Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Absences During Presentations

If you are absent on the day of a research presentation, it is your responsibility to read and take notes in your journal on the information you missed. I will have copies of articles from the Modern World History database available, or you can find references of comparable depth and authority.

As always, it is your responsibility to ask me for missed work (in this case, to ask for a copy of the appropriate article). I will expect you to be caught up within one to two days of your absence and will deduct points for classwork if your journal is not complete.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Class Calendar: March 30th to April 6th

Monday, March 30th (M)
• Due: Work on group lessons.
• Class: First lesson on the Iraq case study; debrief on Cambodia lesson; brief introduction to Night.

Tuesday, March 31st (T)
• Class does not meet.

Wednesday, April 1st (W)
• Due: Work on group lessons; begin reading Night.
• Class: First lesson on the Bosnia case study.

Thursday, April 2nd (H)
• Due: Work on group lessons; continue reading Night.
• Class: Class discussion on Armenia project planning; group work on second set of lessons. Remember to submit lesson plans to me in advance; see the blog for samples.

Friday, April 3rd (F)
• Due: You should finish reading Night by today.
• Class: Second lesson on next case study (order to be determined).

Monday, April 6th (S)
• Due: Reader response to Night.
• Class: Second lesson on next case study (order to be determined).

Reminder: If you went to see Of Thee I Sing and would like to earn extra credit from me, write a one page, typed reflection on the experience, due on or before Friday, April 10th, the last day of the term.

Another Reminder: Please get those field trip permission slips signed and back to me as soon as possible. I need to get a final count to the museum this week!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Sample Lesson Plans

As promised, I’ve pulled together a couple of lesson plans to give you a sense of the type of content and level of detail I’m looking for. Feel free to imitate the structure of either of these:

This lesson plan is from PBS’s Frontline on an experiment that teacher Jane Elliot did with her third graders.

This lesson from the Densho project about the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII is another good model.

Class Calendar: March 23rd to March 30th

Monday, March 23rd (W)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Group work on lessons.

Tuesday, March 23rd (H)
• Due: Almost final draft (hard copy, five or more pages, citations, works cited page).
• Class: Peer review of drafts; group work on lessons.

Wednesday, March 24th (F)
• Due: Continue work on research papers; work on lessons.
• Class: Group work on lessons.

Thursday, March 25th (S)
• Due: Final draft of research papers (yes, you may use a late day but must guarantee that I receive your work on Friday; i.e., personally place it in my hands or receive an email confirming receipt).
• Class: First lesson on the Armenia case study.

Friday, March 26th (U)
• Due: Work on group lessons.
• Class: First lesson on the Cambodia case study.

Monday, March 30th (M)
• Due: Work on group lessons.
• Class: First lesson on the Iraq case study.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Armenian Genocide Resource Book

Facing History has a fantastic resource book on the Armenian genocide. Click here to download the study guide.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Class Calendar: March 16th to March 23rd

Monday, March 16th (F)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Jigsaw readings on rescue; “town hall” style discussion; “Denmark 1943.”

Tuesday, March 17th (S)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Blessed Is the Match; discussion of the life and death of Hannah Senesh.

Assignment: Email me at least one interesting question about your paper to workshop with the class before 9.00p on Tuesday night. Ideal would be to attach a document with the relevant paragraph from your draft, with your question(s) at the top. We’ll want to talk about MLA citations, synthesizing and integrating sources, paraphrasing, etc.

Wednesday, March 18th (U)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Wrap up from yesterday; answering your research and citation questions.

Thursday, March 19th (M)
• Due: Rough draft of research paper. For full credit, you should have a minimum of four complete pages and full citation information, including a works cited page.
• Class: Group work on lessons; peer review of drafts.

Friday, March 20th (T)
• Class does not meet.

Monday, March 23rd (W)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Group work on lessons.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Consider this your personal invitation to join the Watchmen conversation over at my Science Fiction blog! If you've seen the movie, read the book, or any combination thereof, check it out!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Class Calendar: March 9th to March 16th

Monday, March 9th (U)
• Due: Annotated works cited for research paper, including research question. 
• Class: Share found poems; share advice on the research process; writing workshop.

Tuesday, March 10th (M)
• Due: Work on research paper: notes, outline, etc. Let me know if you want a film!
• Class: Readings on resistance.

Wednesday, March 11th (T)
• Class does not meet today.

Thursday, March 12th (W)
• Due: Work on research paper.
• Class: Work day in the Media Center; could also arrange a film, potentially.

Friday, March 13th (H)
• Due: Working outline due: neatly type and proofread, include your thesis.
• Class: Writing workshop; citation reminders and questions.

Monday, March 16th (F)
• Due: Work on research paper.
• Class: Readings on rescue; “Denmark 1943.”

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Research Paper

First of all, the citation information for the Samantha Power chapters handed out in class:

Power, Samantha. A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide.
New York: Perennial, 2003.

This can absolutely count for one of your sources on the Annotated Works Cited assignment. More goodies: click here for a great guide to MLA citations and click here for even more links.

Second of all, I've mentioned that documentary film can be a great source for research and the class presentations. We can borrow movies from Facing History; click here to see the list of what they lend. We can also try libraries, Netflix, etc.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Class Calendar: March 2nd to March 9th

Note: See below for the Conspiracy blog links.

Monday, March 2nd
• Snow day! Build snowmen, drink hot cocoa, and all that jazz.

Tuesday, March 3rd (W)
• Due: Finish reading literature circle books; you should have at least 20 notes in total; blog post on Conspiracy due by midnight tonight.
• Class: Literature circle discussions; introduction to projects (found poetry, research group selection).

Wednesday, March 4th (H)
• Due: Read assigned excerpt from Samantha Powers.
• Class: Library research day; brief discussion of good sources for your sources.

Thursday, March 5th (F)
• Due: Bring a working draft of your found poem and explication (need not be complete, but have something substantial on paper).
• Class: Literature circle reunion; discussion of taking notes and lessons learned from last year’s research papers; review annotated bibliography assignment.

Friday, March 6th (S)
• Due: Found poetry (with explication) due. Please bring two copies of the poem itself, as you’ll want one clean copy to share with the class next week.
• Class: Library research day; conference with Ms. Kitsis on topic selection.

Monday, March 9th (U)
• Due: Brief annotated bibliography for research project with statement of topic or research question (assignment sheet to come).
• Class: Sharing of found poetry, among other things.