Ladakh Semester Final - Class Recap

Congratulations! If you passed the class, you have completed a semester of Global Studies! Photo taken at Niagara Falls in 2010.

Dear class,

Today was finals day in class and, as promised, we did a DBQ style test on the Ladakh, with multiple different possibilities for learning targets to address. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
KN LT 6 - Location and Region
KN LT  11 - Human and Physical Systems
KN LT 16 - Culture
KN LT 18 - Structures of Power

Soundtrack: "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin. Selected for today because Ladakh is located in Kashmir, India. A classic song! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/22/15:
News Brief – Sarah
Ladakh DBQ Final
Quiet Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. See you next week! Next news brief: Santiago.

News Brief: Sarah selected an article about this story for the news brief today: CNN.com - ISIS gaining ground in Yemen, competing with al Qaeda. We talked a little about the importance of Yemen, as the leadership (allies of the United States) is under threat from rebels.

I was proud of Kendall for watching the State of the Union speech on Tuesday! Way to go! Lots of important international issues were covered. If you missed it, watch it here or read it here.

Santiago was selected to do the next news brief.

Ladakh DBQ Final: This was the assignment for the rest of class. As promised, I let students use notes from the previous class(es) on Ladakh. The test itself was six documents (all the questions needed to be answered), followed by a short response essay. The essay was structured to be one paragraph, following an analytical structure that Mr. Lathrop and I want you to use. There were four different learning target possibilities that the final addressed (written out above). This final could also count towards a writing process score for Mr. Lathrop's class. I am looking forward to reading these over and assessing where you are at!

Quiet Work Time: If students finished early, there was time to quietly work in class.

Final grades for the semester are due by Tuesday morning. Thanks for your hard work, everyone! See you next week! :-)

Ladakh Final, Day 2 - Class Recap

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today was a work day and grade review in class. I passed out a reading for the Ladakh final and students worked on that in preparation. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
KN LT 6 - Location and Region
KN LT  11 - Human and Physical Systems
KN LT 16 - Culture
KN LT 18 - Structures of Power

Soundtrack: "A Dream" by Common. Selected because of the relevance to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, yesterday. I celebrated the day by going to see Selma and then picking up litter around my neighborhood. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/20/15:
News Brief – Ebado
Ladakh Final
Grade Check
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. All missing/late/make up/incomplete work due to me TODAY (by midnight - email me if you need). Please read and take notes on the Ladakh reading handout to prepare for your final! Next news brief: Sarah

News Brief: Ebado selected an article about this story for the news brief today: CNN.com - ISIS threatens to kill 2 Japanese hostages unless Tokyo pays $200 million. We found Japan on the world map and talked about this situation. I noted that the United States refuses to negotiate with terrorists, but that other countries do.

Sarah volunteered to do the next news brief.

Ladakh Final: The rest of class was devoted to work on the Ladakh reading that I passed out to help prepare students for the DBQ final.

On finals day (here is the schedule for finals this semester), you will write a short essay on the topics you need to demonstrate proficiency on. You will have a DBQ style test - your notes from the documentary and your notes from the Ladakh reading will help you prepare!

I know this may be somewhat complicated, so I am happy to answer any questions about how it is all going to work! Basically, I just want to give you one last chance to demonstrate proficiency with the learning targets of the semester.

Grade Check: As everyone was working, I had students come up to see me, one by one, to look at your grades and what could be done to maintain or improve them on the final. For the test, everyone will do at least LT 6, because we haven't actually had an assignment graded for it yet (although we have done a lot of work with geography):

Google Drive: Ladakh Final Test Overview and Rubric

Look at your grades again carefully (as we did together in class) to determine which (if any) learning targets aside from LT 6 that you should attempt to do on the final.

Work Time: The rest of class was work time on the reading and prep for the final (yes, you can use notes from class). Remember that you work in this class may be counted as a writing process score for Mr. Lathrop, if you want, as well!

See you on finals day! Good luck!

Ladakh Final, Day 1 - Class Recap

With my friend Tyler, my mom, and my brother at the College Football National Championship Game, in Texas, on Monday!

Hi everyone,

It was SO good to be back teaching you all! We started looking at your final for the semester, which is sort of a "Choose Your Own Adventure" style piece of writing on the case study of the Ladakh. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 18: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Critical Thinking and Analysis LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Pride (In The Name of Love)" by U2. Selected for today because the song is about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We have Monday off of school to honor Dr. King, and I showed this website in class to encourage students to do some sort of community service on Monday (as the day has increasingly been about). Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/15/15:
News Brief – Brenden
Start Ladakh Final

Homework: Read the blog. Check your updated grades and know what to do to improve! All missing/late/make up/incomplete work due to me by TUESDAY (1/20). Next news brief: Ebado.

News Brief: Brenden selected an article about this story for the news brief today: CNN.com - Array of world leaders joins 3.7 million in France to defy terrorism. A still developing story, for sure. At the end of class, Angel noted the breaking news that an anti-terrorist operation in Belgium was conducted.

I also shared my experience in the Dallas area at the start of the week, by going through a few pictures on my Instagram account.

Ebado was selected to do the next news brief.

Start Ladakh Final: I know this was an abrupt shift from learning about the Holocaust (which we will most likely get back to after finals next week). That said, this final offers students a ton of options for making up credit and being able to demonstrate a range of proficiency standards from throughout the year so far. This is basically how it works:

1) I passed out this document, which gave the different options for learning targets on the final. Everyone will do at least LT 6, because we haven't actually had an assignment graded for it yet (although we have done a lot of work with geography):

Google Drive: Ladakh Final Test Overview and Rubric

What's great about this is that it offers a LOT of choices for students. On finals day, you will select the targets you need to demonstrate and write a short essay about the Ladakh (like a DBQ) to try and get your grade up. It is also nice, because Mr. Lathrop is going to count it (if you want) as a Writing Process score - so all the brainstorming and prewriting you do will also count towards a grade in his class.

2) After I explain the assignment, we watched this documentary on the Ladakh culture in India. I remember watching this in high school, as well - it is OLD (1993). That said, it's a really great case study for our learning targets of geography, culture, and government, as they relate to traditional and modern society. Here's the documentary to watch, if you missed class or wanted to take more notes (or had difficulty paying attention in class):

ancient futures - learning from ladakh 528x400 from Unmani on Vimeo.

Students took notes on all of the learning targets addressed in the final.

3) Next class, you will be doing some reading about the Ladakh and prepping for the DBQ. On finals day (here is the schedule for finals this semester), you will write a short essay on the topics you need to demonstrate proficiency on.

I know this may be somewhat complicated, so I am happy to answer any questions about how it is all going to work! Basically, I just want to give you one last chance to demonstrate proficiency with the learning targets of the semester.

See you next week, when we will continue preparing!