looks through academic articles (make sure you aren't using a book review as a source, though).

Another way to find good academic sources is through the Westview Library's Power Search option (the second link in the middle). Remember, if you are researching at home, the login information for this is:
username = beaverton
password = oslis

If you want to see what a possible final product looks like, here is an example paper:


I know this is a LOT to take in. Please let me know how I can help better explain what you need to do. I will respond, even in India, if I have WiFi! :-)

Library: After explaining all of this, we headed over to the library to work. At this point, you really need to have Part A done, and an idea for what you need to do for Part B over break - again, this could just be a couple of hours of work.

Have a wonderful and safe Spring Break! See you on March 30th, when we will also be going to see the Holocaust survivors come speak during 7th Period! Make sure to check in if you have any questions or comments! I know this is quite a lot of information, all at once. I am here to help at almost any time! :-)

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Historical Investigation, Day 2 - Class Recap

Another picture from my Spring Break trip to Washington, D.C. in 2010: this is the National Archives building, where the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution are held. Those are extremely important documents for historians researching the American Revolution!

Hi everyone,

One more class to go until Spring Break! Lots of work to do until then (and probably some during the break, too). Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 20: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.
Communication LT 3: I can effectively use the conventions of writing.
Research LT 1: I can develop and refine a research question or topic.
Research LT 3: I can responsibly and accurately cite sources.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "World Peace" by Rihanna. Selected for today because I was wishing you had a peaceful time with your Explore test yesterday! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/18/15:
News Brief - Devon
Research Questions
Finish Part A
Computer Lab S219

Homework: Read the blog! Turn in your Part A research question paragraph ASAP if you did not today. Start working on research for Part B! Next news brief: Nick.
---
News Brief: Devon had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: TheGuardian.com - Israeli mass rally calls for replacement of Binyamin Netanyahu. We talked about the election yesterday in Israel, and that the likely outcome will be Mr. Netanyahu will form a new government with himself as Prime Minister again. I also mentioned that this relates to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because Netanyahu said over the weekend that he does not want a "two state solution." We will look more at that in the next few months.

We also talked about our weekends and the Explore test before moving on for the day.

Research Questions: For this section, I explained how to do research using the Westview Library Website - particularly the Gale Power Search tool. If you can access the internet at home to research for your project, here is the guide for the login and password information that I showed in class.

Finish Part A/Computer Lab S219: After explaining all of this, we headed over to S219 to finish Part A. I wanted to make sure that I approved each research question before you moved on to writing out the whole paragraph for Part A. Hopefully, everyone was able to complete this in class. If not, email it to me ASAP, please. Also, this could have been a time you were looking at what to do for Part B.

I am really looking forward to the Diversity Assembly tomorrow, and you should too! See you on Friday!