Friday, September 30, 2016

September 30


You wrote the Unit 1 WRA I today in the Blenheim Room. If you missed class today, you'll have to write the WRA I on Monday (or make other suitable arrangements). On Thursday, October 6th (one week from yesterday) you'll be writing your Chapter 3-4 Test (please see the study guide below).

This quiz will be on Thursday, October 6th. It will consist of a matching section (10 key concepts) and a short answer section.
  • make sure that you study the PowerPoint presentation "Contending Loyalties"
  • make sure that you have read Chapters 3 and 4 (it is all testable material)
  • know the key concepts/key terms from Chapters 3 and 4 (please see the Unit 1 Worksheet for these)
  • study your answers to the Chapter 3 and 4 questions from the Unit 1 Worksheet (all could potentially be on the quiz)


I did a homework check on your IA research question and bibliography today. Hopefully, I'll have some feedback for you next week. You wrote your first current events quiz today (now you see what the format will be for these quizzes). I talked a little bit about parliamentary procedure. Please go over the Model UN parliamentary rules and procedures PowerPoint presentation on the IB 20 wiki on the Constitutional Convention page (I'll share this page with you once I've slotted you into positions).

Thursday, September 29, 2016

September 29


I taught you how to write a WRA I. You will be writing this assignment in the Blenheim room tomorrow. I will post the study guide for the chapter 3-4 test on tomorrow's post on the blog.

I went through a PowerPoint on the United States Constitution in class today. Please be ready to hand in your internal assessment research question +3 or four bibliographical sources for tomorrow's class.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

September 28


I finished off the lecture on "Contending Loyalties". You had the remainder of the class time to work on your Chapter 4 Key Terms and Questions, which are due tomorrow. Your French Revolution DBA Assignment is also due tomorrow. I'm going to be teaching you how to write a WRA I (three source analysis) tomorrow. This Friday (September 30th), you'll be writing your Unit 1 WRA I. One week from tomorrow you'll be writing your Chapter 3-4 Test and I'll be posting the study guide her tomorrow.



We spent the entire class looking at the Articles of Confederation. I gave each of you a copy of the U.S. Constitution graphic novel, start reading them! Please remember that your IA research question and preliminary bibliography is due on Friday, September 30th.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

September 27


I started a lecture today on "Contending Loyalties", which I'll finish up tomorrow. I gave you the remainder of class time to work on your Chapter 3 Key Terms and Questions. These key terms and questions are due tomorrow. Please remember that your French Revolution DBA Assignment is due on Thursday, September 29th. I'll be teaching you how to write a three source analysis assignment (WRA I) on Thursday. You'll be writing your Unit 1 WRA I on Friday, you'll get 60 minutes to complete this assignment.



We spent a lot of class time today discussing Thomas Paine's Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence study guide is due on Thursday, September 29th. You find this on the IB 20 wiki on the Independence Movements page. You have work due on Friday, September 30th, you must submit your IA research question, along with 4-5 properly cited sources (Chicago Manual of Style) that you will use to complete your IA. You should submit a hard copy on Friday.

Monday, September 26, 2016

September 26


I posted the results of your Chapter 1-2 Test on D2L today during my prep period, so check it out. We did an exercise today in which you were to rank the factors that caused the French Revolution in order of importance. This led to discussion, argument and debate on the conditions in France on the eve of the revolution. For some of you long-term causes were more important to the outbreak than more immediate causes. Although there's no right or wrong answer to the exercise, the purpose was to get you thinking, discussing, and trying to convince others of your position/viewpoint, and use supporting evidence to make your position stronger. We also talked about expressions of nationalism today, so if you missed class today, you'll need to get these notes from a classmate. Please remember that your French Revolution DBA Assignment is due on Thursday, September 29th. If you need to get some homework from Social Studies tonight, this is something that you should be working on. You can find a digital version of this assignment on the Social 20-1 wiki on the Unit 1 Assignments page (I think I said Unit 2 in class, all apologies).


I did a homework check on some assigned work out of your History of the Americas textbook at the beginning of class. We'll be discussing Thomas Paine's Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence in class tomorrow. I showed you a video from the U.S. History series called "The American Revolution" today, and you should have taken extensive notes on the video today. Please make sure that you have printed off, read, highlighted and annotated Chapter 4 "The Struggle for Independence" from The United States and Its' People that scanned as a PDF and posted on the wiki last week. You can find this chapter on the Independence Movement page on the IB 20 wiki. Keep checking the wiki for updates to the current events page, you have a current events quiz on Friday, September 30th.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

September 22


You wrote your Chapter 1-2 Test today, which took the entire period. Hopefully, I'll be able to share the results of this test with you next week. You could try to finish off your French Revolution DBA Assignment this long weekend. This assignment is due on Thursday, September 29th. For Section B of this assignment (The Declaration of the Rights of Man) you CAN use some of the clauses more than once.


We finished off the "Revolution" episode of "America: The Story of Us" in class today. I also played "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" from the Broadway musical "Hamilton". The Battle of Yorktown was the final battle in the Revolutionary War, and it led to the British surrender. As I showed you in class, this website (http://genius.com/Lin-manuel-miranda-yorktown-the-world-turned-upside-down-lyrics ) probably has the best version of the lyrics to the songs from "Hamilton" that I've played for you, since they highlighted parts have explanatory notes if you click on them.

Here's a link to the performance of this song at the 2016 Tony Awards: http://nerdist.com/watch-the-hamilton-performance-from-the-2016-tonys/

I gave you some class time so that you could complete your homework assignment on Thomas Paine's Common Sense (p.22-23), and the Declaration of Independence (p.32) from your History of the Americas textbook. This homework assignment is due on Monday, September 26th. Please make sure that you read Chapter 4 from "The United States and Its People". I've scanned the chapter and put the PDF up on the wiki on the Independence Movements page.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

September 21


I taught you about the 19th century political spectrum at the start of class today. You should know it, not only for this year, but for next year in 30-1 or 30-2. Be familiar with the various groups (radicals, liberals, moderates, conservatives, reactionaries) and examples of each group (Jacobins, Girondins, etc.) and their position on change. We then watched a documentary on Napoleon's invasion of Russia from the Turning Points in History series. I also talked to you about the French Revolution DBA Assignment which is due next Thursday (September 29th). Please remember that you have your Chapter 1-2 Test tomorrow (please see the study guide below).



This test will be on Thursday, September 22nd. The test has a matching section and ashort answer section.
  • Make sure that you have read both Chapter 1-2 from your textbook Exploring Nationalism
  • Study Chapter 1-2 Key Terms from the Unit 1 Worksheet
  • Study your answers to the questions from the Unit 1 Worksheet for Chapter 1-2
Study the following PowerPoint presentations:
  • "Nation and Identity" (Chapter 1 material + supplementary material)
  • "Shaping Nationalism: The French Revolution" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material; key terms from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Age Glossary of Key Terms)
  • "The Napoleonic Age" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material; key terms from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Age Glossary of Key Terms)




We continued our examination of the American Revolution today. We watched part of  "America: The Story of Us" today. We also set up the current events assignments.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

September 20


I went through a lecture on the Age of Napoleon today, which covered some content that was in yesterday's A & E Biography. I also covered Napoleon's domestic policy, which is important for Thursday's exam. You can find this PowerPoint on the wiki. In my Period 1 class I didn't get through the whole lecture, whereas with the Period 4 group we finished the bulk of it. Tomorrow, I'll teach you the 19th century political spectrum, and we'll look at Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Please remember that you have your Chapter 1-2 Test on Thursday (please see the study guide below).




This test will be on Thursday, September 22nd. The test has a matching section and ashort answer section.
  • Make sure that you have read both Chapter 1-2 from your textbook Exploring Nationalism
  • Study Chapter 1-2 Key Terms from the Unit 1 Worksheet
  • Study your answers to the questions from the Unit 1 Worksheet for Chapter 1-2
Study the following PowerPoint presentations:
  • "Nation and Identity" (Chapter 1 material + supplementary material)
  • "Shaping Nationalism: The French Revolution" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material; key terms from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Age Glossary of Key Terms)
  • "The Napoleonic Age" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material; key terms from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Age Glossary of Key Terms)



I went through a lecture on the American Revolution. I have posted this PowerPoint presentation on the wiki under Independence Movements. I've posted Chapter 4 from "United States and Its People" on the IB 20 wiki. It is recommended that you read this chapter. I also collected your "Seeds of Change" Assignment today.

Monday, September 19, 2016

September 19


I shared the results of your World Geography Test with you today. I also showed you an A & E Biography called "Napoleon Bonaparte: The Glory of France". As you watched this documentary, you were supposed to take notes on key events in the life of Napoleon. I'll be lecturing about Napoleon tomorrow, and teaching you the 19th century political spectrum as well. Don't forget that you're writing your Chapter 1-2 Test this Thursday (September 22nd), you can find the study guide below.


This test will be on Thursday, September 22nd. The test has a matching section and ashort answer section.
  • Make sure that you have read both Chapter 1-2 from your textbook Exploring Nationalism
  • Study Chapter 1-2 Key Terms from the Unit 1 Worksheet
  • Study your answers to the questions from the Unit 1 Worksheet for Chapter 1-2
Study the following PowerPoint presentations:
  • "Nation and Identity" (Chapter 1 material + supplementary material)
  • "Shaping Nationalism: The French Revolution" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material; key terms from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Age Glossary of Key Terms)
  • "The Napoleonic Age" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material; key terms from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Age Glossary of Key Terms)



You had some library research time for your IA today. Hopefully, you're starting to narrow your topic down so that you can come up with a research question and a preliminary reading list for your IA by September 30th. Your "Seeds of Change" Assignment is due tomorrow!! Please disregard the rubric on the wiki, please refer the one below:

  • Biographical Information (3 marks)
  • Area(s) of Work (what fields did they work in?) (2 marks)
  • Ideas Introduced (2 marks)
  • Aspect of medieval society that they challenged (2 marks)
  • Were they influential in their own time? (5 marks)
  • What were their contributions to modern society? (3 marks)
  • Mechanics, spelling, grammar, and list of sources cited using a recognized citation system (APA, MLA, Chicago) (3 marks)
The "Seeds of Change" assignment is due on Tuesday, September 20th. 

Friday, September 16, 2016

September 16


I did a homework check on your Chapter 2 Key Terms and Questions at the beginning of class today. We finished off the History Channel documentary on "The French Revolution". You wrote the World Geography Test as well today. Please remember that you have your Chapter 1-2 Test next Thursday (please see the study guide below).



This test will be on Thursday, September 22nd. The test has a matching section and ashort answer section.
  • Make sure that you have read both Chapter 1-2 from your textbook Exploring Nationalism
  • Study Chapter 1-2 Key Terms from the Unit 1 Worksheet
  • Study your answers to the questions from the Unit 1 Worksheet for Chapter 1-2
Study the following PowerPoint presentations:
  • "Nation and Identity" (Chapter 1 material + supplementary material)
  • "Shaping Nationalism: The French Revolution" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material)
  • "The Napoleonic Age" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material)



Instead of covering the French-Indian War today, I decided to spend some time working on topic selection and writing a research questions for your IA. We'll be going into the library for Monday's class, so it would be beneficial for you to figure out what topic you're going to research beforehand so you're not wasting the valuable class time. Don't forget that your "Seeds of Change" Assignment is due on Tuesday, September 20th. Please make sure that your project meets the marking criteria. Please remember that your "Seeds of Change" assignment where you will have to investigate an Enlightenment era philosopher. As I said in class today, I was thinking about rock stars, movie stars and athletes today and wondering why Enlightenment thinkers aren't as well known as some of them. After all, some of these Enlightenment thinkers have made greater contributions to society, yet they don't enjoy the fame and notoriety as some these entertainment and sports celebrities. We're going to change that. I didn't get a chance to elaborate on some possibilities of which direction this creative project could go (trading cards, magazine cover stories, Prezis, infographics, website--I changed my mind, what can I say?), show me how creative you are! Just make sure that you present the information in a concise, fun, informative way, and that your project meets all of the requirements, which are as follows: 
  • Biographical Information (3 marks)
  • Area(s) of Work (what fields did they work in?) (2 marks)
  • Ideas Introduced (2 marks)
  • Aspect of medieval society that they challenged (2 marks)
  • Were they influential in their own time? (5 marks)
  • What were their contributions to modern society? (3 marks)
  • Mechanics, spelling, grammar, and list of sources cited using a recognized citation system (APA, MLA, Chicago) (3 marks)
The "Seeds of Change" assignment is due on Tuesday, September 20th. 

Thursday, September 15, 2016

September 15


I shared your marks for the Enlightenment Thinkers Quiz at the beginning of class today. We started a film study of a History Channel documentary on "The French Revolution", and we'll finish it tomorrow. Please remember that your Chapter 2 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. You're also writing your World Geography Test tomorrow (please see the study guide below). One week from today, on September 22nd, you'll be writing your Chapter 1-2 Test (please see the study guide below).




This test will take place on Friday, September 16th. It is simply a country identification test. You will be given a world map with certain countries identified and you need to be able to write out what country it is. Here are the countries that may appear on the test:
  • any of the EU countries (there are 28 countries in the EU, a map of the EU is in your textbook on page 265, but it's out of date, it says that there's 27 countries in the EU. I'm not even talking about Brexit here...)
  • any of the NATO countries (there's some overlap here with the EU, but not all EU countries are members of NATO)
  • any of the G8 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom
  • full members of MERCOSUR: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and other associate members or countries that are achieving membership in MERCOSUR, such as: Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
  • to ask you to know ALL of the countries in the African Union would be cruel, so we'll focus on countries that came up last year or will likely be in the news this year: Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Zimbabwe
  • other very important countries that will be in the news this year, or that we'll be talking about, or get mentioned in your textbook: Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, Serbia, Georgia, China,
    India, Myanmar, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
    Israel
  • **BIG HINT: if a country is a member of a few of these international organizations then there's a STRONG possibility that they will be on the test!!**







This test will be on Thursday, September 22nd. The test has a matching section and a short answer section.
  • Make sure that you have read both Chapter 1-2 from your textbook Exploring Nationalism
  • Study Chapter 1-2 Key Terms from the Unit 1 Worksheet
  • Study your answers to the questions from the Unit 1 Worksheet for Chapter 1-2
Study the following PowerPoint presentations:
  • "Nation and Identity" (Chapter 1 material + supplementary material)
  • "Shaping Nationalism: The French Revolution" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material)
  • "The Napoleonic Age" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material)




We watched a little bit more of "America: The Story of Us" today, but stopped before we got completely into the American Revolution. I'll be backtracking a bit tomorrow by covering the French-Indian War. I went through Mr. Johnson's PowerPoint overview of the IA, and I answered some questions about the IA. We'll be talking about the French-Indian War tomorrow and maybe a little bit more about expectations for Monday's class in the library.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

September 14


I finished off the lecture on the French Revolution today. I assigned your Chapter 2 Key Terms and Questions for Friday, September 16th. We'll be watching a History Channel documentary on the French Revolution tomorrow and Friday. Don't forget that you have your World Geography Test on Friday (please see the study guide below).



This test will take place on Friday, September 16th. It is simply a country identification test. You will be given a world map with certain countries identified and you need to be able to write out what country it is. Here are the countries that may appear on the test:
  • any of the EU countries (there are 28 countries in the EU, a map of the EU is in your textbook on page 265, but it's out of date, it says that there's 27 countries in the EU. I'm not even talking about Brexit here...)
  • any of the NATO countries (there's some overlap here with the EU, but not all EU countries are members of NATO)
  • any of the G8 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom
  • full members of MERCOSUR: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and other associate members or countries that are achieving membership in MERCOSUR, such as: Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
  • to ask you to know ALL of the countries in the African Union would be cruel, so we'll focus on countries that came up last year or will likely be in the news this year: Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Zimbabwe
  • other very important countries that will be in the news this year, or that we'll be talking about, or get mentioned in your textbook: Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, Serbia, Georgia, China,
    India, Myanmar, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
    Israel
  • **BIG HINT: if a country is a member of a few of these international organizations then there's a STRONG possibility that they will be on the test!!**






You had time to write your Enlightenment Thinkers Quiz today. I also had you copy down notes on the principles of individualism and the principles of collectivism. We'll revisit these principles later in the semester, and definitely next year in Grade 12. We started looking at the colonization of the Thirteen Colonies today by watching about 20 minutes of "America: The Story of Us". Don't forget that your "Seeds of Change" Assignment is due on September 20th. Please make sure that your project meets the marking criteria. Please remember that your "Seeds of Change" assignment where you will have to investigate an Enlightenment era philosopher. As I said in class today, I was thinking about rock stars, movie stars and athletes today and wondering why Enlightenment thinkers aren't as well known as some of them. After all, some of these Enlightenment thinkers have made greater contributions to society, yet they don't enjoy the fame and notoriety as some these entertainment and sports celebrities. We're going to change that. I didn't get a chance to elaborate on some possibilities of which direction this creative project could go (trading cards, magazine cover stories, Prezis, infographics, website--I changed my mind, what can I say?), show me how creative you are! Just make sure that you present the information in a concise, fun, informative way, and that your project meets all of the requirements, which are as follows: 
  • Biographical Information (3 marks)
  • Area(s) of Work (what fields did they work in?) (2 marks)
  • Ideas Introduced (2 marks)
  • Aspect of medieval society that they challenged (2 marks)
  • Were they influential in their own time? (5 marks)
  • What were their contributions to modern society? (3 marks)
  • Mechanics, spelling, grammar, and list of sources cited using a recognized citation system (APA, MLA, Chicago) (3 marks)
The "Seeds of Change" assignment is due on Tuesday, September 20th. 

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

September 13


You wrote your Enlightenment Thinkers Quiz today, so you should get the results back tomorrow. Don't forget that you have a World Geography Test on Friday, September 16th (please see the study guide below). I also did a homework check on your Chapter 1 Key Terms and Questions. Your Chapter 2 Key Terms and Questions will be due on Thursday. We started the French Revolution today, and we'll continue our examination all this week of this pivotal event in the history of European nationalism and liberalism.




This test will take place on Friday, September 16th. It is simply a country identification test. You will be given a world map with certain countries identified and you need to be able to write out what country it is. Here are the countries that may appear on the test:
  • any of the EU countries (there are 28 countries in the EU, a map of the EU is in your textbook on page 265, but it's out of date, it says that there's 27 countries in the EU. I'm not even talking about Brexit here...)
  • any of the NATO countries (there's some overlap here with the EU, but not all EU countries are members of NATO)
  • any of the G8 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom
  • full members of MERCOSUR: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and other associate members or countries that are achieving membership in MERCOSUR, such as: Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
  • to ask you to know ALL of the countries in the African Union would be cruel, so we'll focus on countries that came up last year or will likely be in the news this year: Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Zimbabwe
  • other very important countries that will be in the news this year, or that we'll be talking about, or get mentioned in your textbook: Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, Serbia, Georgia, China,
    India, Myanmar, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
    Israel
  • **BIG HINT: if a country is a member of a few of these international organizations then there's a STRONG possibility that they will be on the test!!**







I finished off the Enlightenment PowerPoint lecture today. You're going to have a quiz on this content tomorrow (please see the study guide below). I also mentioned that you have an assignment that is due in one week's time, and I call it the "Seeds of Change" Assignment. Here's some more information about it: Please remember that your "Seeds of Change" assignment where you will have to investigate an Enlightenment era philosopher. As I said in class today, I was thinking about rock stars, movie stars and athletes today and wondering why Enlightenment thinkers aren't as well known as some of them. After all, some of these Enlightenment thinkers have made greater contributions to society, yet they don't enjoy the fame and notoriety as some these entertainment and sports celebrities. We're going to change that. I didn't get a chance to elaborate on some possibilities of which direction this creative project could go (trading cards, magazine cover stories, Prezis, infographics, website--I changed my mind, what can I say?), show me how creative you are! Just make sure that you present the information in a concise, fun, informative way, and that your project meets all of the requirements, which are as follows:
  • Biographical Information (3 marks)
  • Area(s) of Work (what fields did they work in?) (2 marks)
  • Ideas Introduced (2 marks)
  • Aspect of medieval society that they challenged (2 marks)
  • Were they influential in their own time? (5 marks)
  • What were their contributions to modern society? (3 marks)
  • Mechanics, spelling, grammar, and list of sources cited using a recognized citation system (APA, MLA, Chicago) (3 marks)
The "Seeds of Change" assignment is due on Tuesday, September 20th.


This quiz has a mixed format, it has a matching section and a short answer section where you fill in a chart on Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. Please make sure that you focus your review on the following Enlightenment thinkers:
  • John Locke
  • Montesquieu
  • Rousseau
  • Adam Smith
  • Francois Quesnay
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • Voltaire
Please make sure that you know their views on the nature of human beings, quotes attributed to them, their main ideas/key beliefs, and their major works (what books, articles they wrote). Also, for the short answer section study the following:
  • Review Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau (view of the nature of human beings, how society should be organized, people's role in society)

Monday, September 12, 2016

September 12


We covered a PowerPoint lecture called "The Enlightenment" today in class. You'll be tested on this material tomorrow with the Enlightenment Thinkers Quiz (please see study guide below). Your Chapter 1 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. On Friday, you'll be writing a World Geography Test (please see the study guide below).



This is a matching quiz, and it is on Tuesday, September 13th. Please make sure that you focus your review on the following Enlightenment thinkers: 
  • John Locke
  • Montesquieu
  • Rousseau
  • Adam Smith
  • Francois Quesnay
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • Voltaire
Please make sure that you know their views on the nature of human beings, quotes attributed to them, their main ideas/key beliefs, and their major works (what books, articles they wrote).





This test will take place on Friday, September 16th. It is simply a country identification test. You will be given a world map with certain countries identified and you need to be able to write out what country it is. Here are the countries that may appear on the test:
  • any of the EU countries (there are 28 countries in the EU, a map of the EU is in your textbook on page 265, but it's out of date, it says that there's 27 countries in the EU. I'm not even talking about Brexit here...)
  • any of the NATO countries (there's some overlap here with the EU, but not all EU countries are members of NATO)
  • any of the G8 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom
  • full members of MERCOSUR: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and other associate members or countries that are achieving membership in MERCOSUR, such as: Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
  • to ask you to know ALL of the countries in the African Union would be cruel, so we'll focus on countries that came up last year or will likely be in the news this year: Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Zimbabwe
  • other very important countries that will be in the news this year, or that we'll be talking about, or get mentioned in your textbook: Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, Serbia, Georgia, China,
    India, Myanmar, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
    Israel
  • **BIG HINT: if a country is a member of a few of these international organizations then there's a STRONG possibility that they will be on the test!!**





We started talking about the Enlightenment today, and I'll finish off teaching you the content tomorrow. You'll be writing a quiz on this topic on Wednesday, September 14th (I'll post the study guide tomorrow here on the blog). I'll be giving you an assignment on Enlightenment thinkers tomorrow as well. We should be looking our region of study (the Americas) for the first time tomorrow.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

September 9

I'm sorry that I forgot to post on the blog yesterday.

I finished off the PowerPoint lecture "Nation and Identity" today. I gave you the remainder of class time to work on your Chapter 1 Key Terms and Questions (which are due on Tuesday, September 13th). Next week, you'll have a matching quiz on Enlightenment thinkers on Tuesday, but don't worry about it, I'll teach you the content on Monday.

I took in your Academic Integrity contracts at the beginning of class. I went through some documents from the Historiography page on the wiki, such as "The Eight C's of History" and "Useful Historiographical Terms" and "Primary vs. Secondary Sources". We also started discussing OPCVL.

Thursday, September 08, 2016

September 8


I started a PowerPoint lecture today called "Nation and Identity", but I didn't finish it because I wanted to give you time to work on your Chapter 1 Key Terms and Questions (which are due on Tuesday, September 13th). Don't forget that your friendly letter assignment is due tomorrow. All of my students (Social 20-1 and IB 20 students) have the same homework assignment: write me a friendly letter of introduction. Make sure that your friendly letter is in paragraph form too. Please address the letter "Dear Mr. Gilchrist". The letter will probably be about 1 page in length (single-spaced). Please make sure that your letter demonstrates your writing ability and covers some of the following topics:
  • family
  • education plans (this year, and in the future; future career plans)
  • post-high school plans
  • favorite TV shows, movies, music
  • hobbies
  • extracurricular activities
  • sports



I gave you the IB academic integrity contract to take home and have your parents sign. Please hand these booklets back tomorrow. I went through a PowerPoint lecture called "An Introduction to IB History" which you can find on the wiki on the Historiography unit page. I also want you to print off, read, highlight and annotate the following notes from the wiki:


  • Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources
  • The Eight C's of Historical Investigation
  • Useful Historiographical Terms
I'll be going through the skills that you need to be successful with an OPVCL.

Wednesday, September 07, 2016

Social 20-1 and IB 20

With all of my classes today I went through the course outline, I got all of you to sign up for the wiki, and assigned homework due on Friday. All of my students (Social 20-1 and IB 20 students) have the same homework assignment: write me a friendly letter of introduction. Make sure that your friendly letter is in paragraph form too. Please address the letter "Dear Mr. Gilchrist". The letter will probably be about 1 page in length (single-spaced). Please make sure that your letter demonstrates your writing ability and covers some of the following topics:
  • family
  • education plans (this year, and in the future; future career plans)
  • post-high school plans
  • favorite TV shows, movies, music
  • hobbies
  • extracurriculars
  • sports

Classroom Rules and Expectations of Behavior



I think that I have very simple, straight-forward classroom rules and expectations. I will be discussing these in class tomorrow, but here's a quick recap:

  • Please be on-task during classroom time (visit later)
  • No cell phones (as per school policy; unless otherwise instructed); if your parents really need to get in touch with you, they should call the office. Please don't bring cell phones to class, or if you do, please remember to turn them off!
  • Please don't listen to music on MP3 players or iPods during class time, unless I have given you permission to do so.
  • Be polite. You should be listening during class lectures or when your classmates have questions to ask (you might have some of the same questions).
  • Be on time. If you are late, please enter the classroom quietly and apologize for being late. If the door is locked, I have started the lecture or there is a class presentation in progress; I will open the door and let you in as soon as possible.
  • Clean up after yourselves. Please don't leave garbage on the floor. I like my classroom fairly neat and tidy.
  • Don't bring junk food to class. Healthy snacks only. Or you could always wait until lunchtime.
  • You may chew gum in class on the following conditions: don't chew like a cow, I don't want to see the gum or hear you chewing it, that's just gross.
  • Late assignments: 10% is deducted for every day an assignment is late. If you have an excused absence, then there is some flexibility with this rule.
  • Please make sure that a parent or guardian calls the school to have absences excused. If you miss a test due to an unexcused absence you will be assigned a mark of "zero".
  • I will be contacting parent/guardians if you have unexcused absences.
  • Please adhere to the school's academic honesty policy which is on the back of your course outlines.
  • Please do take holidays or time off in January, because this could potentially interfere with Diploma Exams or school-based exams.
Here are some simple rules that I have established for using the blog, and some other informational items:

  • Please post on the blog anonymously.
  • If you feel the need to identify yourself, or clarify which grade you're in, please use your initials and your class and section (for example, K.G. in Social 20-3).
  • Some of you may have your own Blogger accounts. Please don't post on this blog using your Blogger ID, otherwise you may have people visiting your blog that you may not want to see what you're posting.
  • Please be courteous, polite and respectful when posting comments on the blog. Don't be rude to your classmates on the blog.
  • Please be patient with my response time.
  • Please post comments and questions on the blog prior to 10 p.m.
  • Between 6-8 p.m. I am usually not online.
  • Please do not post links to questionable materials.
  • Inappropriate comments will be deleted. Please don't do this, it's a waste of my time, I could be doing more productive things, like answering questions that you may have