Week in Review: March 15-19

American Studies: The students continued reflecting and writing this past week. As we complete this unit on imperialism, the students are answering the Essential Questions working individually and with partners. They used mind maps to brainstorm their responses to then make connections between their ideas. The next step was to write an outline answer that they then wrote into essays.


IB History: We completed the unit on 20th century China by having the students create possible questions for the exam and then write rubrics for them. See below for examples of the student developed questions. Looking at the coming week, we have the Paper 1 Mock exam on Monday and Tuesday. The remainder of our time together before the IB exams will be reviewing using the student created study guides on all the topics from the past two years of study.

China Unit Questions:



How did Mao rise to power? What were his methods? What was his skill set?

In what ways was the CCP a single party, totalitarian state?

To what extent was Mao  successful in advancing the nation socially, economically and politically?

What were the factors leading to the Communist victory of the Chinese Civil War?

Week in Review: March 8-12

American Studies: We continue to learn about American imperialism during the latter part of the 1800s and the start of the 20th century. The Spanish-American War was a case study that involved a look at the media and its power to influence public opinion. Continuing on the theme of newspapers, the students are now writing an OP-ED article for their blogs on the following question. Do take some time to read their posts and make comments.

Looking back at the start of American Imperialism in the latter 1800s and into the 20th century, in your opinion, did the positives outweigh the negatives for American expansionism? Look at this question from an American & from an outside of the US perspective.

One of the important tools teachers use is when we provide the structure or scaffolding as we say to guide students through the learning process. In the case of the OP-ED piece, the students had reading and notes from a previous lesson to draw upon. They then had to build out the following chart with responses as they prepared their article.

Causes of Imperialism in US in latter 1800s>>>>

Examples of Imperialism in US in latter 1800s>>>>

Effects of Imperialism in US & other territories in latter 1800s>>>>

Arguments for imperialism>>>>

Arguments against imperialism>>>>

Write your op-ed outline>>>>

Write your op-ed article>>>>


IB History: Mock exams are over and we now move into reviewing mode for the exams in May. You can view the topics and assigned study guides at the Revision Learning Pursuit site.

Week in Review: November 2-6

American Studies: I really enjoyed reading the student blog posts this week on Moroccan political parties and the students possible immigration once they complete university one day. The historical connection is to the development of the first political parties in American history (Democrat Republicans and Federalists) and to the question of why people move (westward expansion of early pioneers).

Looking at the coming week, we will work on note taking skills from my lecture and from the textbook. It is one more step in the development of the students to work with various information sources and to be able to organize it in a meaningful way.


IB History: With the seniors staying home most of the week, they had the opportunity to work through their reading, outlining and written proposal for their Internal Assessments. As our class uses online learning tools like Google Docs and Mindmeister, it was not difficult to switch to a virtual classroom. It offered an opportunity for the students to push themselves to become more independent learners as they will have to be next year in university.

Speaking of being independent learners, the guideline for the Internal Assessment with its timeline can be found at the Edline course page. The students have a very clear, step by step framework to guide them to complete their papers.

Week in Review: October 26-30

American Studies: Our focus this week was on how to prepare for essay tests. We reviewed how to construct a study plan, make efficient use of one's study time, how to be a better critical reader and how to take notes. In most cases, the students already knew all of these skills but realized how important it is for them to be smart and effective learners who use their time well. We completed the week starting the new unit on the early 1800's and Westward Expansion. With a couple writing assignments for their blogs as homework, do check out your what your child is thinking and writing about on his/her blog.

IB History: The students were introduced to the new unit of study on Germany 1919-1939. We viewed a video on the Weimar Republic and Hitler's early efforts to take power. With three excellent reading recourses and an inquiry-centered research project called the Germany Learning Pursuit, the seniors are progressing to become more independent, self-motivated learners. We finished the week with a lecture on the Weimar Republic and will pick up with another one on the rise of the Nazis when we return to class. The students also should be working on their Internal Assessment in the form of a historical investigation on a topic of their choosing. The written proposal for their topic is due on November 11.

Week in Review: October 19-23

American Studies: The students returned from Explore Morocco to a discussion of how Moroccan government services were a part of the lives of the people they met. We also covered some other aspects of the ESPRAT construct applying the students' recent learning of how the American government was created to provide services for the young American nation. We ended the week with an exam reviewing the American Revolution and the organization of government through the Constitution.

IB History: It was a big week for our seniors as they completed work on their Extended Essays. They also took their Unit 6 essay exam drawing from their Mindmeister mind maps where they answered the five essential questions drawing from their reading and classroom work.

Week in Review: October 12-16

American Studies: Having spent the past week in Russia with my IB students, I will look forward to the coming week for the American Studies students. We completed our studies of the Revolution and Constitution unit. This means the students will be assessed in a unit exam. It is very important for them to review their reading, notes and research reports in preparation for the exam.

IB History: What a learning opportunity our students experienced in Russia! Do look to have your children review each day of their time in Russia. Ask them to reflect and share their learning. Looking at the coming week, the students will be assessed on the Rise of Stalin unit. It is very important that everyone complete their mind map of essential/unit questions in preparation for the exam.

American Studies Homework: September 23 - 25

Note: American Studies section 02 has their test on Thursday September 24 and sections 01 and 03 take the test on Friday September 25. Remember to bring your notes with you to class on your test day.
_______________________________

Homework for next week meeting on Monday (Sept. 28) and Tuesday (Sept. 29):

Prentice Hall America book: Read pp. 40-49. Outline your reading. Answer the following questions- (PDFs will be emailed to the class that doesn’t have this book.)

• What was the importance of the French and Indian War? How did it affect the colonists and British leadership? 
• What issues and concerns by the colonists lead to their declaring independence from Britain?
• What were some of the main principles from which the Declaration of Independence was created? In other words, what new ideas and beliefs did the Declaration “state”?

Welcome to My Blog

This is the blog that I will use this year to share what is happening in our American Studies and IB European history classes. Individuals use blogs for various reasons but for me, it is a place to write about the topics, concepts, learning, etc. that goes on in my classes. I will use the Edline online tool mainly to list homework assignments as I feel that it is important for me to model a skill that your students will be performing as they become bloggers writing about their learning, reflecting, understanding of current events, etc for me classes.

I will be introducing myself to my students during class time but for parents here is some information for you before we meet in person. I am married to Margaret Carpenter who is the Lower School librarian. I have two sons- Samuel (grade 8) and Maxwell (grade 6). We are an international family having lived in Central American, Scotland, Europe and Asia. Samuel was born in Saudi Arabia and Maxwell in Panama.

My skills as an educator include teaching social studies/humanities, counseling, instructional technology, and curriculum development. My guiding principle has always been to focus on working with others to develop and facilitate the most meaningful learning possible for my students.

As part of my effort to be a lifelong learner, I have written several articles for magazines as well as being an active blogger at Lessons Learned and U Tech Tips and podcaster as well.

One of the first questions you might have is "what are blogs and why use them?" A blog is an online journal that allows for two way communication. I will write in this blog about what is happening in my classes and you as readers can use the comment tool to share your thoughts, reflections, ideas, etc. We start having a conversation which leads to learning from each other. We begin the process of forming a learning community.

So what is going to happen during our first week of classes? The American Studies and the IB history courses will do similar activities as we get to know each other, set some goals and prepare our technology toolkits for learning.

Questions we will discuss:

Why blog?
Who am I today and who do I want to be in June?
Why study history?
What are skills world citizens and workers need today and in the future?

American Studies:

We will begin our study of the colonization of North America.


IB History:

We will begin our study of the time period between World War I and II. The students read a chapter from Europe 1870 - 1991 over the summer using their analysis and summarization skills to prepare an outline that is due the first week of school.

I look forward to a fantastic year with your children. Please contact me at dcarpenter@cas.ac.ma if you have any questions about my classes.