Thursday, September 29, 2011

Map Quiz and Checkpoint

Today students took a quiz over the political geography of Northern Africa. After, they were given some time to organize their logbooks and complete the first checkpoint. We finished by completing their worksheets about  diversity and uniformity in Africa.

HOMEWORK:
Finish checkpoint #1 - DUE Monday 10/3
Writing Biased History - DUE Monday 10/3

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Writing Biased History, African Diversity, and Map Quiz

Today we started by going over the Guns, Germs, and Steel film questions. Next, students were given the Writing Biased History assignment. By next Monday, they need to write a biased account of European colonialism in Africa. The purpose of the assignment is not for historical accuracy, but demonstration of biased writing technique. To finish the period, students viewed a series of images from Africa, noting diversity and uniformity. Here is the worksheet. The powerpoint is below.


The map quiz over the countries of Northern Africa is on Thursday. Fold you map in half and study the northern countries. Here are some links to online quizzes for practice:
http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/afrquiz.html
http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/africa.html

Diversity and Uniformity in Africa:


HOMEWORK:
Africa Map - DUE Thursday 9/29
Writing Biased History - DUE Monday 10/3

Friday, September 23, 2011

Guns, Germs, and Steel

Students read an excerpt from Jared Diamond's book, Guns, Germs, and SteelThey focused on the evolution of two groups of people: the Maori and Moriori. They highlighted characteristics of each as they read. After discussion, students started watching Guns, Germs, and Steelfocusing on the conflict between European colonists and the Africans they encountered.Students completed worksheets as they watched. If you were absent you can use this transcript to help answer the questions.


HOMEWORK:
Africa Maps - DUE Thursday 9/29
QUIZ: North Africa Geography - Be able to identify the countries! Thursday 9/29

Guns, Germs, and Steel:

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Europeans in Africa

Today students read an excerpt from King Leopold's Ghost, about the first encounters between Europeans and Africans. Students practiced "thinking about thinking", making connections, writing questions, and defining vocabulary as they read. After, they began working on political and physical maps of Africa.

HOMEWORK:
Africa Maps - DUE Thursday 9/29 - **There is an atlas in the beginning of your Modern World History textbook.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Bias in the Media

The class review the meaning of bias, providing examples from their experiences. Students listened to the song Dirty Laundry, discussing its criticism of today's media. Students then watched clips from the documentary, OutfoxedThey discussed the argument made by the film and whether the film itself was biased. To finish, students to a political spectrum quiz and examined their personal biases.

Dirty Laundry:

Friday, September 16, 2011

9/11 Interviews and Perspective in History

Students shared their 9/11 interviews in small groups, focusing on similarities, differences, and lessons learned. After, students looked at bias and perspective in history using the scenario below. To end, students looked at different headlines of a story on a children's book by President Obama, and analyzed them for their bias and point of view.
 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

9/11 - Why Was the US Attacked?

Today we continued our discussion of 9/11. Students shared observations and comments from things they saw last Sunday, the 10 year anniversary. Students looked at a series of documents, including a speech given by then president Bush the evening of the attacks (below). For each of the documents, students wrote down a possible hypothesis of the author and evidence from the reading that supported their hypothesis. At the end of the period students wrote from their own perspective on the question of, "Why was the United States attacked on 9/11/01?"

At the end of the period, students listened to a radio story about a the effects of 9/11 on a Muslim-American girl:



HOMEWORK:
9/11 Oral History Interviews - DUE Thursday 9/15

Friday, September 9, 2011

Remembering 9/11

Students continued studying the events of 9/11/01. They watched several clips from the documentary 9/11, which follows a groups of firefighters on the morning of the terrorist attacks. Students shared new knowledge about the event and asked questions. After, students listened to a selection of interviews from the Story Corps websites.

 

HOMEWORK:
Composition book - DUE Tuesday 9/13
9/11 Oral History Interviews - DUE Thursday 9/15

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Album Covers

Today students learned the names of their classmates.

HOMEWORK:
Album Covers - DUE Friday 9/9
Composition Book (one only) - DUE Tuesday 9/13

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Modern World History 2011-2012


Welcome back! This site will be a helpful tool for you as we go through the year. Here, you can find information about daily agendas, homework, and interesting links. Bookmark it.

Click here for this year's syllabus.