Wednesday, April 20, 2011

History 12: Wednesday, 20 April

Today,  I gave extra time to complete the New Deal projects (where students designed their own response to the Great Depression).  Remember that your plans should address both short term relief and longer term reform and recovery.  This is not intended to be the ultimate in terms of PPT technique - just use PPT to convey your plan.  YOU WILL GIVE A SHORT ORAL PRESENTATION OF YOUR PLAN ON WEDNESDAY.

Tomorrow, we will finish the Middle East up to the creation of Isreal and thendo a review of the unit exam scheduled for Tuesday.  I will assess your knowledge about: Mussolini, Hitler, Roosevelt, Gandhi and the Middle East.  Of course the exam will not be just on the personalities, but also the events with which they are associated.

En 12: Wednesday 20 April

Today I gave the class time to complete their PPTs or posters on the imagery in Hamlet's first soliloquy (Act 1, sc 2).  That must be in my possession at the start of Tuesday's class.  I also issued the vocab list for the play - that should also be completed for Tuesday.  Finally, we read lines 170 - 297 of Act 2, sc 2.

We will finish Act Two tomorrow.  There is a writing activity we will do upon the completion of Act 2.

En 11: Wednesday, 20 April

Today, we did a reading quiz for Chapters 1-3.  It was clear from the results who had read the novel and who had not, which in turn made it clear who did the questions on the study guide and who merely copied them.

After the quiz, we had a discussion about the nature of Ralph's and Piggy's initial character and then debriefed the questions from the study guide (for Chapter One).  I was impressed by many of the insights that you were able to draw from your reading.  A few students had to excuse themselves to finish up their questions and that put them at a disadvantage because they did not participate in all of the discussion; please come to class prepared to share your responses to the questions (this work acts as the springboard for the discussions we have).

For homework, please return on Tuesday with Chapter Four read, and the associated questions completed.  I hope you have an enjoyable long-weekend.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

History 12: Tuesday, 19 April

Today, we reviewed and discussed the Indian independence movement and identified the key vocabulary terms.  One way to divide this topic is in terms of what the British did (ex: Montagu-Chelmsford, 1919; Amritsar, 1919; India Govt Act, 1935 etc) with what the Indians did (ex: Congress Party; Muslim League; civil disobedience; home spun movement; Salt March, 1930; etc).  We did a "mind map" to organize these key terms and I gave students ten minutes to write a summary of the topic for themselves - not for me, just for their own notes/learning.  I think its good to mix up your study activities as a way to create interest but also "memory bites" that are different "from all of the rest."

Next, we started a PPT discussion on the Middle East.  We looked at the geography and started to examine the conflicting British promises to the Zionists and the Arabs in the era around 1919.  Please complete the two remaining work sheets (# 15, 16) on the Middle East.

Enjoy the game.

SS 11: Tuesday, 19 April

Today, we did a short quiz to review the 1920s and then started a PPT discussion on the 1930s.  I issued the 1930s textbook chapter questions.  Please come to class on Thursday with numbers 1-24 completed.  I suggest you read the corresponding pages in the Falk workbook as we work through this section of the course - he does a good job summarizing the important points and he accurately assesses the tone of this era.

En 12: Tuesday, 19 April

Today we read Act 2, scene one, and acted out the part of the scene that Ophelia reports with regards to Hamlet's "antic disposition" (II, i, 77-100).  We started to read the second scene, but ran out of time.  Please ensure your parts are prepared for tomorrow.  Also, remember that you are supposed to be ready to present your interpretation of Hamlet's first soliloquy tomorrow.

Monday, April 18, 2011

History 12: Monday, 18 April

Today, I presented a PPT on the history of the Indian independence movement from 1919 - 1948 and we also looked at the changing political geography of the region.  I issued some workbook exercises for India/Gandhi and the Middle East.  Please complete the ones on India for Tuesday's class.  We'll have a short debrief of the worksheets and then move on to the Middle East lesson.  These topics are small in the scope of the course, so we can't spend as much time as each deserves.  You should still always be asking yourself how can each of the areas of focus/topics be used to examine the 20th century as a whole.  India in this era, for example, is a study in decolonization, the cult of leadership, and change though civil disobedience.

En 11: Monday, 18 April

Today I checked people's homework and was disappointed to see that few students were ready for class.  We used the block to read and then answer questions for Chapters 2-3.  You should expect a reading quiz for Chapters 1-3 on Wednesday.

En 12: Monday, 18 April

Today we watched Act One of the film.  We also debriefed the Polonius' advice worksheet.  Finally, we chose the parts for the next Act.  Please be prepared to read your parts for tomorrow.