Period 4: Revolution! Day 4 - Class Recap

I passed around my two passports for the class to look at today. My US passport has special privilege embedded in the chip - since I went in to an interview with the government and passed a background check, I am allowed to skip most US customs lines and sometimes go through a faster and easier security scan at the airport.

Dear class,

Another great day of discussion! It was cool to see how interested many people were in talking about the issues. Thank you for participating today - especially if you normally don't like talking in class! :-)

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

Soundtrack: “Miss Independent” by Kelly Clarkson. Selected for today because we continued the "forced choice" activity, where you were expected to make independent stands on various different social and ethical issues. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/28/13:

News Brief

Forced Choice

Reflection

Homework: Read the blog! Finish the forced choice reflection if you have not already completed it (see below for instructions). Nolan, you have the next news brief.

---

News Brief: Ashley brought in the news brief about China and awful animal cruelty there. I didn't get an actual article from her to link to (I'm sort of glad I don't have to review it myself), but we had an interesting first few minutes of discussion about animal rights.

Forced Choice: Again, I loved your thoughtful participation here and willingness to respect each other, even with different viewpoints. I noted that it is cheaper to keep someone in prison for life than to keep prosecuting them towards the death penalty. Here's the evidence to back that up: MSNBC.com - To execute or not: A question of cost? - the quote in the article is that the death penalty is 10 times more expensive than life in prison. A while ago the Oregonian newspaper had an article of the same nature about our state, which was really interesting. Check it out here: OregonLive.com - Can Oregon afford the death penalty?

Here are the questions we went over today (the questions with ** by them were what we talked about).

1) Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is a necessary for our own protection. 

2) I would always support my country, whether it’s right or wrong. 

3) There is only one correct religion in the world.

4)  Religion is worth fighting for.

**5) We have to have violence in order for there to be change and peace in the world.

6) Oppression of any type should not be tolerated anywhere. 

**7) The government of a country should have the power to make decisions that the majority of the people in it do not support.

8) Under no circumstances should someone take land away from someone else.

9) Someone is always at fault for beginning a conflict.

**10) Democracy is the best form of government, no matter where you are in the world.

**11) Killing a person for killing somebody else is not right.

12) I would be willing to fight and give my life to stand up to oppression.

13) Being patriotic, means having absolute loyalty to America; no matter what.

14) It is worth it to take the lives of a few to save the lives of many. 

**15) People in power are always corrupt in some way.

At the end of the activity, I had the class begin (some finished in class) this reflection on it. This is homework if you did not complete it in class.

Write a one page reflection on the activity. What was the most difficult or controversial question for you? Why? How could these sorts of questions make it so that people want to revolt against their government?

Please be ready to turn these in at the start of class on Monday. We will debrief a little and then move on to some actual history.

Definitely let me know if you have any questions about the homework, or final responses to the forced choice activity. See you on Monday! 
:-)

Period 4: Revolution! Day 3 - Class Recap

The song for today was one that I love to start my training runs to. Here's a picture of the result of all that training: with my Uncle Andy (who has run almost 100 marathons) after the Portland Marathon last year - my first ever full 26.2 miles! :-)

Dear class,

I am always somewhat hesitant to run the "forced choice" activity if I haven't done it with students before, just because I am afraid that it is totally going to bomb and the point (of disagreement) won't be made. I was so happy with the result today! Lots of great discussion and I think I managed to get just about everyone involved. Way to go! Read on for the recap:

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

Soundtrack: “Shake it Out” by Florence + The Machine. Chosen because I like to start my runs with this song, and we are starting a new week/unit. I went for a 10 mile training run this last weekend. I really love the Nike + app - here's a map with the pace and elevation of my run. For context, I ran 13.1 miles last May in 1:32. Here are the lyrics to the song.

AGENDA 2/26/13:

News Brief
Present Togetherness Posters

Feedback Review

Forced Choice

Homework: Read the blog! The next news brief is assigned to Ashley.

News Brief: After checking in about the weekend and discussing the Oscars for a bit ("Argo" won for Best Picture - a movie having to do with the Iranian Revolution), Adam brought in this news article to talk about: CNN.com - Park Geun-hye becomes South Korea's first female president. So interesting! I talked about how women in leadership positions of government are becoming more common. Rwanda is a good example: they are required by law to have at least 30% women in government - parliament has over 50% now. I also mentioned that Dennis Rodman and some of the Harlem Globetrotters are visiting North Korea to try and use basketball to bring people together (like the posters you presented)! Thanks for the great article, Adam!

Present Togetherness Posters: I wanted to make sure that everyone had the chance to see the great work and art you made last week, so I made time for students to present your posters to everyone. Thank you for all of the great ideas! I will be putting them up on the walls in the class, to remind us that there is more to the world than war and conflict.

Feedback Review: Another element of my classes that I thoroughly enjoy doing. I read all of your responses from last class about what is going well and what needs to be improved on and combined them into a PowerPoint presentation. The first slide used wordle.net "word clouds" to show the impact of words being frequently used across the class. The second slide for each question was what you all actually wrote to me. Here is the presentation if you wanted to see it again:

Google Drive: Period 4 Feedback Review PowerPoint

My general impressions were that the class enjoys the news briefs, discussions, and history in class and knows it needs to work on being quieter. Also, that I am doing a good job of being relatable, bringing the energy and interesting content, and explaining things, while I need to work on various different areas like notes, activities, and strictness (we talked a bit in class about this). Thank you again for providing the feedback! I think it should be useful going forward.

Forced Choice: Again, I LOVED this. So many great opinions here. I believe we were able to have a smart discussion that respected our individual viewpoints (and hopefully was not boring). We only got through the first few statements (out of 15), so next class we will probably continue where we left off - though I will just pick and choose the rest of them to go over. At the end you will be writing a reflection on the most difficult choice you had to make and how these sorts of questions could make people want to change the form of government they have (via a revolution). I hope you enjoyed this activity as much as I did! I would love to hear more thoughts and feedback in the comments, if you are interested in doing so.

Have a great rest of the day. See you on Thursday!

Period 4: Revolution! Day 2 - Class Recap

If I were to do the "togetherness" poster, here is a picture that I would choose to talk about. Everyone in the world should be able to appreciate beauty in nature. I took this at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in 2008.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for another good and interesting class! I am really looking forward to next week and the real start of content for the revolution unit. Until then, here's what we did:

Essential Questions: What brings people together? What tears people apart? - A good example of that in today's class!

Soundtrack: “Get Up, Stand Up” by Bob Marley. Selected for today's class because you were making tough decisions about where you stand in regards to certain issues. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/22/13:
News Brief/Blog Recap/Grades
Finish Posters/Present
Feedback
Forced Choice
FORECASTING

Homework: Read the blog! Turn in missing work. Adam, you have the news brief next.
---
News Brief: The news brief today was brought in by Maria. She selected this article to talk about: CNN.com - U.S. delegation seeks release of contractor in Cuba. This brought up a LOT of great questions and discussion about Cuba. Normally, I would run with this discussion for as long as it is productive, but I had to cut it short eventually today, due to all the other things we needed to do. We talked about the U.S. policy in regards to Cuban refugees, known as "wet feet, dry feet" and the implications of it. I mentioned the Cuban missile crisis as well. A really, really interesting place in the world, especially as it comes to U.S. relations with, as Cuba is 90 miles away from Miami. Thank you, Maria!

Finish Posters: Again, a lighthearted activity - just to try and remember that not everything in the world is war/genocide/violent revolutions. I appreciated your effort here. We will present them next class - please finish them if they are not already done.

Feedback: After working on the posters and presenting them, I had the class write out some anonymous feedback, since today marked one month and one day since I began to be your teacher for Mrs. DeFrance Gilman (baby Brandt was born a month ago, yesterday). Here's what I asked - again, this activity was done without putting your name on the paper, in the hopes of you feeling like you could be as honest as possible:

1. What do you like about this class and what is this class good at?
2. What does the class need to improve on?
3. What do you like about Mr. Fritz as a teacher?
4. What can Mr. Fritz improve at?

I really value your feedback and we will review it together next week. Thank you for your honest opinion!

Forced Choice: This next section was about choosing yes or no (not maybe or "I don't know") to various different moral and ethical choices (we were able to do about half of this list before the end of class). Here is the list, if you wanted to see them again. Next class, you will be asked to take a stand and talk about why you made a particular choice.

1) Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is a necessary for our own protection.
2) I would always support my country, whether it’s right or wrong.
3) There is only one correct religion in the world.
4)  Religion is worth fighting for.
5) We have to have violence in order for there to be change and peace in the world.
6) Oppression of any type should not be tolerated anywhere.
7) The government of a country should have the power to make decisions that the majority of the people in it do not support.
8) Under no circumstances should someone take land away from someone else.
9) Someone is always at fault for beginning a conflict.
10) Democracy is the best form of government, no matter where you are in the world.
11) Killing a person for killing somebody else is not right.
12) I would be willing to fight and give my life to stand up to oppression.
13) Being patriotic, means having absolute loyalty to America; no matter what.
14) It is worth it to take the lives of a few to save the lives of many.
15) People in power are always corrupt in some way.

You absolutely have to have your answers for these for next class. Please just try to answer in a way that is true for you - not anyone else.

FORECASTING: My eternal thanks to Mr. Strong for coming in to help out with this. We looked over each of your forecasting sheets (if they haven't already been turned in) and tried to find any errors. Thank you for your patience during this time - even if it was a little too loud at points. I hope you all get the classes that you want for next year!

Have a great weekend. See you next week!

Period 4: Revolution! Day 1 - Class Recap

My view of the 2011 BCS National Championship, between Oregon and Auburn, on January 10. Not a game that I particularly like remembering, but a good example of an activity that brings people together. Before the Olympics, this was the biggest sporting event I had ever attended.

Dear class,

I loved today. It was great to get to talk about all the different current events happening in the world, and so much fun to move on to the start of the next unit! Here's what happened in class:

Essential Questions: What brings people together? What tears people apart? - New essential questions! We will be looking at the answers to both in the revolution unit.

Soundtrack: “Where is the Love?” by The Black Eyed Peas. Chosen for today because we have been talking so much about war, genocide, and revolutions (soon) - I thought we needed to focus a bit on love and what brings people together across the world. Lyrics here. 

AGENDA 2/20/13:

News Brief

Debrief WWI Essay

Grades

Togetherness

Homework: Read the blog! Turn in missing World War I work. Stephen A. has the next news brief.

---

News Brief: I started the class off by checking in about the long weekend - interesting activities the class did, and such. I mentioned that I visited the Museum of Flight in Seattle, which was really cool. I even saw a father explaining to his daughter what happened in World War I with the trenches and why airplanes became a valuable new technology. Just like I was talking about in class! I love it when that happens.

I also talked/bragged about booking a flight to Europe later in May (after Mrs. DeFrance Gilman comes back, which should be around May 1). I will have to keep in touch with you all about that! I'm really excited. :-)

The news brief article for today was selected by Eric. Here is what he brought in (South Africa is the country): CNN.com - Pistorius details night of girlfriend's death. Really sad story, regardless of whether or not Oscar Pistorius is guilty of murdering his girlfriend or not. I talked about who Pistorius is (a disabled Paralympic athlete who was so good with two blades for legs that he made the Olympics) and what we know happened so far. Lots of great questions and other news events were brought up. I really enjoy following the news - it seems like this class does! Maria, you are up with the news brief for next class.

Debrief WWI Essay: Next, I asked the class for general feedback about how the in-class essay went. I really appreciated the responses here. I noted that you will have to do such tests in the future, like for SATs, and this was good practice. That was definitely my hope! Yes, it may have been tough to write so much, in an entire class period. I do think that most of you did very well with it.

Grades: Speaking of grades, I handed back all of the World War I packets that I received to be graded. If you have not turned these in yet, they are late and will be graded accordingly. However, a B on these is still WAY better than a zero, which I will have to start entering as scores soon, for those of you that were missing assignments.

I noted that I do not have your World War I essay tests graded yet. This is partially because I ran out of time this weekend, and partially because 9 students missed the test (or about 25% of the class), so I wanted to get some more in before handing them back.

Togetherness: After looking at the grades, I turned our attention to something more exciting and interesting (I hope): ways in which the world comes together. I showed five consecutive videos (a record, but there are so many good ones out there)! Here are the links to them, if you want to watch again:

"Dancing (2008)"

The world's reaction to the United States Men's National Team winning a critical World Cup game at the last second in South Africa, 2010: YouTube.com - Landon Donovan Goal Reaction.

The "Free Hugs" campaign in Australia: YouTube.com - Free Hugs.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A little different than the others, but still important for bringing people together.

"Dancing (2012)"

I LOVE these videos. All great examples of what brings people together across so many different areas.

Your task after watching this was to start creating a poster of something that brings the world together. Again, this is extremely low stakes - it's not going to be a huge grade or anything. Just a fun activity to remember that there is more to the world than just conflict. We will try to finish these up next class, present, then move on to the revolution unit. Sound like a plan? Thanks for the great class today! Let me know if you have other videos that you enjoy along these same lines! :-)

Period 4: World War I, Day 9 - Class Recap

Hopefully you feel like you just won a big game after completing your World War I final essay in class today. I took this picture on April 21, 2009, as our Portland Trail Blazers beat the Houston Rockets in a playoff game.

Dear class,

Hooray! If you were in class today, you completed the essay test for our World War I unit! I'm looking forward to reading them all. In the meantime, relax and enjoy your three day weekend. Here's the short class recap for today:

Essential Question: Why does war happen? - Definitely related to the end of World War I, as well, considering what happened in Europe later.

Soundtrack: "Duel of Fates" from Star Wars: Episode I. Chosen because it is the soundtrack for the ending battle of the movie (like the final essay for the unit). No real lyrics for the song, but if you are a huge Star Wars nerd like I am, you can learn all about it here.

AGENDA 2/15/13:

Introduction

Essay Test

Homework: Read the blog! Turn in missing work if you do not have it today. If you forgot to turn in your World War I packet, here it is what needs to be in it:

1) Life in the Trenches Letter. Read through the letters on this worksheet and try to imagine you were in the same situation. What would you say if you were writing home from the trenches during World War I?

2) Your graphic organizer/brainstorm for the World War I practice essay (on the start of WWI). Here is an example to fill out if you lost yours.

3) The World War I "practice" essay. If you already completed this and showed me it during class, you are good to go. If you did not have it completed (or you are unsure if I gave you credit for it), please turn it in. If you missed the multiple classes we were working on it, the last slide in this PowerPoint has the essay question and explanation of what you should do.

4) The "Why Did the US Enter WWI" worksheet response. If you missed this, here it is to download and complete (at least a paragraph on what YOU think are the main reasons the United States entered World War I).

5) The Treaty of Versailles worksheet. Read over what Germany had to agree to at the end of the war and on the back side, write out how these might have impacted Germany in various ways (economic, military, and pride).

Staple all five (or four, if your essay is already checked off) together in this order, make sure your name is on it, and then put it in the box for your period in class.

Eric, you have the news brief for next class, please.
---
Introduction: At the start of class, I put everyone in a seating chart, then offered some last minute review points before passing out the final essay.

Essay Test: I was VERY pleased with how this went. Almost every single student worked hard for over an hour, quietly writing and responding. Mostly, I tried to stay out of your way with this, aside from occasional updates on how much time was left in the period. Again, I am really looking forward to seeing how everyone did. Thank you so much for your hard work and focus!

Have a great long weekend and come back ready to start something new. I am headed up to Seattle on Saturday to tour the Boeing Airplanes factory that makes the 737, but other than that, I'll be grading for the entire weekend. Hopefully by the time I see you on Tuesday, I will have a complete set of grades up for the second semester, so far.

Period 4: World War I, Day 8 - Class Recap

One of the conditions placed on Germany at the end of World War I was that it had to greatly reduce the size of its navy. After the war, it may as well have been like the sailboat here (another one of my favorite pictures from Hawaii, in 2011).

Hi everyone,

I really hope you are reading this in the hopes of preparing for your final essay next class! This post should have just about everything you need to get ready, so let's get started.

Essential Question: Why do wars happen? - Even in looking at the end of World War I, this is an important question to be considering, because World War II can be directly traced to the end of WWI.

Soundtrack: "The Hardest Part" by Coldplay. Chosen because the hardest part of the final essay test should be the review and getting ready. Writing 25 sentences should not be too hard. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/13/13:

News Brief

Finish “A Flawed Peace”

Treaty of Versailles

Missing Work/Jeopardy

Homework: Read the blog! One page of handwritten notes for the final essay. Bring all World War I class work to turn in. Which is (in this order):

1) Life in the Trenches Letter. Read through the letters on this worksheet and try to imagine you were in the same situation. What would you say if you were writing home from the trenches during World War I?

2) Your graphic organizer/brainstorm for the World War I practice essay (on the start of WWI). Here is an example to fill out if you lost yours.

3) The World War I "practice" essay. If you already completed this and showed me it during class, you are good to go. If you did not have it completed (or you are unsure if I gave you credit for it), please turn it in. If you missed the multiple classes we were working on it, the last slide in this PowerPoint has the essay question and explanation of what you should do.

4) The "Why Did the US Enter WWI" worksheet response. If you missed this, here it is to download and complete (at least a paragraph on what YOU think are the main reasons the United States entered World War I).

5) The Treaty of Versailles worksheet that you did today in class. Hopefully this made sense. Read over what Germany had to agree to at the end of the war and on the back side, write out how these might have impacted Germany in various ways (economic, military, and pride).

Staple all five (or four, if your essay is already checked off) together in this order, make sure your name is on it, and then put it in the box for your period next class. Aside from #5, everything else is work we have done in class before today - none of this should be a surprise. Make sense? Absolutely ask me questions if it does not!

---

News Brief: Eric was absent today, so I brought in an article about North Korea testing a nuclear bomb yesterday. This is the third test in the last decade - we know that they actually did it, because we can measure the earthquake that it caused. Here is the article: CNN.com - Q&A: North Korea finally conducts nuclear test, what now?

There will be no news brief next class, as I am hoping to give you as much time as possible to complete your essay test.

Finish "A Flawed Peace": We reviewed the last three slides of the PowerPoint that we did not get to last class. Here is the presentation again, in case you missed it, or if you wanted to review for your final (a VERY good idea):

Google Drive: The End Of World War I - A Flawed Peace PowerPoint

You will be asked to write about these topics for your final essay, so make sure that you know them and have good notes! One of the terms I showed you (and you will be expected to know for your final essay) was President Wilson's Fourteen Points (that is a link to the actual 14 points). "Armistice" is another term you will absolutely need to know how to use in your essay.

Treaty of Versailles: This section involved looking at some of the elements that the Allies (in particular, France) made Germany agree to at the end of the war. The final agreement, which Germany was forced to sign, did not incorporate much (if any) of President Wilson's Fourteen Points. Again, if you missed it before, this is the worksheet I had the class complete.

Missing Work/Jeopardy: This was really fun. Thank you for the energy. Hopefully everyone was either working on finishing the all the WWI work or watching the game. Here it is (as a warning: it is somewhat hard to run) if you are interested in seeing it again: Google Drive: World War I Jeopardy PowerPoint.
---
Next class will be your final essay for the unit. I will try and make sure to give you as much time as possible from the very start. Again, you need to know: how to write a basic essay (the exact format of 25 sentences/five paragraphs). This PowerPoint will help if you need to review: Google Drive: Writing Easy Essays in Social Studies.

You will also need to be able to write about what happened at the end of World War I and how it impacted (or effected) the world.

If you know these three things well, then you will do fine. Please ask questions in the comments here if you are at all confused! See you on Friday! :-)

Period 4: World War I, Day 7 - Class Recap

During today's class, Elliot and I had a "debate" about the weather outside - is it cloudy, or partly sunny? Who was right? The answer is that unless someone can bring facts to the debate (being objective), both of us could make good arguments based on our opinions (being subjective). I took this picture on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten in 2009. Partly cloudy? Partly sunny? You decide.

Hi everyone,

So much talking from me today in class! I hope I didn't bore you out of your minds (I don't think I did). We were almost able to get through everything - there are two presentation slides for next class. If you want to review all of the material, this is the recap for you!

Essential Question: Why do wars happen?

Soundtrack: “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. Chosen because it is played when famous Yankees "closer" Mariano Rivera comes into a baseball game to "save" the win. Somewhat like the US entering World War I. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/11/13:

News Brief/Blog Recap

US Entry into WWI

Objective/Subjective

A Flawed Peace

Homework: Read the blog! Review your "CDs" for the final essay (probably on Friday)!

---

News Brief: Denise had the news brief for us today. Here is the article she chose: France24.com - Air France sued after pilot 'insults' King of Morocco. Especially funny to me, as I love airlines and traveling.  

The major world news story of today was that the Pope is resigning. He is the head of the Catholic Church, which has an estimated 1 billion or so followers. This Pope becomes the first to resign since 1415. Here's an article about that: CNN.com - Too tired to go on, Pope Benedict resigns. It will be very interesting to see who the next Pope is.

We also talked about North Korea using the video game "Call of Duty" to threaten the United States: CNN.com - North Korea accused of ripping off 'Call of Duty' in propaganda video. Tell your parents you are doing research next time you want to play the game! Eric, you have the next news brief, please! Any article about something happening outside the United States.

US Entry into WWI: This portion of class was devoted to learning how the United States became involved with the war. Hopefully this made sense - if not, please ask questions in the comments! For your final essay, it will probably be good to know the terms "Lusitania," "unrestricted submarine warfare," and "the Zimmerman Note." Here is the presentation to review if you missed class or want to see it again:

Google Drive: US Entry into World War I PowerPoint

This is the first of two presentations today. Dang! I don't think I've ever done back to back presentations (or at least two in one class). So much to cover! I think someone in this class asked about the boxer Muhammad Ali and what happened after he refused to go into the war in Vietnam after being drafted. Here's a website with a great history of that incident.

Objective/Subjective: Again, this started out with Elliot and I debating the weather. The two terms here are objective = facts/concrete details and subjective = opinions/commentary. I went over who wrote the Modern World Textbook in class (were multiple different perspectives engaged in writing it?) and then handed out this sheet of quotes of possible reasons why the United States entered World War I, and had students respond at the end with thoughts:

Google Drive: Why Did The United States Enter World War I Worksheet

Please bring these next class (as well as everything else that we have done during this unit - I will have you turn in a big packet of work, right before writing the final essay).

A Flawed Peace: We did not get all the way through this, so we will finish next class. Hopefully, this was interesting and eye-opening information about the end of World War I. If you want to review (or are interested in seeing the two slides I will go over next class), here it is:

Google Drive: The End of World War I: A Flawed Peace PowerPoint

Thank you so much for your focus on taking notes! I think it will really help you during the prep for the final essay. I mentioned that Kim Kardashian has spoken out about remembering the Armenian genocide and making sure that it is called a genocide. Here is the tweet that I was referring to.

---

Phew. So much happened today in class! I hope it all made sense. Definitely ask in the comments or via email if it was confusing. Have a great weekend!

Period 4: World War I, Day 6 - Class Recap

The now famous ball of yarn.

Dear class,

I really loved today! I was so happy with the ball of yarn activity (especially as it took way too long yesterday). I had thought about how to do it differently all day and I was super pleased with the results. I also loved the energy for the country quiz. I hope the peer review was helpful for you, too. On with the recap:

Essential Question: Why do wars happen?

Soundtrack: "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey. Picked for today because of the yarn activity. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/7/13
News Brief

Class Unity Activity

Peer Review
Country Quiz

Homework: Read the blog!
---
News Brief: Denise had the news brief today, but she was absent. This was the article I used in her place: BBC.co.uk - Teams start assessing tsunami-hit Solomon Islands. We talked about the earthquake along the "ring of fire" in the Pacific Ocean, which started the tsunami. Denise still has the news brief for next class - but if someone wants to be her back up, that would be great, too.

I also mentioned that part of England's Parliament voted to legalize gay marriage there. CNN.com - UK lawmakers approve same-sex marriage in first vote. This is obviously a big issue here in the US as well. I noted that the US Supreme Court will likely have something to say about it later this year. Someone in one of my classes today asked if gay marriage was legal in Canada. The answer is yes - it has been since 2005.

Class Unity Activity: I really enjoy doing this with my classes. First, I think it is cool to get the web of connections. Two, we are all connected to each other in some way! Three, it is the job of the class community to help pick people up who are falling down! I really appreciated your effort here. Both the outside and inside circles did really well at being respectful and listening to each other. If you missed class, I asked students to say their name and how their family came to America/Portland. 

Peer Review: The main thing is just to help you prepare for the in class final essay for the unit, where I will have you be writing a very similar essay. This whole process was to make you feel ready for that (possibly next week). I will check off to see that you had the rough draft done, then return the essays to you next class. This was practice: next time, it will be the real thing.

Country Quiz: In about 13 minutes, the class was able to name 109 countries with on the online quiz. We will come back to this! Period 2 got 121 (in almost the same amount of time - they had to leave before the end as well). I thought this was pretty fun. If you want to try yourself (try to beat 180/197 without cheating - what I got by myself earlier this week), here is the link: Sporcle Country Quiz.

--
I would love to hear thoughts, questions, or concerns about today's class, or any feedback at all. Post a comment - anonymously if you want. Have a great day - see you on Friday!

Period 4: World War I, Day 5 - Class Recap

Today was the start of a new semester for our class! A dawn of a new day. This is a picture of the streets in Bogota, Colombia in the pre-dawn light on October 4th, 2009.

Hi everyone,

Thank you for putting in a lot of effort with the essay and asking questions if you needed. Remember that it is homework if you did not finish it in class. Please feel free to comment if you need any help!

Essential Question: Why do wars happen?

Soundtrack: "At The Beginning" from the Anastasia soundtrack. Lyrics here. Chosen because this is our first class together at the start of the second semester! Also, because the Disney movie is somewhat related to the Russian Revolution, which is what we will be studying after (or as a part of) World War I.

AGENDA 2/5/13: 
Semester 1 Grades
News Brief/Blog Recap
Essay Writing

Homework: Finish your essay! Find out how your family came to America. Check the blog.
---
Semester 1 Grades: To start the class (as you were walking in), I told everyone that your final semester 1 grades were posted on the wall. There are a few limited exceptions to these, like students who were just added, or those who got very close to passing and need to prove that they deserve credit. I will be talking with those students on an individual basis. Thank goodness we can start afresh now!

News Brief/Blog Recap: Lots to go over, for sure.  We talked briefly about the Super Bowl. Laura kindly brought in this news story from today: NYTimes.com - Bones Under Parking Lot Belonged to Richard III. How crazy is that? Using DNA matching and all sorts of other forensic evidence, researchers were able to find the remains of England's King Richard III, who had been buried in a shallow grave in a church, which later became a parking lot. What a story.

I mentioned the news of a former Westview student being found guilty of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction: HuffingtonPost.com - Mohamed Mohamud Guilty Verdict: Oregon Car-Bomb Suspect Convicted of Terrorism. There is obviously a LOT to talk about with this case. I tried to address the main points in class.

I also mentioned the attempted suicide of an Eastern Oregon teenager, which ended with him being taken off life support. Columbian.com - Oregon teen dies in hospital after suicide try. My main point in bringing this up was to just say that if you ever feel like you need to talk to someone, our school community is here to help you. In particular, please feel free to check in with me at any time. Be good to yourselves, your community, and each other. High school can be a really rough time (I know from personal experience). It gets better.

Denise, you have the news brief for next class. Any article about something going on around the world, outside the United States. Thanks!

Essay Writing: The rest of the class was devoted to finishing the World War I essays that I had you start during finals. Remember to use the same format that we talked about in class! If you missed it, or want to review the presentation again, here it is.

Google Docs - Writing Essays in Social Studies PowerPoint

Remember that you will be peer reviewing these essays next class, and I will have you be looking for the correct format and the vocabulary words/terms on the last slide to be used.

All good? Remember to finish those essays and to make sure you know how your family first came to Portland/America!