AP World over the vacation

We will start the Mongol Trial the Monday we return from vacation; you'll have the first 15 minutes of class to get yourself organized, then we will begin with Opening Statements from both sides.
If you are doing research over the break into your character, you need to share that information with your opponent. You may also collaborate across classes if you wish.  The lists of what students are what roles are linked to a Google document here.
Over the vacation, you need to read another book off the list linked here.  The assignment is the same as the Thanksgiving Break Assignment, and that is linked here.  To see what others have reviewed, or to add your own review, you can click here. Feel free to add new books as you read them!  The report is due via email by the start of class on January 3rd (that's the Monday we get back...)
Have a great vacation and see you in 2011!

AP Mongols

For the weekend, get familiar with your characters/roles.  Finish reading the chapter.  Just as a head's up, we will have a quick quiz on the chapter contents on Tuesday.  I'll tell you about it on Monday, but on the off chance that we don't have class, check back in and I'll post information on the blog so you can prepare. Don't forget to publish your review of the book you read over Thanksgiving.  I think there are 3 of you left who haven't read Nectar in a Sieve yet... :)  Happy weekend!

US-China Relations--paper topic #3

For those of you who are keeping up, the third paper is due this Thursday.  The topic is "Catch 22: The US and China are economically interdependent.   Who has greater leverage with which to negotiate?  Defend yourself."

Wednesday we have a presentation on Human Rights.  The final papers are due January 7th.  The big paper topic is:  "Predict the future for US-China relations.  Which nation will come out on top? Consider all the elements we have examined. Pick a side and defend it."

The fourth paper is due also on January 7th, and its topic is: Should the US try to dictate either Human Rights OR environmental policy to China?  Why or Why not?  

 

AP World--The Mongols are coming!

For tomorrow, read pages 461-466, about the Turkic nomads, who were pre-cursors to the Mongols.  Tomorrow we will begin the process of the Mongol Trials...

There will be a book report due after the winter break (yes, yes, groan all you want...). To help people make choices, I've set up a spreadsheet with the books that people have read so far.  Please add your review out of 5 stars (where 1 is burn it and 5 is the greatest thing you've read so far) and feel free to post a short comment if you wish.  Please don't tamper with others' reviews and remember that there are many other books from which to choose!  The spreadsheet/document is linked here.

AP World-Chinese and Indian influence

Today in class you rotated through four stations: 1) Show China's influence on Korea and Japan--political, Religious, Technological, other; 2) India Pocket Map--Page 415, Indian Ocean Trade Routes; 3) India's influence on SE Asia--political, religious, technological, other; 4) China pocket map, either page 377 or page 383.  For homework, finish whatever wasn't done in class.  Then create a way to show (not using paragraphs, no essays, etc.) a comparison and contrast of Indian vs Chinese influence and argue that one or the other had a greater/more extensive/more impactful influence.  I recommend a Venn diagram(s), but feel free to be creative.  All will be checked on Monday, and your comparison will be collected.

AP World--India

Now that we have the in-class essay confusion behind us, we'll turn our attention to Post-Classical India.  For tonight, read pages 410-418 in the textbook.  Tomorrow we'll discuss the political aspect of Post-Classical India and look at the development of Hinduism and Islam in India.

AP World The Chinese Empire Strikes Back

For homework read chapter 15 in the textbook.  On Tuesday, there will be an in-class Change Over Time (COT) essay on China.  Be sure to review the components of TAREA.  While you are reading, you can use the topics of the chart linked HERE. to help you track some information as you go along, and to preview the themes that the essay could touch on.  Remember, do, or do not.  There is no try.

AP World

I'm impressed with the quality of our conversations about religions today!  Nice work! For tomorrow, complete your pocket map of the Islamic Empires.  We will be discussing the Sui and Tang Dynasties of China in class.

AP World Islamic Empires

For tomorrow, read pages 359-370.  As we will be only touching on parts of the contents, I encourage you strongly to take notes on the pages so you will remember them!  Your pocket maps of the Expansion of Islam are due on Friday. 

AP World History Islam

For tonight read pages 352 to 359 to see how the Dar-al-Islam grows.  Be sure to bring your textbook to class tomorrow!

AP World daily reading and Thanksgiving assignment

Aren't tests fun? For homework read page 318 (start at The Early Byzantine...) to page 330 (Stop at Classical Heritage...). You can skim the section titled "Islamic Conquests and Byzantine Revival" since we haven't read about Islam yet...

Over Thanksgiving break, you have a book project to complete.  The document describing what to do is linked here: Thanksgiving Book Project.  The list of summer reading books is linked here: AP Summer Reading List.  I can't recommend Three Cups of Tea and Ishmael strongly enough, students have really liked Nectar in a Sieve, Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, and Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. But peruse the list, spend some time in the library and pick a book you think you will enjoy.

AP World Review day

Today we started to work through the COT essay format using Rome and China at the end of the classical era.  The question was: Analyze the cultural and political continuities of ONE o the following civilizations during that last centuries of the Classical Era: Rome--100-600CE; Chinese 100-600CE; {India 300-600CE} we aren't dealing with India this time.  Second period completed much of the outline, but first and fifth were cut short, so homework is to get a thesis, global context and the analysis added to your T Charts to discuss tomorrow.

Additionally, you need to come in with 5 questions typed up and double spaced for the review tomorrow.  They can be questions that you want to have answered, or they can be questions that you think would be good to ask as part of a review.  I'll collect them, and we'll play the Feud!

Don't forget to have your parents sign up for conferences!

US China Paper

Since you are all creatures of last minute work, the topic, once again, is:

Can the Taiwan issue be resolved peacefully?  You must draw at least three references from the book Untying the Knot, by Richard Bush available on reserve in the library, in your answer to this question.

We are discussing the WTO and currency markets this week...

AP World Change over time

Today we went over the categories of the Change over Time Essay, the second of the three essay structures.  Tomorrow we will draft out an essay in class and workshop it.  Finish up the projects for homework, make sure your parents know about the online sign up for parent teacher conferences, and begin to review content for the test on Monday.  Don't be fooled! This will be a full test on less material, it is not a "short" test with few questions, etc.!

AP World: diseases, climate change and St. Augustine...

Today we covered the above subjects.  Unfortunately Google is not allowing me to share the reading with you in a non-pixelated form; so surprise! you don't have to do the reading! (stupid technology...) I'll see if I can get it fixed, but for tonight, you have unexpected time to work on the project... Don't forget to bring in all your pocket maps tomorrow!

Don't forget to remind your parents about the sign up spreadsheet via Google (see previous post).  They can also contact me via phone or email if that is more comfortable for them!
We will be having a test on chapters 11 and 12 (Rome and the Silk Road) on Monday of next week--remember that we don't have school on Friday, so the review will be on Thursday!

AP World and Parent Conferences

Today we were talking about the movement of religion on the Silk Roads, and left off with the notion of syncretism--the blending of two ideas to make a new religion.  For homework, work on the project.

Please tell your parents about the link in the blog to the google document spreadsheet so they can sign up for a time to come in.  That way I can tell them good things about you all...  the link is also up on my website under Parent Conferences if they want to access it that way.

AP World History

Talking about the Silk Road in class today, and giving a shout out to Nico--hope the shoulder is better.  We are now starting a project, and the instructions follow:

Silk Road Research Project

As the cultures of the Classical Period grew and expanded, they began to rub elbows with one another and begin to exchange multiple goods, ideas and other items.  These fall into four major categories:

Agricultural products

Religion

Disease

Luxury Goods

Use the contents of Chapter 12 and the magical thing called “the interwebs” to learn more about the items in the categories above.  You need to choose one item from each category above and place it on a map of your composition.  (NB: This does not mean it has to be drawn!)

On the map, indicate:

• where the items were created/originated,
• where and how do they travel,
• where are they sold/distributed
• major geographic formations that may have aided or hindered the flow of goods, ideas, disease, etc. 

You may have to speculate about some of this, and that’s fine.  Be informed in your speculation—if you can’t find something that specifically says something went strapped to the back of a camel through the desert, it may still be a reasonable assumption to make…think about how the goods needed to be protected from the elements (if they were perishable) without modern refrigeration.  How do you keep silk from getting wet on a leaky boat with no plastic?  How to spices travel anyway?  What about disease?

In no more than two (2) typed, double-spaced pages, discuss the impact your items had on the various societies that contacted these objects (both in terms of their export and their import).  Based on your research of these objects and the impact they had was the Silk Road a positive experience for the cultures that participated in it, or was it a source of greater harm than help? Include a bibliography of sources so I know where you got this information.

You will bring in your maps and pages to hand in on Wednesday, November 17th.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Please tell your parents that they can sign up for a time to meet with me by using this link to the Parent Teacher Conference Sign Up Sheet.  This is also up on my website.  Times are first come, first served, so they want to sign up sooner rather than later!

AP World History Christianity the early days

Apologies for not posting last night's reading!  It was page 305-310 for the collapse of the Roman Empire.  Tonight's assignment (11/9) is to read the start of the chapter, from pages 287-305, which covers the Silk Road through the collapse of the Han Dynasty.  We will finish the early Christianity activity today and begin talking about the Silk Road and its impact on Rome and the Han.

US China Relations--the new paper topic

I'm changing the paper topic for paper #2. You should now write on the following:

Can the Taiwan issue be resolved peacefully?  You must draw at least three references from the book Untying the Knot, by Richard Bush available on the nooks (electronic readers) in the library, in your answer to this question.  Note that there are only 5 nooks, and they can only be checked out for one night at a time, so you don't want to wait too long to pull this material together. You can check the local public library as well if you like, and the Minuteman Library Network would be a good resource.  I'll post some guidelines for what chapters will be most helpful to you over the weekend. 

Additionally, pay close attention to President Obama's trip to Asia over the weekend to see what he is and is not saying about China to China's neighbors.

AP World History Christians in Rome

Over the weekend you have a few things to do.  First, finish up the pocket map if your class was assigned it.  Second, you got a reading in class that describes the Roman responses to Christianities spread in the empire. Read this before going on to the next item  Third, you should watch the video located here.  When you open up the web page, you are going to be watching two selections from Part Two, so click that link. If you put your cursor over the top of the video bar (where it says Chapters/From Jesus to Christ) you will have the chapters/scenes appear as a horizontally scrollable menu.  You will first go to Chapter 7 (Christianity in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries). Begin watching at the start (53:57-ish) and continue to 59:16 to get a sense of the religious structures of the Roman Empire.  Then jump ahead to Chapter 9 (The Prison Diary of Perpetua: a Martyr) Start at 1:12:13 (the start of the chapter) and continue to 1:18:40 (or the end of the chapter.)  You are, of course, welcome to watch more if you like... ;)  We will talk about the martyrs and the eventual acceptance of Christianity on Monday.

AP World History

We are in the midst of Rome; tomorrow will be about Christianity so take a look at page 281 for some selections from the early work of Jesus and compose a chart in response to the question listed below the reading.  No full sentences, just bullets will be fine, and bring them to class--no need to email it either. (the night before's assignment was the primary source document on page 270  and email me a response to the question...)

US China Relations: Negotiation

Today we took a look at the Prisoner's Dilemma, and began a discussion of negotiation to become familiar with the terms involved.  We will spend the next week resolving the Taiwan question to see what if any solutions present themselves.  The next paper topic is changed from the one listed on the initial handout, and will be presented in class on Wednesday.

AP World--Building the Roman Empire

Today we had a brief introduction to the foundations of the Roman Empire and read excerpts of the 12 Tables, the early law of the Roman Republic.  Over the next two days, please read the following documents:  The Assassination of Julius Caesar by Plutarch, The Deeds of Augustus, (note that Octavian wrote this document himself...) and Dio Cassius and Tacitus' accounts of The Powers of the Emperor.  All the documents are websites, and the translations are pretty reliable.  As you read, think about how the role that violence plays in the establishment of the Roman Empire.  Often times we associate internal violence with the collapse of a society--Is this the case of Rome? Why?  We will discuss this in class on Wednesday.

Costume Day

Nice work on the costumes today!  Photos coming soon.  The homework for the weekend is to read chapter 11 and take notes--I'll be looking at notes on Monday--we're heading to Rome for a week!

AP World Costume Drama

So you know the drill...wear a costume and get a quiz grade. 5/5 for a lame one, 10/10 for a good one, 15/15 for historical figure, 20/20 for all day wear...be smart--no weapons, no dangerous, keep them PG/family friendly--if you wouldn't wear it in front of grandma...and be mindful that some teachers may not want a disruption...We'll be watching Ben Hur tomorrow in class to start thinking about Rome.  For a plot synopsis, you can see the info at IMDB.com, the best source on the web for information about films, in my opinion...Over the weekend you'll be reading chapter 11, so you can get started on that as well if you wish.

AP World Review, Review, Review

Yep, time for a test.  You should be reviewing the material in chapters 7, 8, 9 and 10, a.k.a Classical Age Persia, China, India and Greece.  You will also want to review the Compare and Contrast acronym T.R.A.C.E., as there may be a few questions about that on the test as well.  A great source for review is the textbook's webpage...games, quizzes, outlines, etc, all at the click of a mouse.  The test will consist of 50 questions, mostly multiple choice, but a few true and false will be thrown in for variety as well.  I'll be in after school Weds. if you want to come by to ask questions!

AP World--day late

Yesterday we looked at the Persian Empire's political, economic and social structures, and began the conversation about what makes empires succeed or fail and how that connects to America today.  You have a test coming on Thursday and a costume option for Friday that will certainly help the day go faster for all of us!  Tonight get the pocket map of Greece done: Greek colonies, the Antigonid and Ptolemeic Empires must be placed on it.

AP World History

Today you had an in-class essay, and I missed you all. Make sure you bring your textbooks to class tomorrow so we can finish up with India in the Classical Age.  And the good news is that this will be a weekend free of homework!

US China Relations-Midterm

Tomorrow (October 20) is the mid-term. You were given a copy of an article from this week's Newsweek "Made for China" that will be part of the first question.  The mid-term will be open book and open note, and you will have the full double block to complete it. Good luck!

AP World History--Lots coming up...

Ah, good to be back with a functioning computer. Today we ran through 400 years of China to talk about the Qin and Han Dynasties. Due tomorrow is a pocket map of China during that time. There will also be a two question quiz tomorrow on China's political/social/technological developments in the Classical age, so that's page 189-202 to you and me.
Thursday will feature an all period long, in-class compare and contrast (C/C) essay that deals with the religions/philosophies. This will free up time for our test next week on all these Classical Age civilizations so it can just be multiple choice-type questions.
And don't forget that the Axial Age thinkers in Starbucks activity is due Friday!

US China Relations--Tibet

We are in the midst (well, nearing the end actually) of watching the film Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion to get a sense of the current conditions of and recent history of Tibet.  We will finish that up on Monday and then do some review of the historical relationship of China and the US before the Mid-Term on October 20th.  Bring your book to class each day next week!  It will help our review if you have it with you. (rhyming is fun...)

AP World Alexander the Great

Ah, Macedonians in the fall...Read the brief stories about Alexander the Great that are posted in the google document. (it is a .PDF file) to get a sense of his personality.  We will spend a little time with Michael Woods on his way to re-trace Alexander's route next week.  Read pages 168-172 and 245-254 in the textbook as well to give you a bit more information on the Hellenistic world that he lived in and what happened after he died.

Next week the Axial Age thinkers go to Starbucks activity is due.  We will wrap up Alexander and then take a trip back over the political events of the regions (China, India, Persia and Greece) that are key to the Classical Age and take a quiz on the philosophers before we dive into Rome.

AP World History-ponder reality during the PSATs

Today we began a discussion of the Greek forms of government, which will include a discussion of Plato's Republic.  Read the excerpt The Allegory of the Cave, which is a google document.  You will likely want to set aside time both tonight and tomorrow night to read it; it isn't long, but it takes a while!  Also take a look online to see a picture of the United States Congress (usually there is one where they all stand together on the steps of the capitol...) and take note of the composition.  We'll discuss that after the PSAT's are done...remember that all is illusion, and standardized tests are but the shadows on the cave wall...

US China Relations-EP-103

Today we saw a portion of the Frontline video Dangerous Straits, which explored the April 2001 downing of a US spy plane by a Chinese fighter jet and how the two sides resolved the issue by the "letter of two sorrys."  You will want to read the conclusion and afterward of Mann's book, as these chapters contain some major hints about the questions that will be asked on the mid-term on October 20.

AP World--Persia and Greece

Today we watched selections from the video: Engineering an Empire to see some of the engineering accomplishments of the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states (for you long blockers). For homework over the long weekend, read pages 160-164 and 168-172 in Chapter 7 (Persia) and pages 231-237 in Chapter 10 (Greece).  You will want to take notes on these pages.  When we return, we'll dive into methods of governing city-states, Plato and the Matrix, and Alexander the Great.

US-China Relations--Party like it's 1999

The US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia was looked at through a case study today.  We discussed how Clinton boxed himself in by apologizing prematurely, and looked at how far the Chinese government sought to push the United States.  Tomorrow we'll examine the 2001 downing of a US spyplane and how that was resolved.

AP World--Hinduism and Zoroastrianism

Today we went over the basics of the Hindu faith as it emerges during the Classical era and compared it to Jainism and Buddhism.  Zarathustra's work in Persia was also described.  For homework take a look at page 225 in the textbook to see how numbers evolved into contemporary use.  Tomorrow we'll examine some of the architecture of the Persian Empire.

US China Relations--Taiwan

Today we looked at the three Taiwan Crises of the past.  We spent the most time looking at Lee Tung-hui's 1994 stopover in Hawaii and his 1995 visit to Cornell University, and the resultant Chinese actions in 1996 to try and sway the election results.

AP World Choices

Today we discussed the Four Noble Truths of Gautama and moderation as a means to attain Nirvana (or enlightenment). Tonight you have an opportunity and the gift of time to take advantage of it!  You may, if you wish, compose an essay in response to the question you did not write on the exam.  You will want to pay close attention to the construction of the thesis statement to include the time period; the fact that you only need one similarity and one difference; that you should have four pieces of evidence to support those; and don't forget to say why! Use the score guide on the test to help yourself out.  If you choose to re-write the essay, I will, when it is accompanied by the original test, re-score that section for a new grade.  If you choose not to write the essay, that's fine too.  Look at the amount of work you have to do, and make your choices.  The re-write and test are due at the start of class on Friday.  If you don't have the original test, I won't accept your essay! BE WARNED: the desire to get a better grade may cause you suffering...

AP World Suffering

We are now looking at the Indian philosophies/faiths that emerge in the Classical age.  Yesterday we looked at Jainism and its origins and today we examined the thought of Siddhartha Gautama.  Textbook readings on page 217-228 will help to inform you if you are having confusion.

US China relations--MFN and Clinton

Today we looked at Bill Clinton's handling of the Most Favorite Nation issue with the PRC in the aftermath of his election and Tiananmen Square.  Important to remember his stance on the "butchers of Beijing" during the campaign and how this shapes his perception of reality...Tonight read the speech he gave upon signing his executive order extending MFN to China for one year.  We'll talk about what he thinks he's doing vs. what he actually does by this action tomorrow.  Your mid-term will be on October 20, so plan ahead!  It will be during a long block, open book, open note...

AP World in Balance

Today in class we looked at Daoism directly from the DaoDeJing to explore how they view the world. It is a paradoxical place!  But one that provokes some thought if you allow yourself to pause and reflect a little.  Homework tonight takes us to India, so you are reading pages 207-217 (stop at the blue heading "Religions of Salvation in Classical India."  Again, we aren't going to be discussing this in class, so be sure you take the appropriate steps to remember the information for the test!

US China Relations

Today we looked at George HW Bush's interactions with China--particularly the sale of the F-16 to Taiwan and the response to Tiananmen Square.  We see Congress try to attach a quid pro quo to Most Favored Nation renewal and it falls apart.  For homework, read chapter 15 in Mann so we can see if Bill Clinton has any greater levels of success than Bush I...

AP World History Goes With the Flow

Over the weekend, do some deep thinking.  Visit this link about the Dao De Jing. 
Choose any four of the mini poems to read and understand. And by understand I mean effortlessly understand. Copy one of them down and bring it to class tomorrow along with your understanding of it. (this doesn't necessarily mean a written paragraph...find your own way to demonstrate understanding...) Then read pages 190-197.  We won't be talking about this in class...

US China Relations

Today we finished looking at the documentary the Tank Man.  It left us with the conditions in the factories in China, and introduced the notion of the 200 million floating population, both of which we will come back to in a bit.  If you want to check out the whole video, it is at this link. It might be useful for a future paper...Speaking of, don't forget the one that is due tomorrow...

AP World History

Confucianism everywhere.  We talked through the main components of Confucius' thoughts. Tonight you get to read through the book's point of view on the subject. Read pages 182-189 and we'll talk about Daoism tomorrow briefly before going to the computer lab to work on the project.

US-China Relations

Protests are things that we tend to take for granted in the US--after all the right to assemble is protected by the Constitution.  In China though, they are not allowed. We started watching the The Tank Man  video in class today.  Pay attention to the details of the US response to the events in Tiananmen Square.  We'll be talking about how the US responded and whether or not it was the "right one" to make.

Classical/Axial Age Thinkers Go To Starbucks

In groups, divide up the regions: Persia, India, China and Greece.  Each of you must take responsibility for becoming an expert on the thinkers described in that region by reading the appropriate section of the document.

One member of your group should create a Google Document that is shared among the four of you and me (twhittenburlington@gmail.com.)  Check the Sharing settings to be certain that all of us can both edit and view the document.  Once I have the invitation to the document, I will write the topic as the heading of the document.

The following modern dilemmas will be used as topics:

·      The American occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan

·      The current economic crisis in the U.S.

·      Global warming

·      The health care crisis

Develop a dialogue that illustrates how each one of these characters would react to or explain the modern dilemma. Make sure you are being true to each philosopher’s own unique nature.

This should be a dialogue, not a series of monologues, so make sure your characters are responding to one another.

Each character must “speak” at least five times. (And “I agree.” Doesn’t count as speaking…)

You may begin the discussion any way you like, but you should be sure to identify who you are, address your fellow group members in character and start the conversation about your modern dilemma. You can add stage directions also, that makes if more fun. For example:

Zoroaster: (Walks into Starbucks and orders a black, fire-roasted coffee with lots of foam)

“Hello there friends. Have you heard the news? President Obama is planning on taking troops out of Iraq and adding troops in Afghanistan. I applaud his attempts to maintain balance …"

This will be due (the document will be finished) by midnight on Friday, October 22^nd.  We will have performances of the skits beginning on Monday, October 25^th.

AP World Goes to Starbucks

So now that you are all set with Google Documents and how they can be used, we are going to start a project.  Read pages 143-147 in the reading "The Axial Age" article that was shared with you via This link You will then be set in groups to compose a play in which the axial age thinkers meet up at a starbucks to discuss a current problem facing the world...venti latte anyone?

AP World History

The homework for yesterday was to read the essay on pages 156 and 157 in the textbook that sets up the classical age...

US China Relations--Escalation?

As we started following the Chinese-Japanese dust-up over the fishing vessel, events continue to unfold.  Captain Crazypants is home in China, but the Chinese want an apology.  Japan wants China to pay for the damage to its vessels,...check out the article from the AP.  Things are going to get more interesting, and now the Russians are weighing in...

US-China Relations--The Tell

Today we looked at an article describing the current tension between China and Japan (article is here) to see how the notion of Quid Pro Quo is playing out in real time, and to explore how countries determine a rival's "tell."  As you work on your paper, you might be interested to look at this page, as it gives a pretty good description of the Chinese government.  Of course, if you do use it, or any other source, don't forget to include a bibliography!  The homework for tomorrow is to read Chapter 7 and think about why it is called "Reagan and the Golden Years."

Compare and contrast AP World History with...

Today we had fun with Venn Diagrams as a way to view comparisons and contrasts.  The blog Indexed is a fun way to think about simplification of complex topics (and it's funny, too!) As you are reviewing, you can find the Mesoamerica and Oceania PPT I used in class here, and the score sheet for the AP's Compare and Contrast essay format is here.  Remember that the test Tuesdsay will cover chapters 4, 5, and 6, so target your studying on India, China, Mesoamerica and Oceania!  The homework for tonight is to make Pocket Maps (small maps of the regions incorporating bodies of water, cities and empires) for Mesoamerica and for Oceania, and to spend some time thinking about childhood games we can adapt for review purposes.

US China Relations

Google may be out of China, but we'll get Google to work for us...You should be mindful of the upcoming paper deadline of October 1 for the first paper.  Here's a map that might be interesting to contemplate as you put that paper together...population density map of China.

AP World: Meso-America and Oceania

Today we suffered death by PowerPoint and ran through the information about the formation of complex societies in our hemisphere and in the Pacific ocean.  The homework is to create a chart that shows similarities between Mesoamerica and __________ (society of your choosing) and Oceania and _______________ (society of your choosing), and bring that chart with you to class tomorrow.

US China Relations

Today we reviewed the history of China's economy from the end of WWII to  Deng Xiaoping's rise to power. The homework is to read chapter 6 if you have not done so already. Chinese students in the US was raised as a point of interest, and the following article is a bit old, but still contains some good information about Chinese students coming to the US to study today, a practice begun under the Carter Administration, that the Obama administration is further promoting. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-08-1Achinesestudents08_CV_N.htm

AP World: A soul-ful discussion

Today we discussed the conceptions of the soul/afterlife for Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India, and charted them for similarities and differences.  The homework for tonight is to read page 152 in the textbook and write up a paragraph in answer to the italicized question at the bottom of the page. Email your paragraph to me as either an attachment or just as a regular email.  If you are interested in how the Mayan Calendar works and how the world will end, you can check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZIfyXc8RWk (just for fun.  The description of the calendar and how it works is accurate--from a TimeLife video--the context in which it is placed is not!)

An interesting link

Going off of the Guns, Germs and Steel reading that all of AP World read, this article is about a Stanford professor who is going in a slightly different direction with the argument.  Check it out! http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/september/morris-west-rules-091410.html

Day 1 of the blog

Welcome to Mr. Whitten's blog! This will be a place where I will post homework assignments for the various classes I teach, share information that I think will help you with your understanding of what we discuss in class, and offer any additional commentary on what's happening in class.  So check in if you need to know what's going on.