Assignments 2007-2008
Oct.1: Unit test on Africa. Read Chapter 8 - "The Land Under Heaven" pages 120-135.
Oct. 2: Discussion/prior assessment on China.
Oct. 23: USA Today article on mounting U.S. war debt in Iraq and Afghanistan,
Oct. 24&25: China topographical and city maps. Homework: Readings on Confucious and Lao-tzu's "Way of Life"
Oct. 26: Chapter 11 & 12 notes due, along with "Vocabulary" and "Reviewing Facts" in-class discussion on Chinese Revolution - peasant uprisings, Mao Zedong, the Taiping Rebellion, The Boxer Uprising, China and foreign powers, the Long March, Chinese Communisim.
Oct. 29: Worksheet on evolution of Communist Party in China due.
Nov. 7: 1st trimester exam review sheets distributed.
Nov. 9-13: Class will be watching The Last Emperor.
Nov. 14 & 15: Review for 1st trimester exam.
Nov. 30: Questions on Time article on Burma due. Please work on the three worksheets on Japan I distributed to you Thursday. These are due on Tuesday. If you want to read ahead, the chapters on Japan we will be covering are 16, 17 & 18.
Dec. 14: You do not have any formal break to do over the break. That's because of the tremendous amount of work you did before break. Great job! In January, we will begin our next stop on the World Cultures tour - Australia.
Jan. 4: Australia maps due. If you had to leave early for the basketball games, the maps are due on Monday.
Jan. 7: Lecture on early Australian history, with worksheet and info sheet on Captain James Cook and Great Britain's early uses of Australia as a penal colony. Today you will also receive guidelines for your 2nd marking period project on Australia. We will discuss this project in more detail and I will answer questions on it during class.
Jan. 23: You should have read "The Traditions of Australian Republicanism." We will re-read the essay in class today to make everyone understands it. Either today (the 23rd) or tomorrow you will receive written questions to answer on the essay. After that we will turn our attention to the study of India. For those of you interested in getting a head start, India is covered in Unit 4 in our textbook, which begins on page 330.
Jan. 28: Monday - in class review of news articles and documents from India's Web Site "Business in India" concerning the nation's effort to lure in foreign investment from countries all over the world. We will discuss the issue of "outsourcing" and examine French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to India to make financial in-roads. Jan. 29: in-class work - map of the Indian Subcontinent - identify cities, bordering countries, bodies of water. Map is due at the end of the class. Wednesday, Jan. 30: Introduction to Indian culture. Video clip of Indian cities, social customs and architecture, followed by sample of Indian music. Clip and music will be followed by discussion.
Reminder: Chapter 21 notes will be checked on Friday, Feb. 1. Please make sure they are thorough and neat! Thank you.
Feb. 4: Review Jeopardy! on information we've covered so far on India.
Feb. 5: Natural disasters in India. India appears to be a magnet for monsoons, droughts, tropical cyclones, earthquakes, etc. We will visit the computer lab to research natural disasters.
Feb. 6: Presentations on natural disasters.
Feb. 7: Bollywood! Students go to India Online to check out a film and music industry that dwarves Hollywood.
Feb. 8: Imax video: "India: Kingdom of the Tiger" Part 1
REMINDER: TRIMESTER PROJECTS ARE DUE THE WEEK OF FEB. 25. PLEASE SEE ME IF YOU NEED GUIDANCE OR HAVE QUESTIONS.
Feb. 11: Finish watching Imax video: "India: Kingdom of the Tiger" Class will receive a handout on endangered species on India. We will have a dialogue about how India can manage its industrial, population and commercial growth with preserving its ecosystem.
Feb. 12: Wrap-up discussion on conservation efforts in India. Chapter 23 - introductory discussion, then students will begin reading and taking notes on the chapter.
Note: Projects due Feb. 25. Those of you who have shown me your works-in-progress are doing a fine job! Please don't procrastinate.
Feb. 25: Review Jeopardy and India Crossword puzzle review for Unit test.
Feb. 26: India Unit test. Homework: Bring in an article Wednesday from a newspaper or from the Internet on a current event in the Middle East, other than the war in Iraq. (We'll have plenty of time to discuss that issue.)
Feb. 27: Discussion of Middle East articles.
March 3: Review of India test. Start of Mohammed video. Detailed note-taking required.
March 4: Finish video. Discussion of Mohammed. Directions for creating an essay on Mohammed from notes.
March 5: Rough drafts of Mohammed essays due. (15 points)
March 7: Final Mohammed essay due. (50 points)
Middle East geography quiz on Wednesday, March 12. Please know the 12 countries (Turkey is not on the map) and the nine major cities, along with the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
March 17: Handouts on Israel due
March 18: Review of Chapters 33 & 34 for quiz on Wednesday. Information on Syria will also be included on the quiz.
March 19: Chapter 33 & 34 quiz.
April 1: Review of most-frequently-wrong questions from Middle East test.
April 2: Begin reading Chapter 37 (last chapter on Middle East unit). Vocabulary and Critical Thinking section at chapter's end required to be completed. Notes from chapter will be checked on Friday.
April 4: Lecture and handout packet on Judaism.
April 7: Judaism worksheets due.
April 8: "The Armenians" - article and questions.
April 9: Review Judaism and Armenian assignments.
April 10 & 11: Middle East Wrap-up and Review.
April 11: Middle East test review.
April 12: Middle East Unit Test.
April 14-18: Monday and Tuesday: Video - "Control Room" - a documentary on the Al Jazeera news network and their coverage of the war in Iraq. Reaction paper due Wednesday. Middle East worksheets on Thursday and Friday.
We will start our final unit of the year, South America, next week. If you would like to get a head start you can start reading Chapters 27 & 28 and take notes.
April 21-25: Introduction to South America. Map assignment, Chapter 27 reading and note-taking, South American history/culture/geography exercise. Handouts and discussion on the deforestation of the Brazilian rainforest.
April 28: Charles Darwin and the Galapalos Islands. Discussion of Darwin's main ideas, including natural selection and survival of the fittest. Then IMAX video on Galapagos.
April 29: Finish video. Ticket out the door will be a reaction essay to the video, incorporation the information we covered on Darwin.
May 5: Finish "Mexico: Courage and Conquest" video and complete worksheet that accompanied the video.
May 8: You will have a quiz Monday worth 50 points. The quiz will cover ancient Mexico civilizations (use your worksheet to study), immigration, Mexican geography, the Panama Canal, and the reading entitled "Ferment in Latin America."
May 12: Quiz. After quiz, please read Chapter 32 and take notes. Notes will be checked on Thursday and are worth 30 points.
