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.