Friday, June 17, 2016

Semester Finals - Class Recap


Sunset over Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was a great semester, everyone! Thank you for your hard work! Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today was our last day of class for the year! We had our final Israel-Palestine Peace Conference, reflection on the year, and then talked about life and what is coming up for a while. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9:  I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19:  I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 21:  I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "Thankful" by Kelly Clarkson. Selected for today because I always choose this song for the last day of class, since I am so thankful to get to teach you all. Especially this year, which was a pretty challenging one, with my dad being killed - it was so helpful to be able to come to class and work with you. Thank you! Lyrics (some of which I read aloud in class) are here.

AGENDA 6/17/16:
News Brief – Malini
Final Project
Reflection
Adventure

Homework: Read the blog (if you want)! Have a great summer! Let me know if I can help you at any point in the future! I will be at the August 23rd coffee shop meeting with Mr. Puterbaugh about summer reading, if you are going to that! :-)
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News Brief: Malini had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Doping: Russian athletes remain banned from competition including Olympics. For the last time, we found Brzail in the world map and noted this story. Thanks, everyone for doing this all year and getting better at geography in the process!

I talked in class about the importance of following the news and trying to stay up to date with what is happening in your city, state, country, and world. Knowledge is power! Try to stay plugged in to what is going on, if you can!

Final Project: As promised, this was the Israel and Palestine Peace Conference. First, we had speeches (students that needed to demonstrate a Communication grade) that explained various aspects of the conflict and proposed possible solutions. We did not have enough time left in class for the discussion, but I look forward to reading everyone's papers! Generally, I thought this was quite good, and students seemed to know their stuff. Thank you for your effort on this! I look forward to reading your papers, as well.

Reflection: The last part to the final was a reflection short answer about how the year went in Global Studies - what you learned, what you will put into practice in your life, and what you will remember five years from now. I look forward to reading these!

There is a fair amount of work involved in grading the finals, as well as late work that I need to grade. So, I anticipate having the grades submitted on Monday, but it could possibly be earlier.

Adventure: At the end of class, I talked about having the spirit of curiosity in life and whatever you do - that could involve traveling around the world, or even just going to a local stream and exploring. I showed this video, which I've watched probably a hundred times or more to illustrate this - I hope it is as inspiring to you as it is to me, and a good reminder of so much of what we learned this year:


Thank you all so much for being so wonderful to work with. I truly loved teaching each and every one of you, and I hope you know that I care about you and want you to be successful in the future. Take care of yourselves and I hope to see you around! Have a great summer! :-)
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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Israel and Palestine, Day 8 - Class Recap


The sun is setting on our school year! This is a collage of photos I took in 2013 at the Eiffel Tower in France.

Dear class,

Today was our last full day of the year! As it was the day before finals, I did not assign any new work - it was mostly a study day. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9:  I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19:  I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 21:  I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "One Day" by Matisyahu. Selected for today because Eric C. suggested it, as it goes with our Israel and Palestine unit well. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/14/16:
News Brief – Edo
Final Questions
Clean Up
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Keep working on your final project for the year (specific guide for what to do here). Finals for your period are Friday at 9:30 AM. Next news brief: Malini.
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News Brief: Edo had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Pope horrified by Orlando shooting, Vatican says. We found Vatican City on the world map and discussed this horrific news story from this weekend. The message I was trying to send in class was: 1) It is important to stand with the LGBTQI+ community during this trying time, and to say how valuable and recognized it is. It happens to be Pride weekend in Portland this upcoming weekend (and June is Pride month), with a large parade downtown from 10-1. 2) Furthermore, it's important not to stereotype Islam as a violent religion, focused on killing others. This attack was conducted during the holy month of Ramadan, which we learned about in the religion unit as a time of fasting and prayer for Muslims around the world. 3) We clearly have to do something as a society to stop these sorts of killings. That can be a variety of possibilities, but it seems clear that simply doing nothing will lead to more of these events.

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):


Final Questions/Clean Up: I told the class to start taking down pictures and posters from the bask wall in order to help clean up the classroom for the end of the year. I also gave time to continue working on Through Middle Eastern Eyes and anything else related to the final. This was an excerpt from a book, which I made a class set of. The two characters are representing the perspectives of Israel and Palestine. Here's the online version if you want to keep working on this at home:


There is a few pages of timeline and introduction in that, and then the characters start talking on page 229. The two characters in the reading were David (representing Israel) and Daud (representing Palestine). I wanted students to partner up and go through the reading together. Here is the assignment that goes with the reading, to note each perspective and help you prepare for your final assignment:


Work Time: The rest of class was set aside for the final project. I was checking in with every student as to which learning targets they wanted to be graded on for the final. Speaking of the final project, this form clarifies what the expectation is going to be on the day of the final, as well as what students should be writing/talking about:


I'm going to keep it simple and have students just focus on this. You should already know what learning targets you need to work on. Use the chart at the top of the second page to focus your writing/speech notes on the specific issues in the conflict. I know there were a lot of questions on this - please let me know if I can continue clearing this up.

We also played the Sporcle country name game again, for the last time this year (the fourth time overall). Your class ended with 189 out of 197! Very nice, and a big improvement from the start of the year!

See you Friday for your final! Wow! :-)
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Friday, June 10, 2016

Israel and Palestine, Day 7 - Class Recap


Mt. Hood. We are almost to the end of the school year, everyone! The climb is close to being done!

Hi everyone,

We made it to the last weekend of the school year! Hooray! There is plenty to prepare for next week with finals, so keep working hard, please. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9:  I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19:  I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 21:  I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "City of Blinding Lights" by U2. Selected for today because of Jerusalem being a city that is so contested due to major religions. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/10/16:
News Brief – Ethan
Final Questions?
Finish TMEE
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog! Keep working on your final project for the year (specific guide for what to do here). Next news brief: Edo.
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News Brief: Ethan had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: NBCNews.com - Ukraine Says Border Guards Found Bootleg Alcohol Pipeline. We found Ukraine (and Moldova) on the world map and tried to figure out the specifics of this interesting story.

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):


Final Questions/Finish Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Before moving on, Hitesh did his final presentation on Israel and Palestine, as he will be travelling next week. Thank you, Hitesh!

This was an excerpt from a book, which I made a class set of. The two characters are representing the perspectives of Israel and Palestine. Here's the online version if you want to keep working on this at home:


There is a few pages of timeline and introduction in that, and then the characters start talking on page 229. The two characters in the reading were David (representing Israel) and Daud (representing Palestine). I wanted students to partner up and go through the reading together. Here is the assignment that goes with the reading, to note each perspective and help you prepare for your final assignment:


Work Time: The rest of class was set aside for the final project. I was checking in with every student as to which learning targets they wanted to be graded on for the final. Speaking of the final project, this form clarifies what the expectation is going to be on the day of the final, as well as what students should be writing/talking about:


I'm going to keep it simple and have students just focus on this. You should already know what learning targets you need to work on. Use the chart at the top of the second page to focus your writing/speech notes on the specific issues in the conflict. I know there were a lot of questions on this - please let me know if I can continue clearing this up. Continue working hard on your final for next week! We have one last class on Tuesday, before finals after that! Have a great weekend!
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Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Israel and Palestine, Day 6 - Class Recap


Yesterday was the graduation ceremony for the seniors at Westview! Therefore, a sunset picture above the clouds is appropriate. I took this on the way from California to Portland in 2007.

Hi everyone,

I hope you are feeling more clear about what to do for the final. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9:  I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19:  I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 21:  I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "Good Life" by OneRepublic. Selected for today because all people want is a Good Life, even in Israel and Palestine! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/8/16:
News Brief – Matt
Check In
Final Questions?
Library/Textbooks

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade (updated on StudentVUE and on by ID number on the wall) and how to improve it, if possible. Keep working on your final project for the year (specific guide for what to do here). Next news brief: Ethan.
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News Brief: Matt had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Norway becomes first country in the world to ban deforestation. We found Norway in the world map and talked about deforestation for a bit.

It was also good to talk about the Presidential nomination process for the United States, as it is winding to a close now. We talked about demographics (there's that word again!) in terms of where Hillary Clinton was able to beat Bernie Sanders, looking at the national maps here:


The election in November will almost certainly be between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

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):


Check In: After the news brief, I had students turn to each other and check in about how the end of the year was feeling, in terms of stress and finals. It's important to take care of one another during stressful times! I had a few students share out about how they were doing, too. Please know that I am here for you! Let me know how I can support you, both now and into the future! Yes, I will still be that teacher in four years, saying hello to you when I see you in the halls!

Final Questions: Yet again, I went over in class what the expectation is going to be on the day of the final, as well as what students should be writing/talking about:


I'm going to keep it simple and have students just focus on this. You should already know what learning targets you need to work on. Use the chart at the top of the second page to focus your writing/speech notes on the specific issues in the conflict. I know there were a lot of questions on this - please let me know if I can continue clearing this up!

Chromebooks: For the rest of class, we  used some of the Chromebooks that everyone will be getting next year to work on the final assignment - whether that is a speech, paper, or a combination of the two. This was the only time in class that we are going to have with the computers, so please keep working on it at home!

As requested, here are the rubrics for the year in Global Studies, so you can see what I am looking for with each target you are choosing to do:


Thanks, everyone! Keep working hard on this! Almost there!
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Monday, June 6, 2016

Israel and Palestine, Day 5 - Class Recap



I have not been to Israel/Palestine, but I have been to Jordan, which is right across the border. This is the famous Monastery in the ancient city of Petra. Photo taken in 2014.

Dear class,

One last full week together before finals! Today was our last real day of new content in the class, with a look at an excerpt from a book about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 21: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys. Selected for today because each side in the conflict wants in their way. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/6/16:
News Brief – Juwon
Final Roles
A City Divided
Through Middle Eastern Eyes

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade (updated on StudentVUE and on by ID number on the wall) and how to improve it, if possible. Keep working on your final project for the year (specific guide for what to do here). Next news brief: Matt.
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News Brief: Juwon had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: NPR.org - Jordan Says Terrorist Attack Kills 5 At Refugee Camp Near Its Capital. We found Jordan in the world map and talked about this news story for a bit, before moving on to check in about the weekend. Can you believe we only have one more weekend left in the school year?

The next news brief was assigned to Matt.

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):


Final Roles: Speaking of the final project, this form clarifies what the expectation is going to be on the day of the final, as well as what students should be writing/talking about:


I'm going to keep it simple and have students just focus on this. You should already know what learning targets you need to work on. Use the chart at the top of the second page to focus your writing/speech notes on the specific issues in the conflict. I know there were a lot of questions on this - please let me know how I can continue clearing this up!

A City Divided: After the news brief, we watched two more videos from VICE News, which help explain what is going on in Jerusalem and the West Bank right now. The first was Jerusalem:


We also watched the last five minutes of this video, which has to do with violence in the West Bank:


After watching "Promises" last week, this was intended to be an update about what is currently happening in the region. 

Through Middle Eastern Eyes: This was an excerpt from a book, which I made a class set of. The two characters are representing the perspectives of Israel and Palestine. Here's the online version if you want to keep working on this at home:


There is a few pages of timeline and introduction in that, and then the characters start talking on page 229.

The two characters in the reading were David (representing Israel) and Daud (representing Palestine). I wanted students to partner up and go through the reading together. Here is the assignment that goes with the reading, to note each perspective and help you prepare for your final assignment:


Most students were able to get about halfway through the reading. We will continue this on Friday, because next class we are going to the library to work on the final. See you then!
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Thursday, June 2, 2016

Israel and Palestine, Day 4 - Class Recap


The Embassy of Palestine, in Bogota, Colombia. I got yelled at right after I took this picture. Photo taken in 2009.

Hi everyone,

A quick week together! Next week will be our last full one of the year, with plenty to do to prepare for the final. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 9:  I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 19:  I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.
Knowledge LT 21:  I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "Put Everything Aside" by E-Z and Tailsman. Listen to the song here. Selected for today because a former student sent it to me as a comment on the blog last year. He helpfully translated the lyrics, which definitely relate to our work in trying to come to a solution for Israel and Palestine!

AGENDA 6/2/16:
News Brief – Alaina
Finish Promises
Epilogue/Discuss
Final Roles

Homework: Read the blog! Know your grade (updated on StudentVUE and on by ID number on the wall) and how to improve it, if possible. Keep working on your final project for the year (specific guide for what to do here). Next news brief: Juwon.
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News Brief: Alaina had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Thailand Tiger Temple monk held 'for smuggling'. We found Thailand in the world map packet and talked about this story. I also noted that the forecast is for 102 degrees in Portland this weekend. Uh... that is seriously not normal. It's not even summer yet!

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 next news brief was assigned to Juwon.

Finish Promises: Next, we finished watching the Promises (2001) documentary, about Israeli and Palestinian children. Here's a link to the note taking guide we are filling out as we watch:


Here's a link to a stream online for the documentary (this quality isn't very good, but it's better than nothing): Veoh.com - Promises Streaming.

Epilogue/Discuss: After the documentary, I showed this epilogue that catches up with a few of them in 2004:



Part 2:




How crazy is it about Faraj and where he ended up?

I also showed this link, which is a recent interview with Sanabel: An Update from Sanabel. I'm glad that she is happy students are still learning about the conflict and thinking of ways to solve it!

Here's an update from Faraj, as well: Promises: An Interview with Faraj Adnan.

We discussed the documentary and the roles of the children involved with it. Keep these notes to work on your final project!

Final Roles: We didn't get to this in class, due to running out of time, so we will discuss more about it next class. However, since it is the last weekend before our last full week, here's a preview.

Speaking of the final project, this is a form that clarifies what the expectation is going to be on the day of the final, as well as what students should be writing/talking about:


I'm going to keep it simple and have students just focus on this. You should already know what learning targets you need to work on. Use the chart at the top of the second page to focus your writing/speech notes on the specific issues in the conflict.

Another resource is this timeline of the conflict:


Let me know if you have any questions about what you need to do! One more full week of classes to go until finals! You can do this! :-)
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