Monday, February 28, 2011

Last Day of February HOMEWORK

Hi kids,

We are an amazing classroom community. Each block has bonded within itself. We have bonded as a whole program. Our 7th and 8th graders have started collaborating, so now it is time to start branching out into our school community. 1. Please post your ideas (ON THIS BLOG AS A COMMENT) for collaborating with another class during our WWI unit. Here are some samples:

Hi Miss Bailin,

I would like to work with a writing class. They have a two period block, so that would give us more time to collaborate. Since we will be reading All Quiet on the Western Front, I think the other class should read it as well and we do literature circles with another class. We could keep track of our progress on a group blog. At the end, we could create a tech product and post it to our webpage.

Thanks,
Little Miss Bailin

Hi Miss Bailin,

I would like to work with Gen Yes and create a multi-media product of WWI. I thought it was cool when they do claymation and I'd like to learn how to do that.

Thanks,
Little Miss Bailin II

2. Get your bracket down to the Sweet 16. Start determining your reasoning for each choice. YOU WILL DEFENDING YOUR CHOICES ON THURSDAY/FRIDAY. :)

3. Tomorrow we will be getting into Carnegie, Rockefeller, Ford, J.P. Morgan, and Vanderbilt with a focus on free enterprise tomorrow. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO look at a person tonight, then you may. You will be divided into groups tomorrow and becoming an expert on your person. :) If you commit to a person tonight, then you are HIGHLY likely to be granted that person in class the following day. :)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Weekend Homework

Attorneys.....keep on working on your script.

Everyone....complete your brackets (ONLY ROUND ONE AND TWO). Keep these things in mind...
1. You won't put two powerhouses against each other in round one....be thinking about the Elite 8 for that. ;) Divide it up. ;)

2. Political Movements/reform
3. Military
4. Population
5. Economic status of their country
6. Access to technology/advancements
7. Alliances
8. Land mass/imperialism/colonies/sphere of influence
9. Geographic location/strategic advantage
10. Trade Routes/Access to water
11. Natural Resources

Thursday, February 17, 2011

2/17/2011 Homework

Tonight’s Homework - YOU WILL BE POSTING YOUR RESPONSE ON YOUR OWN BLOG. Please title it OPTION #/Literary Analysis of WWI.

OPTION ONE

Here are the steps for being successful with OPTION ONE.

  1. Choose a(n) topic/event/person leading up to WWI.
  2. Find a poem/piece of writing that applies to your topic/event/person.
  3. Analyze the poem/piece of writing by EXPLAINING how your topic/event/person and your poem/piece of writing are related!!! BE CLEVER, but not lofty! There are times when things are obvious and times when things are unseen by the naked eye. Choose your path wisely. I’m confident that BOTH will challenge you.

FORMAT FOR OPTION ONE…please number your response as shown below.

  1. Type your topic/event here. Then provide a summary. Now post a link where someone can learn more about the topic/event.
  2. Copy and paste the poem you found here. Now post a link where someone can find the poem.
  3. Now write your analysis. “If I were you…” *wink *wink for each piece of commentary you have, I would copy and paste a line from the poem as my concrete detail and include specifics about the event. J

OPTION TWO

If you choose this option, you will be on your own. I will provide no format for it. All I ask is that you write your steps for being successful with this option (like I did for OPTION ONE…please see above). It is important to do this because it gives your audience insight into your posting and allows them to be an active participant in your plan.

You will post your STEPS and then number your response, so that it matches.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

2/16/2011 HOMEWORK

Hello all,

As shallow research looms in the darkness of our minds, we must remind ourselves that knowledge is the light and curiosity is the spark.

1. With learning at the forefront, tonight's tasks involve gaining an understanding of some of the topics on the Google Doc that I shared with you titled Miss Bailin's Sir Mix-A-Lot Topics.

2. Attorneys should be finalizing their witness lists and questions. Tomorrow we will be mixing up the classes, so that attorneys can work with their opposition.

3. Please read the following poem, The White Man's Burden, by Rudyard Kipling and determine answers to the three prompts in your BLOG. Title the BLOG entry The White Man's Burden & Imperialism. This MUST be done before you walk into class because we will be using it in class. Your blog should look like this:

1. Determine what Kipling means by "the White Man's Burden."
2. Does Kipling justify imperialism? How so?
3. Why might such a justification might be so appealing?

The White Man's Burden
Rudyard Kipling

Imperialism was often glorified both by those actively involved in it and by the public at home. Part of this glorification involved perceiving imperialism as a Christian and nationalistic venture. More broadly it involved portraying imperialism as a heroic deed carried out by idealistic leaders of Western civilization in an effort to spread the "benefits" of "true civilization" to 'less advanced" peoples of the world. One of the most popular expressions of this is found in the writings of Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), particularly in his poem "The White Man's Burden," written in 1899 to celebrate the American annexation of the Philippines.

Consider while reading and then determine responses: What Kipling means by "the White Man's burden"; how Kipling justifies imperialism; why such a justification might be so appealing?

Take up the White Man's burden-
Send forth the best ye breed-
Go, bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait, in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild-

Your new-caught sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.

Take up the White Man's burden-
In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times made plain,
To seek another's profit
And work another's gain.

Take up the White Man's burden-
The savage wars of peace-
Fill full the mouth of Famine,
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
(The end for others sought)
Watch sloth and heathen folly
Bring all your hope to nought.

Take up the White Man's burden-
No iron rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper-
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go, make them with your living
And mark them with your dead.

Take up the White Man's burden,
And reap his old reward-
The blame of those ye better
The hate of those ye guard-
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:-
"Why brought ye us from bondage,
Our loved Egyptian night?"

Take up the White Man's burden-
Ye dare not stoop to less-
Nor call too loud on Freedom
To cloke your weariness.
By all ye will or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent sullen peoples
Shall weigh your God and you.

Take up the White Man's burden!
Have done with childish days-
The lightly-proffered laurel,
The easy ungrudged praise:
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers.



Tuesday, February 15, 2011

2/15/2011 HOMEWORK

Hi kids,

Tonight your homework is to gain an understanding of the empires (which countries controlled which lands and why...i.e. raw materials, geographically, etc.) surrounding WWI and politically which countries enforced which type of government.

*I included some links with various levels of information depending on your interests.

Helpful Links
British Empire
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/maproom.htm
(MAP) http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/brit-emp.htm
(MASS HISTORY) http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa16

Countries Involved in WWI
http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/worldwar1/a/ww1countriesbe.htm

German Empire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Empire

Background on Russia
http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h47-ru.htm

Middle East during WWI...WWI...http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/middle_east_01.shtml

Monday, February 14, 2011

2/14/2011 HOMEWORK

Our front-loading is now complete. The students have completed their smaller units of study (1877-1913, 1920s, and 1930s). We shall start the 1877-1913 presentation in a few days.

Today we started learning about the background of World War I.
We accessed prior knowledge, broke down the content with small research, partner, small group, and whole class discussions combined with lecture, video clips, and interactive maps.

Our Key Points for Today
1. Causes of War
2. Geographical Strategies
3. Political Powers

Helpful Links
http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/index.htm
http://www.thecorner.org/hist/wwi/alliance.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/launch_ani_western_front.shtml
http://www.firstworldwar.com/
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5La8fQEd-Is
http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/

Song Trivia of the Day (and Thursday's)
Q. Who sang the version of Mr. Tambourine Man that played today?
a. Bob Dylan

Q. Who addressed the American people with a reference from the song that is currently
playing?
a. President Ronald Reagan/P.Y.T by Michael Jackson/1984
b. http://www.reference.com/browse/young+thing

HOMEWORK
YOUR GROUP WILL BE CREATING A VISUAL DEMONSTRATION OF ALLIANCES.
We divided into the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance and each group has to re-word a timeline into a script for a narrator to read and the actors will physically demonstrate what the countries do.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

1. Your final showcase is due in MAY!!!! Be working a little bit. Don't forget to SAVE an export
as you go! No late products. No exceptions.

2. Make sure you spend some time on your new device.
a. Here are the vids from today:
http://www.google.com/support/chromeos/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=177870
b. Here is the survey link (submit: tips, troubleshooting, bugs, glitches, ideas, viruses, etc.):
http://shortlinks.pvlearners.net/chromesurvey
http://shortlinks.pvlearners.net/chromesurvey

3. Add to your time period Google Doc (shared with Block I and Block II)
a. 1877-1913, 1920s, and 1930s
b. You are adding topics that include the following
1. Year
2. Event
3. Skip your name because this is simply brainstorming right now, so that you have a feel
for the time period
4. Summary w/ URL (add the URLs as you go, so you can refer back to it and make easy
citations in the future)

4. Add ideas under the 7th grader column to your 8th graders Frankenstein Google Doc

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Tuesday's Homework 2/1/11

BLOCK I - know what you're going to say tomorrow. Do not speak like a robot.