Welcome back. (Welcome to Anika...) As I said at Upper School Back-to-School Night, the final decision as to who would be teaching which grade was made just a bit more than a week ago. While it would have been nice to try to make some improvements to what I did last year in World History 9, I am looking forward to working with you all again and tackling a new course. Basically, we'll pick up where we left off with Unit #5, and our goal will be to get up to very recent/current events around the world.
What will be the same as last year? Last year should have given you a good feeling for what to expect this year. I recognize that you are a year older (more mature???) and you no doubt have some more developed skills in many areas than you had at the start of 9th grade. We'll try and challenge those new abilities. We'll use the same book, and we'll tackle the final four units, two each quarter. Obviously, we'll continue to make extensive use of the computer, and I'm pondering some new challenges in that area. We'll see.
What will be different this year? First, you'll notice that each of the three sections or World History 10 is a little bigger than last year's classes. No 12 in a class this year, as I have one with twice that number. Our discussions may benefit from additional voices, although it means some won't get heard quite as often. Second, now that you've had a year with your laptops, I'm expecting that you've got all those annoying 9th grade computer behaviors under control... Finally, I am going to make a more concerted effort to focus on the readings you are asked to do. One way we'll do that is through almost daily reading quizzes. More on that below.
Daily reading quizzes: I haven't worked out all the details yet, but you can expect a short and, hopefully, straight-forward quiz at the start of class each day a reading assignment is due. I haven't decided exactly how to weigh them yet, but I'm thinking of they will vary in terms of the types of questions they ask. I won't promise to rotate them precisely, but expect the following four types of quizzes.
Multiple choice (5 or 10 questions)
True-False (10 questions)
Fill-in-the-Blank (10 questions)
Matching (10 items)
In all cases, these quizzes will focus on the "big picture" ideas, examples and specifics. They should be easier than the multiple choice questions on the unit exams. I'll always have a key ready, and you can immediately see what your score will be.
Why am I doing this? There are a couple reasons. First, I felt there was a wide range in the way people were approaching their homework. I was pleased to see many people having highlighted and/or taken notes in their readings. I suspect there were others who did the reading only infrequently. Hopefully, taking the quizzes will reward those who are ready for class and provide an incentive for those who need one.
I've also got a sort of "back-up" plan in mind. I will increase any score to 50% for the purpose of recording IF you show me that you actively read the lesson for whatever quiz didn't go well for you. For example, showing me that you highlighted the section or took decent notes would qualify as preparation. (I realize that you might not all read in any of these types of ways, but it's an objective standard I can use, and it's also designed to provide you with an incentive to try one or more of these strategies.)
We'll start with a quiz tomorrow on Chapter 21, Section #1 (Spain's Empire and European Absolutism) on pp. 589 - 595.
Introductory / Review Activities: Since we don't need to spend the hour getting to know each other, we can get started. We'll begin with Unit #5 tomorrow, but we'll do a couple of other things today. I propose the following:
1. Current Events - We can briefly discuss some major events from the summer, but I'd also like us to brainstorm a list of ten stories we should be watching closely over the course of our time together.
2. Twenty-Five Events - We'll have you work in groups of four on this one. We'll make it a competition to spice things up. I'll give you slips containing 25 events from World History 9. Your job is to put them in the correct order. Once you think you are ready, let me know. If you're right, I'll give you a sheet with all 25 events listed in order to aid in your review. If you're wrong, keep working.
3. Password and/or Charades - We'll give you each a chance to shine with this activity. When it is your turn, you'll draw a slip which features a person, place or thing from last year. Your job is to communicate it to the class in one of two ways - Password or Charades.
If you choose Password, here are the rules. You give single word clues, one at a time. Call on someone who raises their hand to answer. If they are wrong, you give another clue. You can give up to five clues before you're done.
If you choose Charades, here are the rules. You cannot talk, and you cannot write out your clue. You have 30 seconds to convey your clue's meaning to the class.
4.
Current History's Global Progress Report 2008 -
Current History is a magazine that the MPA Library subscribes to on-line. Each January, they publish a
Global Progress Report. Download a copy of that. We'll break into five groups to take a quick look at this. You'll each focus on one section: politics, security, economics, development and resources. In your group, do the following:
- Read the "grade report" and the section of the article on your topic.
- Try to understand any events and/or analysis confusing to group members.
- Think about any events since the start of the year that might be relevant to your topic.
- Discuss whether you think the grade given by Current History is accurate. Why or why not?
- Formulate at least one question you'd like answered regarding your section.
If you have time, please skim the remaining sections of the article. We'll talk about them briefly.
HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, August 25th:
Please read Chapter 21, Section 1 (Spain's Empire and European Absolutism) on pp. 589 - 595. You will have a reading quiz at the start of the hour.
Please read "your" section in the Global Progress Report you downloaded above.
