Thursday, March 22, 2018

Country Profile Project, 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.

Hi everyone,

Our last official class before Spring Break (though we are combining classes tomorrow so I will see you again)! Lots to do, for sure. 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.

Soundtrack: "Marry The Night" by Lady Gaga. Selected for today because it was super dark out the past few weeks in the morning, for Daylight Savings Time. Now getting a little better! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/22/18:
News Brief - Shawn (from Period 3)
Demographics
Citing Sources
Current Events

Homework: Read the blog! Finish your demographic indicators packet (just the definitions and data for your chosen country). Work on your Current Event for the Country Profile Project over Spring Break by finding two articles and writing up notes and analysis - check the calendar to see when it is due! Next news brief: Haddie.
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News Brief: Shawn (from Period 3) had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: NYTimes.com - Boko Haram Returns Dozens of Schoolgirls Kidnapped in Nigeria. We found Nigeria on our world maps and discussed this story together, as well as some details about Nigeria.

We checked in about what people were up to outside of class, before moving on.

I will do the next news brief, as it is after Spring Break.

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):


Demographics: Because a key point of the Country Profile Project is to understand the human geography and economics of your selected country, it is important to understand demographics, which is data that relates to population and groups of people. Here is the presentation that we went through in class:


With this information, I then passed out copies of this packet (most students accessed it using Google Classroom):


Today in class, students used the CIA World Factbook website for their chosen country and started filling out the definitions in the first column on the left, and the statistics for their chosen country on the far right column.

This information will help in understanding what the human geography and economics are like in your country. Treat this as homework to finish (just the definitions and statistics for your country - we will do the rest later in the semester) outside of class.

Citing Sources: Please cite your sources in a separate Works Cited page at the end of your Current Event. Use MLA format - an easy way to get this citation for use in your paper is to use EasyBib.com.

Current Events: The rest of class was spent trying to identify a good Current Event for your Country Profile Project, and finding two sources that address the topic. As a reminder, students are using this note taking sheet to do this, which notes how geography and economics are addressed:


The assignment sheet and example for how to fill out the notes can be found here:


Over the break, students need to be writing up their Current Event. Here is the Willamette Promise rubric for how this will be graded as a part of the college credit component:



Finally, if you are looking for an example Current Event, Mr. McCreery helpfully wrote one up, here:


Let me know if you have questions or need help with this over the break - I will respond to emails when I can! :-)

Have a great Spring Break, everyone!
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Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Country Profile Project, Day 1 - Class Recap

Today we started the Country Profile Project, which is about countries around the world. You cannot pick the United States, but here is a symbol of our country: the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.! I took this picture during Spring Break in 2010.

Hi everyone,

Today was the start of a really big assignment: the research project at all freshmen need to do at Westview (most sophomores will, as well). Here's what happened 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.

Soundtrack: "At the Beginning" from Anastasia. Selected for today because of the movie's connection to the Russian Revolution, and our work starting on the Country Profile Project. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/21/18:
News Brief - Ree
The Country Profile Project
Current Event
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Look at the CPP Calendar. Continue your Current Event research and writing! Haddie has the next news brief.
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News Brief: Ree had the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: CNN.com - Priest publicly wishes for Pope's quick death because of his views on immigration and Islam. We found Poland in the world map packet and noted we did a story about it, as we talked about what it was about.

We checked in about what people were up to outside of class, before moving on.

Haddie 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):


The Country Profile Project: Alert, alert! This is the start of a massive assignment that you have the opportunity to earn college credit for. Here is what I passed out in class today (or had students go through on Google Classroom with me):

1) The overview of the assignment with each part/step laid out (this corresponds to the calendar):


2) Instructions for how students will be able to complete the dual credit requirements for the college credit through Willamette Promise (which most students are registered for at this point):


3) The calendar for what we will be working on for the next month (at least, this is what I THINK we will be following - having never taught this particular version of the research project, it is possible things could change):


We went through both of these thoroughly (at least 20 minutes) in class. Basically, the assignment consists of multiple parts that will be due throughout the next month.

In class, I asked students to research possible countries from this list and come up with a Top 5, before we selected in class. Here are the possible countries to choose from and student selections:


As I was saying in class: if you want to do well on this project (and you should, considering it is one of the biggest assignments of the entire year), you will probably have to be working on it at home, as well as working very hard in class on it.

Current Event: Today's assignment was to start working on finding a current event from your chosen country, after we selected them in class.

Here is the overview for the Current Event portion of the assignment (about 25% of the value of the assignment when it is graded for college credit):


We talked in class about identifying important information, analyzing the information, and evaluating the source (which we recently did in class with the OPVL activity). Here is a template for students to be using in writing notes on their current event:


Finally, here are two teacher examples of completed Current Events, so students can see what the final product should look something like:



Work Time: For the rest of class, we worked in class using Chromebooks to start researching our countries and choosing a current event to begin analysis.

Please let me know if you have questions, comments, or concerns! I would be happy to help you begin this project. I am confident that all of you will do well on this! We will continue working on this as we approach Spring Break - the Current Event will be due after the break.
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Monday, March 19, 2018

Revolution! Day 5 - Class Recap

Today we watched part of an episode of The Office in class, while looking for different aspects of a revolution in it. This is me jumping for joy at finding the set of The Office, while on vacation in California in 2007. It is one of my favorite TV shows ever!

Dear class,

Welcome back from your weekend! We looked more into what makes up a revolution in class, and also had some time to work on late assignments. Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets:
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.

Soundtrack: "Leningrad" by Billy Joel. Selected for today because a student suggested it on the blog, as relating to Lenin and Russia. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/19/18:
News Brief - Justin
Conditions for Revolutions
The Coup
Russian Revolution Work

Homework: Read the blog! Turn in late/missing/incomplete/make up work. Bring your Chromebooks (charged!) next class (and for the next month). Ree has the next news brief.
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News Brief: Justin had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: Independent.co.uk - Man fined £183,000 for pretending meat was fruit at supermarket self-service checkout. We found Germany in our world maps and talked about this funny story for a bit, before moving on. 

 Ree 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):


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



Conditions for Revolutions: This PowerPoint was about the main ways that revolutions start. An easy way to think about this is: political = people want power; social = people want to find others that agree with them; economic = people want money and resources.

Here's the PowerPoint, if you wanted to check it out again, or if you missed class and need to do notes:

If you are at all confused about what makes up a revolution (in the sense of a government), please let me know!

The Coup: To have some fun in introducing theory of revolutions, we watched the episode of "The Office" called The Coup. A "coup" (or coup d'etat) is pronounced "coo" and is a French word for the overthrow of a government, usually from a small group of insiders. Thus, this episode is a perfect way to showcase the elements of a revolution (political/social/economic reasons for why Dwight is trying to overthrow Michael as boss) while also being a humorous way to start thinking about how revolutions happen. We finished the episode and then had a bit of time at the end of class to work on incomplete work.

Russian Revolution Work: I wanted everything from the unit turned in, including:

1) The Russian Revolution Pre-Assessment/Newsflash activity
2) Vocabulary Notes (on Peace, Land, and Bread PowerPoint)
3) OPVL activity (using the primary sources posted around the room)
4) Propaganda Poster assignment (using the Propaganda Poster PowerPoint to complete)
5) Vocabulary Quiz (a make up quiz is available in class, too)

Please get these in as soon as possible, if you did not do so in class! They will be another grade opportunity for the learning target on revolutions. Next class, you will start the big Country Profile Project assignment. Be ready! :-)
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