Homework over the vacation

Over the vacation, you are to read Chapter 18 in the textbook.

You also should take some time to work on your character in the Mongol Trial! We will have a few days to work once we get back, but there won't be a lot of time...

You also have the vacation book/film project to complete over vacation.  The information on what to do is linked up here.  It is the same list as last time for acceptable books and films!  Anything not on the list already needs to be approved by me ahead of time.  And by that I mean you should not be sending me an email on January 1 saying "I'm going to watch 300, is that ok?"  I cannot guarantee that I will see your email in time to reply, so take care of this sooner, not later!

Genghis Khan

Your first task in assessing the Mongols is to consider Genghis Khan.  Based on what you've seen in the Biography, do you consider him to be merely a leader who does whatever needs doing to achieve his goals, or is he more toward the sociopathic/psychopathic end of the spectrum of human behavior?

Post your thoughts on your blog and bear them in mind as we begin to examine the Mongols and their impact on the greater world...

Mongols!

We are going to be spending a little time with everyone's favorite world-dominating nomads, the Mongols, in the time leading up to vacation, and when we come back, we will be putting them on trial for various crimes against humanity.

The handouts for the trial (all the information) is linked up below:
Overall description
The process of the trial
What the Witnesses do
What the Lawyers do
The score guide for the trial
The rubric for the project

The videos we will watch parts of in class are all available on YouTube:
World Conquerors,
Tartar Crusaders
Khan of Khans

Also in the series, but not one we watched is the video Mongol Hordes: Birth of An Empire. We watched the A&E Biography of Genghis Khan, which is available on DVD in the school library.

Homework for December 12

For tonight, read pages 450-454 (finish the chapter.)  We will play a review game tomorrow for the test on Monday.  The test will cover chapters 13-17 inclusive, and will be made up of 70 multiple choice questions.

Homework for December 10

For tonight, read pages 444-449. On page 448 is an excerpt of "Life on a Manor." Read that and post an answer to the italicized question on your blog.

To cycle back to Diamond and one of his arguments, check out http://goo.gl/wgzawx. An interesting way to look at people and their adaptation to the world around them. For better or worse.

Southernization Homework

For this weekend, you should read the article linked up here entitled "Southernization" by Lynda Shaffer.  There is a subsequent article by John O Voll, however, don't read that yet.

When you open the reading up, I strongly encourage you to open it in Notability or some other app that allows you to mark it up. The reading is a little dense, and you'll want to have the ability to highlight and/or take some notes as you read it to keep track of her argument.  We will discuss it on Monday, and in that discussion I will expect you to be able to articulate her argument, the support she provides for her position and then evaluate it for validity and take a position on whether or not you agree with her. We will then take a look at Voll's response, and do the same thing.

Homework for December 4

First of all, here's a link to the presentation today about the COT essay.  We will be writing one in class on Friday.  It will be about either China or India (one of the themes of the course as seen in those regions) and will be looking at the classical and post classical eras.

Please read pages 418-428 in the textbook.  There is material there that is fair game for the essay, so be sure to pay attention while you are reading!

At the moment, I am looking at a test on Monday, December 16th.  It will be on the Post-Classical era, so chapters 13-17. We will be looking at only a part of chapter 17 next week.  We will review on Friday, Dec. 13th.  If Monday proves to be too full with other tests, let me know and I can move it to Tuesday.

Homework for December 3

For tonight, read pages 410-418 in the textbook.  We will have a quiz tomorrow!

Homework for December 2

For tonight, read pages 405-410 in the textbook.

We will have a quiz on Wednesday on the names and terms from chapter 15.  It will be the same format as the last quiz: two names/terms, write an identification for each and then give an explanation for how the terms are connected.

On Friday we will have an in class Change Over Time essay.  The score guide is linked up here.  It will be possible to re-write the essay, following the "regular" procedures. (wait 24 hours, then talk with me and complete the essay within 3 days of our conversation for an averaged mark.)

Blogger hate me...

no more!

Think I have it figured out folks; apologies for the confusion.  There should be a post about the vacation project for you to look at that contains the links as well.  For tonight, finish up the chapter, pages 397-400.

And enjoy the fact that you have completed 15 chapters! Not to shabby...

Thanksgiving Break Book Project

Over each vacation in this class, you are required to complete a book/film project. The format of the project is unchanging each vacation, so feel free to plan ahead and read whenever you have the time.

The description of the book report is linked up here. Remember, you can substitute the word "book" with the word "film." You may do up to 2 fictional books, and 1 non-fiction and 1 fictional film. You must get the film approved by me ahead of time. A blanket rule: No Disney!

The rubric I'll use to score the project is linked up here.  Pay attention to the difference between "meeting expectations" and "exceeding expectations!"

The list of books and films is linked up here.  You may use another book that is not on the list, but you must have it approved first before you submit the project.  Likewise, you must also have approval for your film if you choose to go that route.  An email conversation is sufficient for attaining approval.

Homework for November 20

Note: Sorry folks. I didn't hit post...

For tonight, read pages 375-383. We'll talk about the contents more tomorrow, and whether getting a preview (albeit brief and incomplete) helped or not.

Homework for the weekend of November 15

Over the weekend, there is a portion of the text to re-read, and two selections from the Sufi philosopher al-Ghazali to read.

You should re-read pages 365-368, in the section about Islamic Values and Cultural Exchanges. Pay close attention to what a Sufi is!  Then after you have read that, move on to the next step, two readings from al-Ghazali, a prominent Sufi philosopher and theologian. (Whose name is also spelled Al-Ghazzali by some translators...)

The first selection is On the Separation of Mathematics and Religion, and the second is his Deliverance From Error. Read all of the first selection, Math and Religion, and answer the two questions about the reading on your blog.  The second selection is the whole document, but I want you only to read paragraphs 1-17. (feel free to read more if you like; he's very interesting!)  On your blog, answer this question: In what ways are al-Ghazali's work like Plato's Allegory of the Cave, and where do they diverge? (the link is there in case you want to remind yourself of what Plato was writing about...)

We will be wrapping up chapter 14, so I'm anticipating another quiz on the names/terms Wednesday. We will look at the new essay score guide on Monday.

Homework November 13

Tonight, read pages 359-370 in the textbook. If you didn't get the homework over the weekend, it was to read page 350 and then answer the question in italics at the bottom of the page.

Homework for November 7

For tonight, read pages 345-352, about the creation and spread of Islam.

Tomorrow we will have a short quiz consisting of 5 terms/names. You must write an identification of the term/name that consists of two sentences. The first identifies the term/name and the second explains its significance to the Byzantine empire.

For example:

Bezant: This is the unit of currency in the Byzantine empire. It is significant because it becomes the standard unit of currency in the Mediterranean region, representing the extent of trade done by the Byzantine empire in that region.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Hi Folks-

Please tell your parents that if they would like to schedule an appointment for parent teacher conferences on November 12, they should use the link below to sign up on the spreadsheet. You are welcome to attend the conference as well, since, after all, we are talking about you.

Appointments are first come, first served, and are only in the times outlined on the spreadsheet.  There are drop in hours on Thursday the 14th in the evening if nothing works during the day.

Conference Appointments

Homework for November 5

First, read pages 325-330 in the textbook.

Then read the selection of Justinian's code linked up here (we saw it in class today). On your blog, post answers to the following questions:
          1) What is the role of women in the Byzantine Empire? How do you know?
          2) Why does Justinian's background matter when reading this document?

homework for November 4

Ah, wifi...whither goest thou?

For tonight, please read the two excerpts of Justinian's Corpus Iuris Civilis that are linked up here, and then here.  Please make sure that you can access them tomorrow in the event that we don't have wifi!

Homework for the weekend of November 1

Don't forget to set your clocks back!

Read pages 317-325. Looking at Byzantium, or how Rome survives in the East...

Happy Halloween!

For tonight, read pages 308-310 and the essay on pages 314-315

pre-halloween stuff

For tomorrow, prepare for the quiz on chapter 12. There will be 20 multiple choice questions.

For Halloween, you may dress up!
1) Come in lame costume of some type and get 1 point. ("I'm wearing a Red Sox hat: I'm Dustin Pedroia!")

2) Come in a good costume of some type and get 2 points ("I've got a hat, beard and jersey! I'm Dustin Pedroia!")

3) Come in costume as a historical figure and get 3 points. ("I've got a beard, crown, toga-ish dress and strappy sandals! I'm Cleopatra!")

Costumes should cost as little as possible (read: do not go out and buy/rent some elaborate get up!), not include overt weaponry, (read: even if the person used a weapon, leave it at home...)  and be school appropriate (read: Don't do the following: "I'm only wearing a carpet! I'm Cleopatra when she met Julius Caesar!")

Tonight, watch this 20 minute video on Attila the Hun.

In class, October 29

Sorry to not be with you guys today.

In class I'd like you to spend some time working with the collapse of the Roman Empire (Western; the Eastern half continues.)  As said in class yesterday, you can generally group the causes into internal and external, and you all have the textbook's account of what happened in chapter 12.

Today, let's take a look at everyone's favorite first Google hit, wikipedia.  You can search for "Decline of the Roman Empire," in Wikipanion (if you have that app) or you can just click the link to get you to the entry that deals with the topic.  Wikipedia presents you with probably more information than you need, so you can skim through much of the entry.  What I'd like you to do is look at the section entitled "Highlights" first to refresh your memory of what happened as the empire was collapsing.

Then focus in on Theories of a Fall, Decline, Transition and Continuity. The collective hive mind of wikipedia says there are four main groupings of thought on causation: Decay, Monocausal, Catastrophic collapse, and Transformation.

In groups, read the Highlights and then the selection assigned to you (below). Discuss it in your group and come to consensus about what the theory is. On your blog for homework, post whether or not you agree with the cause as it is described in Wikipedia, and offer evidence that supports or refutes the theory.

The groups:
Last names B-K (inclusive) take Decay.
Last names L-Patel, J (Inclusive) take Monocausal
Last names Patel, T-R (inclusive) take Catastrophic collapse
Last names S-T take Transformation

Homework for October 28

For tonight, creep on each other's blogs. ;)

Look at how your classmates composed their Venn Diagrams to show the similarities and differences of the end of the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty.  The protopage containing the blog posts for the class is located here.

Homework for the weekend of October 26

This weekend you will need to download the app Venn Diagram onto your iPad if you were not able to do so in class today.

Read pages 302-308 about the collapse of the Roman empire and the Han Dynasty.  As you read, create a venn diagram in the app in which you compare and contrast the underlying causes of the collapse.

I do not believe that you can export the final product to anything other than email, so once you have completed the venn diagram, screenshot it and post the image to your blog.

There is an annual tradition in AP World to dress up for Halloween for extra credit points on the next quiz.  The rules are simple:

1) Come in lame costume of some type and get 1 point. (I'm wearing a Red Sox hat: I'm Dustin Pedroia!)

2) Come in a good costume of some type and get 2 points (I've got a hat, beard and jersey! I'm Dustin Pedroia!)

3) Come in costume as a historical figure and get 3 points. (I've got a beard, crown, toga-ish dress and strappy sandals! I'm Cleopatra!)

costumes should cost as little as possible (read: do not go out and buy/rent some elaborate get up!), not include overt weaponry, (read: even if the person used a weapon, leave it at home...)  and be school appropriate (read: Don't do the following: I'm only wearing a carpet! I'm Cleopatra when she met Julius Caesar!)

The quiz will be on Halloween day and will cover the contents of chapter 12.

Homework for October 24, Silk Route readings

For tonight, read pages 294-302 in the textbook.  We covered lots of this in class, so treat it as supplemental to today's notes.

Silk Road In class activity

Tonight, on your blog, reflect on the simulation.

First, on the meta level: What did you come to understand about the Silk Road from doing it? Do you think the Silk Road was a benefit to or did it detract from the societies that participated in it?

Then think about it on a more practical level: Think about the simulation itself.  Did this work for you? Why/Not? What were the pros and cons of learning about the Silk Road this way? What more do you want to know having worked with the information in this manner? Should we do this again?

re-post of homework

Hi folks-

Sorry, this didn't post for some reason, so we will slide it one day.

For Tuesday night, October 22, read pages  287-294 in the textbook. Now that we have empires in place, we'll start looking at how they trade with each other.

Homework for October 17

For tonight, you should prepare for the essay tomorrow. It will be a compare and contrast essay and the topic will be political systems/state building.  We will have 45 minutes to write the essay, and then we will have some time to review for the test after that is done.

Homework for October 15

For tonight, finish reading Chapter 11.  And be sure to spend some time reviewing the past chapters and working on your review charts/diagrams!  You have a test coming next Monday, and a compare and contrast essay coming on Friday, the topic of which will be Politics.

Roman City. For the long weekend...

For the weekend, read pages 265-271.

Watch the video Roman City, linked up here. Enjoy the cartoon, and don't be frightened by the scary druids...The host's sweet 90s mustache will keep you safe...

Respond to the prompts about the video linked up here on your blog.

Next week, we will have an in-class essay on Friday, compare and contrast, the topic will be politics.  On Monday we will have a test on the Classical Era, chapters 7 (Persia) - 11 (Rome) inclusive. It will consist of 70 multiple choice questions. I'd suggest going back over the weekend and updating the charts/webs you started to organize the information if you haven't been doing so...

Be sure to pay tribute to genocidal, avaricious European "explorers" on Monday...

Homework for 10/10 Roman Republic to Roman Empire

Today in class we looked at some documents that are connected to why Rome changed from being a republic to becoming an empire.  Below are the Storified tweets that you all wrote about each document.  Look over each collection to see what your peers had to say about the documents (which are linked up after each Storify).

Storify 1 #reptoemp1: The Twelve Tables

Storify 2 #reptoemp2: Republican Government Structure

Storify 3 #reptoemp3: Murder of Tiberius Gracchus

Storify 4 #reptoemp4: Life in the Late Republic

Storify 5 #reptoemp5: Maps

Then, on your own blog, write one thing that you can say that you know (that is, you are 100% certain) about why Rome made this transition. This can be one sentence if you wish. After that, write what you want to know, or feel you need to know in order to explain why this change happened; what parts of the story did you miss?

Homework for October 9: The Roman Republic (be sure to roll the R's...)

FOr tonight, read pages 259-264 about the early Roman Republic.

You will need to have a device that can scan QR codes tomorrow, and you will be using twitter, so be sure that your account is either open to the public or set up an account for AP World.

Homework October 8

If you have not done so already, make sure you share your google doc with me for your project topic!

For tonight, you should be working on your project and preparing for the Compare and Contrast in class essay tomorrow.  The topic of the essay will be drawn from religions/philosophies of the Classical Age in the regions we've been discussing.  Look back at the scoring guide and be sure you remember what you have to do in the essay!

You will need to write the essay in blue or black ink, so come prepared to do so.

Project info

The project description is linked up here

The groups are linked up here.

The reading is linked up here.

Sorry that this was a little rushed in class today.  There are 5-ish of you in each group, and there are four regions we will be looking at, so there will be one region that pulls two philosophers into the dialog. You should divide the regions amongst you so that each of you takes responsibility for one region.

Tonight, read your section of the reading. One of you should start a google document from your home computer and share it with the rest of the group and with me.  Tomorrow you should decide who is going to be which philosopher, I will give you your topic, and you can then start the dialog.

in class, October 4

Hi Folks-

Sorry to not be with you today!  While I'm gone, your task is to create two maps.  The first map should be for the Aegean Sea region, so a close up of Greece and Turkey.  The second map should be of all of Alexander's conquests, so from Greece through India.  On that map, include the route he took on his conquests. Paper for the maps are in the front of the room on the table, by the projector.

For homework over the weekend, you are to read the article written by William McNeill (no relation to our Math Department Chair that I know of...) about India and Greece linked up here. As you read, you should answer the questions that are linked up here. You can post the answers on your blog.

If you finish the maps, you can get started on the homework!

homework--Alexander the Great

For tonight, watch the clips from In the Footsteps of Alexander the great listed below (the numbers are the minutes in the video when you should start watching--should be around 45 minutes in total).  On your blog, post a response to what you watch: Does Alexander deserve to be called "The Great?" Why or why not?

Part 2 "Lord of Asia"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJnuMBZnAbQ

2:00-8:00 In Iraq, on the plane with the Brits

28:26-34:00ish Persepolis burns

43:53-47:40 death of Darius

Part 3 Across the Hindu Kush

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=277cyzL5nLc

It opens in Kabul, which shows what the city looked like before the US invasion...not pretty. And they go to the equivalent of the MFA in Kabul, and that’s upsetting...

7:00 Hindu Kush upward to 11:00 Gives a good look at the terrain, and once again, car trouble...

18:37 Woods finds the root plant and tries to eat it, through the gunfire of bandits and the summit 23:00—nothing stopped him, nothing put him off…

36:30-38:30 Bessus captured, Alexandria the farthermost founded.

45:00-47:30 Cleitus' death

52:00 Marry Roxanne-declaration of worship as a god, Persian style. Assassination attempt, and falling out with Calisthenes 57:30

Part 4 "To the Ends of the Earth"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5HzkRO8TGA

32:30-36:30 on the wall

46:00 final march begins 48:30 water dumping incident

last five minutes of fourth disc: 50-55 minutes Death of Alexander in Babylon

The reality of homework

For tonight, your reality must encompass reading. Pages 245-254 in fact...

Reality Bites, October 1

For tonight, read pages 237-245.

Come in tomorrow prepared to prove to me that you are real...

Good luck with that! :)

Homework for September 30

Cheerful stuff, but read page 250 in the textbook and the description of the Death of Socrates.  We will talk more about who he was and what he did tomorrow.

Homework for the weekend of September 27--Going to the Cave

For this weekend, you are to read the selection of Plato's The Republic, which was shared with you via your school email and is linked up here.

It is not an easy read, and I expect you will have to read it closely a couple of times before it starts to really make sense.  Puzzle over it a bit, and be ready to talk about it in class on Monday!

Greece is the Word!

We are leaving India and heading to the Mediterranean Sea...Classical Greece!  We won't be here long...

For tonight, read pages 231-237.

Indian Religion Vocabulary

Consolidating what we did in class yesterday, I've pulled the tweets and images together from the #apwvocab and put them in a Storify.com story.

The link to the story is: http://sfy.co/gSHx.  Enjoy!

Homework September 25: Hinduism and Zero

Tonight read about the formation of Hinduism pages 224-228.

On page 225, read the selection about numbers. On your blog explain why these "Arabic" numerals are so important. Be brief!

On page 227, Read the selection from the Bhagavad Gita and answer the question in italics.  You don't have to answer it as a paragraph, if you can think of another way to deal with the question, feel free!

Homework for September 24th--Indian Religions of Salvation

For tonight, read pages 217-221, about the formation of Jainism and Buddhism.  We will be spending some time discussing this in class.

Also, you will need to have a Twitter account for the activity we do tomorrow, so if you don't already have one, please set one up before coming to class tomorrow.

homework for Sept 23

Update:

Sorry, this post apparently just hung and never posted!


The homework for tonight is to read pages 207-213 in the textbook; Classical Indian politics is the topic.

Homework over the weekend--Prevent the empire from collapsing...

Over the weekend, you are to post on your blog how you would prevent the Han Empire from collapsing.  When and how would you intervene?  What problems were there and how would you solve them?

Once you have posted your solution, look at the blogs of the other people in your group and discuss their plan. Try to convince them that your solutions are the best, or affirm the decisions that they made. You can find everyone's blog at: http://www.protopage.com/twhittenburlington#Blog_posts/Class_Blogs

We will briefly discuss the collapse of the Han on Monday, and then we are off to India for more philosophies and fun...

Homework for September 19-Han Dynasty

For tonight, read pages 193-203 in the textbook about the rise of the Han Dynasty.

Readings for September 18

For tonight, read pages 186-193 in the textbook.

We will be looking at Legalism and the Qin Dynasty tomorrow in class.  An example of Legalist thought is linked up here. Take a look and we'll discuss it a bit more if you have questions tomorrow.

Daoism...what the what?

For tonight, take a look at the selections from the Dao De Jing that were shared with you in class today and are linked up here.  Read #s 1, 2, 8, 11, 12 until you feel you understand them. If you understand them after only one reading, you are probably not doing it right. These are meant to be obscure, paradoxical and provocative. So read them a couple of times.

Once you think you get them, come up with one sentence that describes what Daoism is all about, and post it on your blog.

Confucianism: What is it?

Over the weekend, do the following:

Learn that the name is spelled: C-O-N-F-U-C-I-U-S.

A person who follows this philosophy is a: Confucian. Many of them are: Confucians

The name for the philosophy is: Confucianism.

Then, you will need to have the iBooks app on your iPad.

Go to the iBooks store (also a part of iTunes)

Search for the iBook: The Chinese Classics--Volume 1: Confucian Analects by James Legge and download it. (It is free, but you will need to have an iTunes account, which is also free to get.)

Read Books 1 and 2.  Skim another book of your choice.  On your blog, post the following:

1) Is this a religion or not?  Why do you think so?
2) Does this reading support the idea that people are born good/bad/neutral? Refer to three examples (using the book, section and line number as the citations) that support your point of view.

Homework for Thursday, Sept 12--Let's ask Map! Can you say "Map?"

Thanks, Dora...

Today in class all of you got a piece of paper that looks like this :

Your task tonight is to take the two maps of Persia in chapter 7 of the textbook, and compile them into one hand-drawn (freehand) map that fits on this piece of paper. Once you have drawn the map, upload a picture of it into your blog and tag/label it with "Persia" and "Map." (This will help you later when you are trying to find your posts about different topics to help you study.  You should always tag your blog posts. Last night's should get tags like: religions, ancient society, Zoroastrianism, etc.) You aren't being graded on your artistic ability, nor do I expect you to be a cartographer.  I'm looking for you to get the general location of the empires, the names of major cities, regions, and rivers, and the Royal Road's location and span. It should be neat and legible, but does not need to be ready for publication by Rand McNally...

Your essay re-writes are due at the start of class on Monday.  You may type the re-write or hand write it, either is fine.  You may use the book, notes, etc. when you re-write. When you hand in the re-write, it must be accompanied by the original essay and question sheet.  Be mindful of the fact that a re-write doesn't mean re-copy, it means start it again. Most of you don't have much to work from anyway, but since you will be changing your thesis, evidence that you used before may or may not be relevant again!  Follow the score guide, and look over what we talked about today!  The presentation is linked up here if you want to review it while you write.

Homework for September 11

For tonight read page 176 in the textbook and answer the italicized question written at the bottom of the selection and post the answer on your blog.

Tomorrow we will wrap up Persia and move on to China!

Thus Spake Zoroaster

For tonight's homework, read pages 168-178. We went through the early pages of the reading in class, so you can skim the sections on the economy and imperial society, and we will talk about the religion that forms in class tomorrow.

Off to Persia

For homework tonight, complete the History Head Project by posting your comments on another's blog. (see the assignment sheet linked up here for details.)

Then read pages 159-168 about Persia. We will talk about it tomorrow.

History Head Project--Engage!

Today we began the History Head project. You have each been assigned to a group with a region as a focus. (regions are repeated, by the way, so there are groups that are working on the same region.) The description of the project is linked up here.

The five themes of the course are linked up here.

The rubric for the project is linked up here.  Please note that in order to score a 4, you must exceed my stated expectations!

The project is due on Monday, September 9th at the start of class. Please have your image of the head posted on your blog by that time. We will do the gallery walk that day and move on to part two for homework that night.

Tomorrow we will write the in-class compare and contrast essay. We will not have time to work on this project in class tomorrow, so it is to be done on your own for homework.

Essay information for Friday

OK, the first test is now history! Tomorrow you will have an assembly that will take most of the period. When you make it to class, I will introduce the first project to you, which will be due on Monday. The description of the project will be posted in tomorrow's blog post, and documents will be shared with you via your school email.

On Friday you will write an essay during class.  The style will be Compare and Contrast and the topic will be drawn from Chapters 1-6.

You should look over the scoring guide that the College Board uses for this style of essay.  It is linked up here.

You will need to write the essay in either blue or black ink.  Lined paper will be provided for you.  You may not use any notes, outlines or materials existing outside of the contents of your brain to compose the essay.

And for those of you who haven't done so, I need your blog addresses emailed to me ASAP. I am compiling them and will be sharing a link with you for the page with the addresses in the next day or so.

For homework tonight, write a reflection on the test. How was it? Were there types of questions you found hard or easy? Was it what you expected? better? worse? Now that you've seen one, what will you do to prepare for the next test?

The joy of AP: A test on day 2!

Welcome back to school!

Tomorrow (Wednesday) you will be taking a test. It will consist of 70 multiple choice questions.  The questions will be drawn from Chapters 1-6 of the textbook.  You will have 45 minutes to complete the test, and you will need to have a #2 pencil.  I will not be providing pencils. That's up to you.

On Friday you will be writing an in-class essay in the Compare and Contrast format. It will also be drawn from chapters 1-6. The scoring guide will be linked in tomorrow night's post for your review.

Both of these serve to tell me more about you and what help you will need as we go forward in the class; they are not happening because I'm mean. Mostly...

And to see the course prospectus and expectations, you should click the link here.

A copy of the letter I've emailed to your parents is linked up here.

AP World Summer Assignment

Any student taking either section of AP World in the fall of 2013 needs to complete the following work before starting the class:

1) Read the first 6 chapters of the textbook Traditions and Encounters, by Bentley and Ziegler.  That's chapters 1-6 inclusive.  There will be a 70 question multiple choice test on that material on the second day of school, and a compare and contrast essay from that material on the third day of school.  The scoring guide for the compare and contrast essay is linked up here.

2) Students must download the app Subtext onto their iPads.  Once they have it downloaded, an electronic copy of the book Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond will be transmitted to them and they will be invited to join the discussion group AP World History (the members code is TANGRXOS). For students who pre-registered for the course, the book will be shared with you.  If you are adding the course over the summer, students must email me at whitten@bpsk12.org and I will facilitate the book's delivery.  Subtext allows us to have a discussion about the book as a large group, so for each chapter there are discussion prompts within the book.  The prompts need to be completed by August 25th at midnight.

End of the year details

Our final exam will be on Thursday.  The "exam" will consist of a silent, written conversation about the role of the individual in world history.  You will be paired with a classmate and given big paper and a marker and a question.  Your task is to have a silent, written conversation about the topic.  In that conversation, you each must correctly and accurately reference 5 (five) leaders from the May Madness tournament as helping to prove the point you are trying to make.  If you correctly and accurately reference 5 leaders, you get an A.  4 leaders gets you a B, 3 gets you a C, 2 gets you a D, and if you only reference 1, you fail.

In order for your final grade to be processed, you must return your textbook and guns germs and steel on Thursday.  The replacement cost for Bentley and Ziegler is $65.  The replacement cost for GG&S is $10.  Don't forget!

Good luck with the rest of your exams!

Class Championship time

Class Championships

This round of the debate will feature a Lincoln-Douglas style of interaction.  The two leaders will face off and address questions from a moderator (me).  They can tag a lackey into the debate, but may only do so once.  They may also “phone a friend” once, which means they may ask a specific lackey to help them answer a question, but the leader him/herself has to answer it, and they may ask for a hint once from a specific lackey they have chosen. (So that’s one tag-in, one phone-a-friend and one hint. These do not have to be used!)

Questions will be asked by the moderator, and from the audience through the moderator.  The audience may ask a question via sticky note, which means that they may write and submit a question to the moderator who will then screen the questions to determine which will be asked.  

There will be a total of 5 questions asked, for a total of 5 rounds.

After each question, first one, then the other leader will have the chance to provide an answer.  After both have answered, there is a period of rebuttal, where the leader may address his/her counterpart, challenging the answer or the leader’s position.

The audience will score the debate.  Lackeys who answer in place of the leader are to be considered the leader for the duration of that answer. Once the answer/rebuttal period is up, the leader resumes his or her place in the debate. For the leader to return prior to that, he or she must be tagged by the lackey to resume the debate.

Scoring will follow boxing’s 10 Point Must System, whereby the winner of each round must have 10 points.  The loser may get up to 9 points in the estimation of the judge. Usually the loser scores between 7-9 points, unless something egregious happens.  For instance, the McSweeny rule could be akin to a knock out, where no points are awarded. The score sheet is linked up here

For this round, a visual and a prop are required only for the leader.  To be clear: a visual can be any two-dimensional representation of something relevant to the ruler, a prop is a three-dimensional representation of something relevant to the ruler. These will be scored under the 10 Point Must System as well.  Costumes are optional, and are not scored. Lackeys do not have to dress up at all, nor do they need a prop.

Round three!

The third round begins now!

This round features questions from the lackeys.  Each ruler has 5-6 lackeys at this point.  He or she will face three (3) pre-discussed, known, friendly questions designed to highlight why the leader is so great.  The leader will then face three (3) unknown, hostile questions designed to detract from his or her greatness.  No topic is off limits, but as before, the questions are not to catch a leader for not knowing minutia. (no questions about the middle names of harem members...)

The first segment will focus on the friendly questions and the second will focus on the hostile questions.

This round requires the use of some visual--a map, a portrait, a two dimensional representation of something.  Rulers may gain a small amount of points for having either a costume (an article of clothing/something worn i.e.: a crown/hat) and/or a prop (a three dimensional object related to his or her rule/life/actions.

This round will begin on Wednesday June 12.

May Madness Update

We are done with the first round!

In the second round, the focus is on the legacy of the rulers.  The rulers have a choice to make: they can incorporate their lackey's legacies or they can focus only on their own legacy.  Each ruler will have three minutes to present on the topic of legacy.  If they wish to incorporate lackeys, then the lackey must come up and speak.  If not, then the ruler is on his or her own.

If lackeys do come up to speak, then they become fair game for the opposing ruler to attack in the second portion, where questions are asked.  If lackeys do not come up to speak, then their legacies are not a part of the questioning; opponents may only talk about or question the ruler's legacy.

Period 3 will have only one set go tomorrow: Emperor Meiji vs. Genghis Khan.  They will start after the class has 25 minutes to work. The remaining three sets: Deng Xiaoping vs. Ho Chi Minh; Victoria vs. Akbar; and Fidel vs. Catherine will go on Friday.

Period 4 will begin with Alexander the Great vs. Napoleon, then Augustus vs. Qin Shi Huangdi, then Charlemagne vs. Mansa Musa and finally Tokugawa vs. Kwame Nkruma.

Remember, the goal of all of this is to help you think about what makes a leader great, and what traits or qualities cause people to shape or influence the path of history.

May Madness Update!

In Period 3, the second round is developing.  Thus far, we will have:

Emperor Meiji vs. Genghis Khan
Deng won by forfeit again
Queen Victoria def. Empress CiXi

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will have:
Mao vs. Akbar (to face Queen Victoria)
Fidel vs. Suleyman (to face the winner below)
Catherine vs. Cyrus (to face the winner above)
Ho vs. Gandhi (to face Deng)

In Period 4 in the second round we will have:
Augustus vs. Qin Shi Huang Di
Alexander vs. Napoleon
Charlemagne vs. Mansa Musa
and we await the results of Tang vs. Kwame to see who will go against Tokugawa.

The second round is all about legacy. The score card is linked up here, and we will review it tomorrow.
In the second round, lackeys can be used.  The lackey score sheet is linked up here. You can either print it up, or submit it to me electronically via the google form linked up here.

Modifying the schedule, we will have the Second Round begin on Thursday the 6th, and the Third Round (minion questions) will be on Monday the 10th.

May Madness update

We are almost done with the first round!  Results by period:

Period 3
Marcus Aurelius def. FDR
Ismail def. Chandragupta
Akbar def. Hong Xiuquan
Empress Cixi def. Ataturk

Coming on Monday:
Mao vs. Akbar
Aurelius vs. Genghis Khan
Catherine vs. Cyrus
Gandhi vs. Ho Chi Minh


On Tuesday:
Queen Victoria vs. Empress CiXi
Mutsuhito/Meiji vs. Ismail
Suleyman the Magnificent vs. Fidel Castro
Stalin vs. Deng Xiaoping

Period 4
Tokugawa def. Queen Elizabeth
Charlemagne def. Ashoka
Qin Shi Huangdi def. Justinian
Han Wudi vs. Napoleon paused until Monday

Coming on Monday:
Bolivar vs. Alexander the Great
Toussaint L'overture vs. Augustus
Jomo Kenyatta vs. Mansa Musa
Kwame Nkruma vs. Tang Taizong

May madness update, may 30

The scoring form for the first round of May Madness: You can download the form by clicking on the link here.

May Madness stuff

It's time for May Madness, the role-playing competition that determines who the greatest leader in world history is, was, and ever will be!  Helpful links for you are below:

The description of the project is linked up here.

The description of the different rounds is linked up here.

The rubric for the bibliography is linked up here.

The rubric for the Explain Everything project is linked up here.

The scorecard for Round One is located at: https://docs.google.com/a/bpsk12.org/forms/d/1hKIR8xBEb85V6xrDfPbRXIPhpKaGUGg4HsKKVw3ykqI/viewform

Deadlines:

Biography is due May 28th

Explain Everything is due May 24th

The First Round will begin May 30th, and away we go!

Post exam

Congratulations on completing the AP Exam!  I hope it was all you dreamed about and more...

I'm pretty sure that with all the field trips today I will not be seeing any of you in class, so we will kick off May Madness on Monday.

In order to do that, you will need to have an app on your iPads that is paid, so I will be supplying it. (well, the school will be supplying it, really.) So to that end, please make sure you have your iPad in class, charged and ready to go, even if you normally use your phone.

I hope that most of you have a great time with Jay Gatsby.  I hear he's a bit of a problem child...

The rest of you, please make sure that the laws of physics still work.  We're all concerned...

And the remainder, perform well at 6 Flags.  Remember that people go there for the music...

Review Assignment

This project is pretty simple in conception.  You are going to work in groups to create a timeline of events/people organized by the themes of the class.  The timeline will encompass all the time periods of the course, from 4000 BCE through to 2000 CE.

You will be broken into teams of students based on the themes of the course. I will take care of the first theme.  I will generate a google document for each theme, and share it with teams from each period.  As a team, you are to go through each time period (listed on the board and on the Google Document) and come up with items to be placed on the timeline.  Each theme has its own color scheme, and there are markers/pencils designated as such on the table.  Each theme also has a designated location (indicated by the theme itself) on the timeline.  The timeline itself is posted on the walls in the alcove outside the classroom, as it won’t fit inside the classroom.

You are to generate a list first by brainstorming, which means you are to write down everything you think of as being relevant/important without trying to filter them for importance.

Those items you brainstormed then need to be curated. This means that

you are to go through and collectively determine what you think are the most likely events/topics/people who will show up on the exam, and then place those items on the timeline.

 Next to each time period in the Google Doc is a percentage.  That percentage represents how much of the multiple choice section of the exam is given to that time period.  So 15% of the 70 total questions are from 600 BCE - 600 CE.  In other words there are 10 or 11 questions on the test that are drawn from that time period. This information means you are to determine no more than 11 items for the timeline for that period. So winnow your list to those 11. You will have Monday and Tuesday's classes to complete this process.

Each team will be presented with a folder that contains several pages of small icons that represent the different geographic regions. When you put an event/topic on the timeline, it must be accompanied by the appropriate geographic location icon, so you will need to cut those out and tape or glue them on.  This is just a starter pack; I can make more if you need them. So on the Google Doc, be sure to include information about location, as well as the names and events themselves. So for instance, if your theme is Gender Roles, then you would want to write: Footbinding begins as a practice in China under the Song Dynasty, and the years of the Song Dynasty.

The Process

Your first step is to generate the list of items for the time line. You can split up your team into time period groups (or have one period take the first three, the other take the remainder) if you like, or you can all just contribute as you go. Use the book, your notes, old tests, blog posts, etc. to help you come up with ideas. Both periods will be working on the same document with the same topics. You should leave a note to the other period to indicate what you have accomplished. This you will do on your own, with no real help from me.

Your second step is to calculate the number of items you can have for your time periods on the test (yes, do some math...) and curate that brainstormed list down to that number. I am available to help you with this process if you want. You will need to run your choices by me for approval before proceeding to step the third.

Your third step is to place those items on the timeline in the appropriate color with the appropriate geographic icon. I have started that process with the first theme on the walls outside the classroom. (hopefully you noticed that on the way in to class...check it out to see how this is going to work!)

The timeline is to be completed by the end of the day on Friday, May 10th. You may then take pictures of it or transcribe it in some other manner so you have it to guide your studies.

The groups are linked up here, and the google documents have been shared with groups via school emails.

On the board are the time periods, themes and information about each of the essays. Be sure to review on your own as well!

Weekend Homework

Have a safe and happy Prom everyone!

Over the weekend you are to read Chapter 40.

We will begin the review process on Monday, so be sure to bring all your notes, tests, etc and a fully charged iPad.

I will be out Monday and Tuesday, but will check email periodically, so check the blog for information and I'll see you Wednesday.

May 1

Hi folks-

Blogger is not wanting to accept my upload of any ppt for some reason.  I'll try to update it later tonight, but the content is all in the chapters and you should have notes you can use as well.  In the mean time, if you go to slideshare.net and search Todd Whitten, you should be able to see the powerpoints I've been posting on the blog as well, including the most recent one, which also doesn't want to finish uploading either...I'm starting to feel persecuted by wifi!

In any event, study for the test and finish up reading chapter 39.

Homework and the week ahead

For tonight, read pages 1095-1106.

You will be writing a DBQ during your long block

Originally we were having a test on Friday on chapters 35-40.  However, due to the mandatory prom assembly, the test will be on Thursday, and will be on chapters 35-39.  There will be 50 questions instead of 70.

u can haz videos for homework

The good thing about being in the 20th Century, is there are lots of video sources about the topics we are studying.

Over the weekend, you should read the rest of the chapter (chapter 38).  Then choose one of the following videos linked below to go deeper into the material. We will focus on the so-called "Communist" rulers, who killed lots of their own people once they were in power.  You should be ready to talk about whether or not these communists were really Marxists in their approach to economic systems.

1) Biography: Mao.  This is 45 minutes long and covers the way Mao came to power and what he did once he got there.  Bodycount: somewhere between 40 and 60 million Chinese were killed as a direct result of his policies.

2) Stalin Man of Steel.  This is longer (an hour and a half) from the History Channel, and we will have watched some of it in class today. You want to see up through the detonation of the Soviet's nuclear bomb.  Bodycount: Over 60 million Soviet citizens were killed as a direct result of Stalin's policies.

3) Cold War: Cuba.  45 minutes long. This CNN documentary tracks through the rise of Fidel Castro, the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the Cuban Missile Crisis (which is the major focus of the episode.) Bodycount: less than half a million. Castro doesn't play with the big boys.

4) Cold War: Korea. 45 minutes long. This CNN documentary covers the partition of Korea after World War II through the cessation of hostilities and establishment of the state of emergency that continues to this day. Bodycount: Hard to know with the Hermit Kingdom, but it looks like the Kim family has killed around 10 million since the war ended through famine and prison camps and executions.  Around 3 million North Koreans were killed in the war. So Kim Jong-un has potential.

You are, of course, welcome to watch more than just one!

We will be having our last test on Friday, May 3rd.  It will cover chapters 35-40 (though really not much on Chapter 35...) and follow the standard format of 70 multiple choice questions.

Homework April 25

For tonight, read pages 1064-1077 in the textbook.  Bring headphones for your iPads tomorrow...you have been warned...

homework for April 24

For tonight read pages 1050-1059, the end of World War II.

On your blog post: Does the conclusion of the war address the causes you identified in your activity today?  Please list what the causes were that you identified (or feel free to just post your work from class) and then discuss whether or not the conclusion of the war resolved things or if it left items hanging for later resolution.

The score guides for the essays are linked up below!

Change Over Time

Compare and Contrast

Cause and effect WWII activity

Come up with a way to show the cause and effect system/chain of events/sequence that led to World War II, and then show it!

There is not one, lone event, in one singular location that leads to this conflagration; rather, there are several events and places that come together, so you will need to have a couple of starting points, and several in a series of events to adequately complete this task.

You need to show (Not tell! There is a difference here, right?) the cause and then somehow explain how it led to the beginning of World War II.

You may start your sequence at any point in World History and from any location on the globe.

You may not use printed words in this.  No headlines, or images of newspapers, either.

You may use any app you like, you may use images from any source to get your point across, and you may record your voice or let the images speak for themselves.

You must work alone, and you may use the textbook.

You must be historically accurate.

You will have 20 minutes to think and prepare, and then I will come around to see what you have created.  

Nationalism Post WWI Powerpoint

Homework for April 23

For tonight, you should read and skim pages 1031-1047.  Read the parts about Asia (since you may not have seen much about that before) and skim the parts about the war in Europe, as likely you have discussed that before.

Your in class essay will be Thursday.  It will be either a Change Over Time or a Compare and Contrast format, so be sure to review what goes into scoring points on those essays.  The topic will be nationalism and imperialism in Africa, Asia, India and Japan.

Homework for April 22

You have 18 classes left until the AP!

For tonight, read pages 1014-1027, which will cover African and Latin American nationalism.

You will have either a Compare and Contrast or a Change Over Time Essay on Thursday about the contents of this chapter.

Homework over April Vacation

While you are on break, you need to complete the last of the book/movie projects.  Same format as it has been all year.  The list of books is linked up here.

If you are interested in what we discussed today in class, the material is contained in chapter 35.

When we return, we will cover chapters 36-40 in a very abbreviated format.  We will skim over World War II, as you have all discussed it before, and certain elements of the Cold War will also be omitted.  Please feel free to read on your own over vacation any or all of the upcoming chapters. We will have our final test on May 3, and we will begin to review for the AP exam (which is May 16th in the morning) on Monday, May 6th.  Please note that many of you will be missing days of class for other AP exams, so be aware that your review will be more or less complete depending on the days you miss for other AP exams and various field trips.

I strongly encourage you to begin to organize your materials over the course of this vacation.  One suggestion is to go back through your blog of this class for the year.  Tag or label each post for time period and/or geographic region.  This will allow you to search for information easily, and put information within your reach far easier.  I also recommend the creation of a google spreadsheet, either by theme or by region, and go through the time periods and locate and write down information that is important or relevant to the themes or regions for that time period.  Both activities will force you to confront the material we've covered, and give your brain a chance to demonstrate what it does or doesn't know.

Have a great vacation!

homework for April 11

For tonight, make sure that you have your blogs updated with the change, continuity, 5 pieces of evidence and explanation of why.

Read pages 961-972 in the textbook.  Pay attention to the impact World War I had on places not called "Europe"!

Homework for April 10

For tonight, read the first five pages of chapter 34 World War One.

Powerpoints for review

Ming, qing and japan from Todd Whitten

Homework for April 8

For tonight, read the hidden essay (numberless pages...such a smart idea, Bentley and Ziegler!) on pages 942-943.

Study for the test upcoming on Wednesday, chapters 27-33.  70 Multiple Choice questions, the usual drill...

Homework for April 5

Read pages 930-939 in the textbook.

Your test will be Wednesday of next week, April 10. It will consist of 70 multiple choice questions and cover chapters 27-33 inclusive.

The AP exam is coming on May 16! You should start to review sooner rather than later!

Homework for April 4--imperialism

In class today we covered the basics of imperialism, watched a short video from the History of Britain about the Sepoy Mutiny, and read the Kipling poem "the white mans burden."

For tonight, read pages 915-925 in the textbook.

You will have a test on Wednesday, April 10th (not Tuesday as apparently there is an AP Bio test scheduled that day). It will cover chapters 27-33 inclusive. Start studying now!

Homework for April 3

For tonight, read the final empire from chapter 32. You should have read about all four empires. We are moving on to the next chapter, 33 about imperialism.

Homework for April 2

For tonight, you need to finish up your political cartoons, and have them and your paragraphs ready to physically hand in tomorrow.  You should also pick another empire to read about in the textbook.  Just so you can keep track, they are the Ottoman, Japanese, Russian, and Chinese Empires. One of them you should be familiar with because of the project, you read about a second last night, and tonight you are reading about the third.

In class on Monday

Sorry to not be with you all today; I had a sweet April Fool's joke planned....

We are going to be working with the next chapter of the book, chapter 32, which is about the Russian, Japanese, Chinese and Ottoman Empires as they all teeter on the brink of collapse.  Your task for this unit is described in a Google Document, linked up here.

Before we get into that, though, you need to learn a little about the composition of political cartoons and how the artists who make them use them to represent their point to their audience.

To help you think about what does into a successful political cartoon, a Cartoon Analysis Checklist is linked up here. Read this first.

Please note: You will not be allowed to make a meme or a rage comic for this, what you create must be a cartoon, though it may incorporate computer generated images.

You will be assigned into a group and into one of the empires in the chapter, and should read the appropriate selection so you can complete this activity.  The assignments are listed in a google document linked up here.

You will have the period today and some of the period tomorrow to work on this.

For tonight, you should pick one of the empires you did not work with today and read the section about it in the textbook tonight.

As a side note, for some reason Google is not allowing me to reply to your emails; I'm not sure why that is. So if you didn't get an email back from me about the re-write, everyone has been approved to do it, I just wanted to get a head count of how many I'll need to read.  You will write them on your own time and hand them in tomorrow. (with the originals!) You may type or write them.  I suggest writing them by hand and keeping track of your time spent, as this will give you a better practice for the real thing, but it is up to you.

Homework for March 28--Long Weekend!

For the long weekend, read the next chapter, all the parts that are not about the US.  So that's pages 853-860, page 864-867, and page 870-874.  Feel free to read the stuff about the US (mexican american war through reconstruction) if you like...

We will not be discussing this in class ever, so you are on your own for this chapter.

If you want to do a re-write, you need to send me an email about the fact that you are doing it (so I can have a sense of how many will need to be re-scored), and they will need to be in my hands (with the originals) by the end of the school day on Tuesday! (that's 2:00, not 2:05...) I will not accept work that is late.

We will not be having a test on Wednesday.  It will happen the following week.  I'll tell you the date when we return, but likely Tuesday the 9th...

homework for March 27

For tonight, finish reading the chapter--the section on the Global Spread of Industrialization, pages 836-842.

Homework for March 26

For tonight, you have the following things to do:

Read the Mathus excerpt on page 830.  Be sure you know what his argument is about population.

Then: watch the following Crash Course video:

You can also see it on youtube here: http://youtu.be/B3u4EFTwprM

Then read the excerpt from Marx on page 838. Be sure you know what his argument is about class struggle.

Then read pages 831-836.  We will be talking about Capitalism and Socialism in class tomorrow.  Please purge your minds of the crap you heard about Socialism in the last election. (90% of it was wrong...)

In class today

Ah, the interwebs.  Where better to find the answers to today's questions? (probably don't answer that...)

We're having class today with a Crash Course!  So watch this, and we'll talk more about it when you are done...

Homework for March 25

For tonight, skim over the contents of the textbook pages 805-811.  This is largely about Europe and so is not relevant to us.  What is REALLY important to get in this section is the information about Nationalism and Nations.  That is a template for what we will see happen around the world later, so skim the rest, but pay attention to that!

Homework for the weekend of March 22nd

Happy Friday!

All periods: over the weekend you should read pages 794-805 in the textbook.

I am also trying to upload a short video lecture to cover the American and French Revolutions, so check back in this space to see if I'm successful--it will be under 15 minutes in duration, so it won't take you long to watch it...

Homework for March 21

For tonight, you should choose one of the following three excerpted readings.  They are all Enlightenment thinkers and represent what was being talked about at the time in European intellectual circles.

1) Adam Smith, "The Wealth of Nations."
2) Jean-Jacques Rousseau "The Social Contract"
3) Baron de Montesquieu "Spirit of Laws"

Just read them, you can ignore the Focus Questions that come with some of them.  You should be able to talk about the contents, so you may need to read them more than once.

Period 4, since we do not meet again Friday, you need to check back on the blog for your homework over the weekend.

Homework for March20

For tonight, you should review the point categories for the DBQ, as you will be writing one in class tomorrow. Don't forget your pen with blue or black ink!

On your blog, post 1 (one) way that you see the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughals being similar to Tokugawa Japan and Ming/Qing China, and 1 (one) way you see them being different.  Explain why you believe them to be similar and different?  What accounts for these?