Week in Review: April 19-23

American Studies: The Mindmeister mind maps are built and the research questions are confirmed. It is a good time to begin the conversation with your child about his/her learning that is coming from doing the research on his/her topic. Ask about how your son/daughter is using search techniques while determining which Web resources are valid and which are not. This use of information literacy is a very important skill in our social studies curriculum. The students will be providing analysis to explain their findings while working to synthesize the content and their conclusions to answer their research questions. 

Our studies now take us to the end of WWI. We are discussing Wilson's 14 Points while connecting to the Essential Question of "How to prevent conflict and keep the peace?". 

Week in Review: April 6-9

American Studies: The week before the holiday ended with students sharing their research on how new forms of technology influenced the soldiers during the war. The students then worked to put themselves into the position of the soldiers by writing a letter as a blog post explaining to their families what life was like on the western front in France. Look for this post at your child's blog.

We begin this coming week with a visit by our wonderful librarian, Ms. Breard. She will be giving her second lesson on the research process. You can follow the steps and tasks your child is experiencing by reviewing with him/her the Research Learning Pursuit site. By the end of this week, each student will determine his/her research question.

Week in Review: March 29 - April 2

American Studies: We are concluding the unit on imperialism and the progressive age. The students are working in teams to write up their study guides. We will start the next unit on WWI this coming week.

IB History: This will be my last post for IB History as our remaining weeks will be going through the revision process. The seniors created their assigned study guides and will review them in the coming weeks.

Week in Review: February 22-26

American Studies: With the completion of the unit on the Industrial Revolution, we began our study of the next unit entitled “Expansionism, Imperialism and Progressivism”. With all these “isms”, the students are already working to build their understanding of these concepts by seeing how they are in also in place in our world today. 

Our time frame of study is the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. The content for the unit centers on American efforts to compete with European powers for territory and influence. 

Here are the Essential Questions for this unit:

• Why do nations expand? 
• How can nationalism go too far? 
• How to control excesses?

IB History: We completed our study of 20th century China up through 1977. With mock exams starting Monday, the students will do some review work for the China exam during the following week. The full review for the IB exams in May will then begin in earnest. 

To assist the students in their review work, I created the Revision Learning Pursuit site. The site is divided into one page for each of the exams. One can find a listing of the IB main themes and subtopics for each exam listed on each page. You will also find the names of all the seniors assigned to specific topics. Each student will be responsible to prepare a study guide for his/her fellow learners on the assigned topic. 

Week in Review: February 8-12

American Studies: We made connections this week with globalization and its ESPRAT+G effects. As we are reviewing the chapter and the students are creating their study guides, they are seeing how change is a constant in our "flat" world. There will be a test this week followed by an lesson on using documents and questions to learn more about why Americans in the latter part of the 1800s were moving to cities in much larger numbers than before.

IB History: We now moving into the single political party phase of our study of China. Students will hopefully be making comparisons on their own to Stalin and Hitler as they read further about Mao Zedong. With a few project grades coming up, it is imperative that the seniors are doing their reading for each class while also putting in time for their projects.

Week in Review: February 1-5

American Studies: The business plans are now posted for our 21st century entrepreneurs making a connection to the 19th century business tycoons we are studying. Do go to the blogs of our 9th graders and leave a comment or two about their ideas.

We are now moving into the "reaction" phase of the Gilded Age with labor unions working to stand up for the rights of their members. Be ready for your child to ask about the nature of unions in Morocco or your home country. 

IB History: With several projects including the IA Historical Investigation coming up, it is imperative that your seniors plan ahead and work proactively. We have had a light two weeks of homework with two nights specifically set aside for them to work on their IAs. Do sit down and go through the upcoming projects listed in the China Learning Pursuit site. They really will help your child gain understanding about the nature of war and single party states in China as we prepare for the unit exam in March. Waiting to the last minute to write the IA and to do project work means less understanding and lower assessment scores.

Week in Review: January 25-29

American Studies: The students are learning about the "shiny" and negative aspects of the Gilded Age. Our class discussions are rich in topics that connect the 19th century to 21st century business and labor practices. We will be doing an interesting simulation in class this week where students play the role of inventors and business people preparing their business plan for a company they would like to start. They will be asking Mr. Warren Buffet to help fund their entrepreneur ideas. :)

IB History: The student presenters are now moving into Sino-Japanese relations during the 1930s and 40s. As teams present, I add information to connect their learning to the current and past units of study. We will also be doing some document analysis to continue to fine tune the needed skills for the Paper 1 exam. Each class also includes a Keynote lecture where I share themes and content to help students build out their understanding to answer the unit questions.

Week in Review: January 18-22

American Studies: The students gave their 5 minute speeches playing the role of a consultant to the people of North Korea. It offered a good opportunity to practice their oral presentation skills focusing to not only inform but also to persuade. The students did a nice job!

We are now starting a new unit on the American Industrial Revolution. We will be making connections between the latter 1800s to the idea of our need today for a "green" industrial revolution. Be ready for your children to ask you interesting questions. :)


IB History: Table teams continued to give their presentations on the assigned reading. The students are doing a nice job using Google Presentation to share their research that goes beyond the reading. We covered the big events of the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, the Revolution of 1911 and the rise of Chiang Kai-shek.

Week in Review: January 11-15

American Studies: Students continued their research at home using the ReconstructionQuest WebQuest to guide their efforts. They completed their studies of the American Reconstruction to then focus upon the economic, political, social and technological needs of the North Korean people. The students will use their knowledge of the American South rebuilding and joining with the Union to "advise" the North Koreans to rebuild and join with South Korea. The problem solving and creativity that goes with this simulation moves our students from just learning knowledge to having to use it in new situations. This is real learning for understanding.

In class, we watched a BBC documentary on North Korea to further students' understanding of what life is like in a totalitarian dictatorship. We also worked in table teams to answer the essential questions for this unit. The students then participated in a Socratic Seminar to discuss, share and learn from each other to further build their understanding of the essential questions.


IB History: We started the last unit of the year which is a double unit on 20th century China. We will look at war and the nature of single party states as we build our understanding. You can learn more about this unit of study by reviewing the China Learning Pursuit site which lists the essential questions, unit questions, important topics, project activities and resources. It is very important for the seniors to use the resource Web sites and videos as they provide additional content to the nightly assigned textbook readings.

We began this unit by having one table group in each class share a lesson on the assigned reading. The student teachers created a Google Presentation (PowerPoint) that they shared with their classmates in class and digitally so everyone has a copy in their Google Documents folder. Collaboration is so important for learning so it was nice to see our first presentation teams do a very nice job. We will have table teams giving presentations on the reading throughout the course of this unit.

Week in Review: January 4-8

American Studies: We worked on the ReconstructionQuest this past week. Students are now on their own to do their research on the US during Reconstruction and to learn more about present day North Korea. Their "consultancy reports" and speeches are due at the start of next week. Students really need to be disciplined, active and curious to complete this project work. Do ask to see their Google Docs to view their progress in recording notes from their research. Take a look at the WebQuest to learn more about the connection between the two nations and time periods.  Students picked up with their blogging this week writing about the successes and failures of Reconstruction. Remember you can access their blogs from the right side of this page.

IB History: We concluded the unit on World War II with an essay exam and three projects that were due this past week. As we approach the middle of the term, it is a good idea for parents to sit down with their children to see how they are doing with their IB history work. Several students have slipped in turning in work which has really lowered their grades as well as prevented them from being fully prepared for the last exam. Note that the history department does not all for late work so students have to work extra hard to do well on the remaining classroom activities, quizzes, projects and exams to raise their grades for this second trimester.

We have a very interesting debate simulation coming up this week. Take a look "Task 4" on the WWII Learning Pursuit Task page to see how your students will be role playing in debating the dropping of the atomic bombs upon Japan in 1945.

Week in Review and Coming Week: Dec. 7-18

American Studies: We started the next unit which is on the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War. The students are reading, note taking, blogging and preparing for class discussions. An additional component for this unit is a research project and a speech. We will be doing the research via a WebQuest. Please check out our Reconstruction WebQuest. We will spend some time in the computer lab this week working on the research aspect of the WebQuest. Be ready to hear your students asking questions about North Korea as we are connecting our American Studies work to the present day.


IB History: We continue working on the World War II unit this coming week. After some good presentations and discussions last week on various resistance movements as well as the technology of war, we will be studying the Holocaust this coming week.

December 16th is the big date for students to turn in their Internal Assessments via Google Documents. The history department policy is that no late work is accepted. A zero on this project grade would definitely damage a student's grade while also taking away the opportunity to receive feedback on his/her work. So do work with your children to be turn in their work on time.

Week in Review: November 23-December 4

American Studies: Going back to the short holiday week, we completed the Civil War unit. To see what the highlights of the unit were, ask your child to share his/her study guide that we worked on in class to create. A big part of becoming an active and independent learner is to know where to get information, how to analyze it for importance and how to synthesize it into a meaningful construct. This process is what we devoted class time to. The second part of the study guide creation process is for each student to use their knowledge to write what they know about the important people, events and actions we listed from class. They also are to outline the answers to the potential questions that we put together in their study guides.


IB History: We are now in the middle of the World War II unit. You can learn more about the project-based portion of this unit at the World War II Learning Pursuit site.  Please note that with the rash of recent illness, several seniors missed the Germany unit exam and some missed in class quizzes from last week. To make sure students don't fall further behind, I emailed them with the date of December 10th as the deadline to make up missed work. Please work to help your students be organized and proactive in their planning to make up missed work and to get their Internal Assessment rough draft in on December 16th. This will be for a project grade.

Week in Review: November 16-20

American Studies: As we complete the first trimester, the students should be feeling good in general about their effort and engagement in American Studies. They have pushed themselves to do more than memorize facts. Being critical readers and analyzers of information has been a big part of their skill set.

We are now in the middle of the Civil War unit looking at the events leading up to the war. Students are seeing all the compromise that went forth leading up to the war.


IB History: We completed the unit on Germany leading up to World War II. Our focus for the next few weeks is World War II. We will look at causes, major events, effects and how the world changed after 1945. The seniors are working on their Internal Assessment historical investigations. With plenty of practice on their Extended Essays, the IA should come very easily to our seniors.

Week in Review: November 9-13

American Studies: The critical reading and note taking skills were assessed in an in class essay. Students used their notes, brainstormed and wrote an outline, gave each other feedback and then they started writing on the topic of:

In what ways did the United States expand (grow) economically and geographically in the early to mid-1800’s? How was some of the economic growth connected to the geographic expansion? Support your answer with specific examples focusing on Economics and Technology and Geography.

A major goal for all the teachers is to help our students become independent learners confident in their skills and curious, ready to ask questions and learn. I push my students to engage by being responsible to themselves and to each other. Collaboration is central to learning.

IB History: Speaking of collaboration, the seniors continue to push back against collaborating via Web 2.0 tools like Google Docs and Mindmeister. However, they do work together in class when they are asked to share their research and analysis on the two main topics of the Germany unit. We have been focusing on building knowledge about the Weimar Republic and the Rise of the Nazis. The students are making the connections between what happened economically, socially, politically, religiously, the arts and technologically to understand the rise and downfall of democracy in Germany before World War II.

As the seniors continue to become more independent learners focusing their learning around inquiry, it is important to validate their efforts. So do ask to see your child's mind maps of their research and the question listing all the students put together in a shared Google Doc.

Week in Review

Edline is up and running for you the parents. I am told the students will receive their activation codes first thing this coming week. They will now be using Edline for their homework assignments instead of this blog. So please visit your child's course in Edline and view the homework for the coming week.


American Studies: The students were introduced to several political scientists/philosophers who laid the groundwork for Jefferson and Madison in their efforts to write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We also began the process of learning how to analyze primary and secondary source documents and artifacts. It will be an ongoing process to understand what resources can offer us in the form of valid information. In reviewing the Constitution, the students are writing blog posts about the parts that they feel are most important. Check out what they have to say on their blogs. :)

IB History: We continued our study of the history of the Soviet Union as it transitioned from Lenin's to Stalin's policies. The students are building out online mind maps focusing on the five unit questions adopted from the IB. I think it is becoming quite an eye opener for the students to see how Stalin used brute force, coercion and propaganda to consolidate his power. Portions of our class are centered on student discussion around provided questions and student reading of the textbook. I guide these discussions providing clarification and added details helping to make connections in the students' learning. Your students need to continue their efforts to take notes from these discussions as this seminar discussion model is similar to what they will experience in college courses. Professors do not lecture but provide additional materials as the students analyze and build their understanding from the discussion prompted by the professor's questions.

The students are finishing up their Paper 1 exam rewrites. It is a good exercise to have them reflect and fine tune their document analysis skills. They will be gaining even more practice with these skills by peer editing their partners' papers.

American Studies Homework: September 28 - October 2

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For classes meeting Monday and Tuesday:

1) Blog Post of Key Principles for the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution: Search the Web for further explanations on the following terms. Fully define them in a blog post where you rank them in order of importance as to their value to society. At the end of your post, explain your thinking about your ranking system. Select each link to take you to a search results page. Try a few of the links on each page as you work to better understand the term. Remember to scan each source to look for information that meets your needs. 



Natural Rights, Social Contract, Right to Revolution, Popular Sovereignty, and Right of Self Determination

2) Self Assessment: Reflect about what you need to do to do better in the class and on future assessments. Write an email to Mr. Carpenter listing the specific steps you need to take. Write about what you need to do in class in general and specifically when you write the test. Title your email with "Your Name-Reflection".

__________________________________
For classes meeting Wednesday and Thursday:

1) Blog Post: Analyze how the colonists were able to defeat the greatest world power of their time. Write a blog post describing your explanation. You might have to do some extra research to prepare your post.

2) Blog Post: Read through the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (which is a part of the Constitution). Your book has copies of both with commentary that explains each section. Which ideas from these documents do you feel are the most important. Write a blog post ranking your top five choices. List each choice and then tell in detail why you feel it is important.

3) Reading: From the PDF called “French and Indian War”. Find the page numbers from the actual textbook pages. Scroll through until you get to page 85 and start reading. Stop at the end of page 89. Build your understanding of the effects of the French and Indian War. Also, start to see how the colonists began to question the King and Parliament. This reading is a review of the notes from Mr. Carpenter’s presentation and the videos. It should reinforce your understanding.

_______________________________
For classes meeting Friday and Monday:

1) Mind Map Biographies: You will choose an important person from American colonial history to do research about. Your task is to create a Mindmeister mind map where you provide the following information. You will share your mind map with the class. There will be no official research writing report but a focus on taking good notes.

Start your mind map with your name then his name in the middle. Ex. “Myriam - George Washington”. Then create 4 nodes:

Background, Leadership, Skills, and Legacy (what the person is most known and remember for doing).

Mr. Carpenter will demonstrate how to do this, to then use the Note tool to record notes, and how to record where you gathered your information to cite your source using the MLA style system. Remember to always take notes in your own words and to use direct quoting when you want to have a quotation from the resource. They are due at the start of class on October 8/9 depending on when your class meets.

Here are the criteria for your research and what you will be assessed upon along with your writing techniques. 



-Brief background on where the individual’s geographical home was
-How did your person provide leadership?
-What special skills did he bring to the table?
-What was your person’s legacy?

Choices: James Madison, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin

2) PDF Reading: “Ideas and Revolution”. Start reading at the beginning with page 103 and read to page 107. The following section is the Declaration of Independence with commentary on the side. This is an optional read but you are challenged to review it especially after today’s class discussion. Pick up your reading on page 121 with the Colonists’ victory at Yorktown in Virginia. If you want to learn more about the battles of the War of Independence you can read pp. 114-120 as an optional reading assignment. 



Note: Mr. Carpenter will send you a copy of the OPVL document we used in class today.

Week in Review

American Studies: The students will receive their exams back this coming week. A big lesson is that the Essential and Unit questions really guide what is important to learn in our studies. Students are also seeing why their teachers say writing with support and rich details is so important in sharing one's understanding.

The Revolution and Constitution unit will involve our first work with primary and secondary document analysis. It will be interesting and enlightening for the students to better understand the guiding principles of the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution. Be prepared for some questions at home as students really reflect about what rights they think we all should have.


IB History: I think it has been quite the eye opener for our students to learn what a big figure Joseph Stalin was in the 20th century. The students excellent study of the Russian Revolution from last year gives them the foundation for understanding where Stalin began his efforts to have total power in the Soviet Union. As we work to answer many questions about his techniques and decisions, the students are beginning to profile how dictators can develop and keep single party political systems in place.

Week in Review

American Studies: We completed our studies of the exploration and English colonization of North America. Our learning centered upon a set of questions that are posted here in our class blog. We continued  to learn about the present day through current events reading and blog write ups. The students made connections to the history and current state of Morocco as they wrote about colonization and its effects.

The students will have their exam for this unit either Thursday or Friday depending on their meeting date. They have very clear guidelines as to what to study for their short essay exam. Starting Monday, September 28, we will start the Revolution and Constitution unit.

IB History: We completed the Interwar years unit of study. Students took a Paper 1 style exam in class and have a take home essay exam due when we return to class on Wednesday September 23. The next unit will be on the first on the rise of single party states. We will study Stalin and the Soviet Union.

American Studies Homework: September 14-18

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For classes meeting Monday and Tuesday:

1) iTunes Podcast subscribing: Go to the iTunes Store podcast page to search for podcasts that interest you. Find at least one to subscribe to, listen and then write a blog post describing the podcast and what you learned from listening to it. 


2) More Resource Reading on Colonization: Continue to answer the following questions: “What were the positive effects of colonization of the Americas? Who benefited and how? What were the negative effects? Who felt the negative effects the most?” And add a new one... “Why do people migrate (forced or by choice) from one land to another? Remember to use ESPRAT+G to help you analyze information.  Use the following two sites to continue your learning. Take notes that connect to answering the questions.

Site 1

    Site 2


3) Mindmeister: Set up your account.

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For classes meeting Wednesday and Thursday:

1) Reading: Students with Pathways to Present book are to read pp. 24-30. Continue to add notes to your comparing and contrasting the New England, Mid-Atlantic and deep Southern colonies. Students with A History of the United States book are to read pp. 38-49. All students are to read the About.com article on the colonies.

2) Famous Student Bloggers: Read a newspaper article that lists students who have made it big through their blogs. Follow the links to read what they have to say.

3) Blog Post: Take your class warm up and write a blog post answering the following questions:


• What are different reasons why Moroccans migrate away from Morocco? 
• Using ESPRAT, what are possible different groups and what are their reasons? 
• Who is migrating to Morocco? Why?

Remember to use Labels to categorize the information in your post.

4) Write a blog post defining in depth the term “mercantilism”. Take notes in your laptop or notebook using the following sites.

Site 1    Site 2

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For classes meeting Friday and Wednesday Sept 23:

No specific homework over the holiday but you will have a test next Thursday or Friday depending on when your class meets and you do have additional reading to do for Thursday/Friday. Part of your homework for next Thursday is to read the 3 PDFs Mr. Carpenter emailed you. These readings offer rich details and background information to add to your notes as you prepare for the test. So definitely read carefully, take notes and then review them.

Review the videos and text as well as additional documents provided from today’s lesson site. You will find a great deal of information here as you compare and contrast the 13 colonies.

Make sure you have good notes and can answer all the questions presented in this unit.

See below:

• Why study history?
• What does ESPRAT+G stand for? How do you use it to study social studies?
• Why were several European nations in a good position to start exploring across the Atlantic ocean by the 1500s?
• What were the positive effects of European colonization of the Americas? 
• What were the negative effects? 
• Describe the need for slaves in America. What were they needed for most? Fully explain. Why did the colonists turn to Africa for slaves? 
• Where did the Spanish mainly conquer and colonize? What was the main form of wealth that they gained from their efforts? 
• Where did the English mainly conquer and colonize? What was the main form of wealth that they gained from their efforts?
• What was “mercantilism”?
• How were the three regions of the English colonies alike and different? 

Be very specific in your ability to answer these questions. You should be able to write full and multiple paragraphs for each question. 

Week in Review

We completed our first week of classes at CAS beginning the process of building our learning communities in each classroom. After being hired last December to come and work at CAS, it was a wonderful feeling to finally start working with my students. :)

American Studies: We worked to set up protocols (Gmail, Google Documents, etc.) for the class and will continue this week to develop the guidelines for behavior in the classes. We started our study of American history looking at the question "Why were several European nations in a good position to start exploring across the Atlantic ocean by the 1600's?". We will move forward this week to look at colonization in the Americas as well as here in Morocco. One of the main ways we learn is by connecting new information to what we already understand. The students also spoke to their parents about what skills they need in our world today. So be ready parents to continue to be a partner in our learning community! Your children will have lots of questions and discussion topics for you.

IB History: We are spending some time getting to know one another as I am coming in mid-stream working to support the excellent instructional strategies used by Mrs. Mitchum last year. I feel very fortunate to have her close by for consultation as we use old and new techniques to help our 12th graders learn and prepare for their exams. They were very helpful and resourceful this week bringing together a list of learning strategies that they felt were helpful last year. As for history topics, scan the homework below to see what topics and questions your children are researching, collaborating and building their understanding around.