Saturday, November 07, 2009

It is time for the Most Radical Nerds... Unit.

Still in need of the Auto vs Demo Unit? Scroll down for power points and such stuff.

Unit 3: Middle Ages - American Revolution

1) Middle Ages
2) Renaissance
3) Northern Renaissance
4) Exploration
5) Reformation
6) Scientific Revolution
7) Enlightenment
8) American Revolution


Table of Contents for Unit Assignments

1) TOC
2) Spectrum of Time (Power Point) / One Thing Leads to Another (Power Point) (Pre Test)
3) Vocab List (Students will not have to write out but are expected to know vocab)
4) Middle Ages a) Daily Life & 8 Questions b)Cloze Passage
5) Renaissance Basics
6) Renaissance People (Power Point) & (Worksheet)
6 & 7) Renaissance Art & North Renaissance Art (Power Point) & (Worksheet)
7) North Renaissance Notes - (Power Point) & (Worksheet)
8) Exploration Notes (Power Point) & (Worksheet)
9) Reformation Notes (Power Point) & (Worksheet)
10) Scientific Revolution (Power Point) & (Worksheet)
11) Enlightenment Questions (Powerpoint) & (Worksheet)
12) Enlightenment Thinkers (Power point) & (Worksheet)
13) American Revolution & Constitution Notes (Power Point) & (Worksheet)
14) Democracy in Action


SEMESTER FINAL EXAM OR PROJECT?

Soon Mr P will start class off by asking each student: Semester Final: What are you going to do?
- The Final Exam or Final Project?
- Deadline to decide is the Wednesday after Thanksgiving
- Finals will be the last week of the semester (End of January)

The Final Exam
a) It will be a 100 Multiple Choice Question Cumulative Exam.
b) Cumulative exams cover content studied throughout the semester (Sept – January)


Final Projects (Legacy Projects)
a) All must be approved by Mr P prior to the Wednesday after Thanksgiving 2009
b) All students NOT approved to do Legacy Projects will take the Final Exam

SCROLL DOWN below this week’s agenda to read the details about the Semester Project.



MONDAY – November 9th, 2009


1) P-ville
2) Legacy or Final Exam
3) Most Radical Nerds…

HW:

a) Read Comic Book Chapter on Middle Ages to Enlightenment - Return to Mr P on Tuesday

b) P-Ville Write up - Do NOT answer these questions in fluffy, vague, shallow, obscure, uncommitted teenage talk. Seriously, think of what you can DO, create, contribute and add to the history of P-ville. Be idealistic but also realistic. Again, the two questions are:

1) What will you DO for P-ville?
2) What do you WANT from P-ville?

c) Group Historical Theme

Part 1) Write up - Your individual write up should be in your own words. Do NOT write in a boring way. Also, include your sources (ie Mr P's power pt, Wikipedia, BBC.org, Machiavelli's The Prince, Utopia by Sir Thomas More, PBS.org, etc.)

Part 2) Speak up
- Be ready to contribute 20-30 seconds of information on your topic. Practice what you will say. Don't be robotic or boring. Tell the class something interesting about the topic. Also, a good speaker has speak longer on their topic if suddenly asked to tell more. Mr P expects all his students to be effective speakers.



TUESDAY – November 10th, 2009

1) Middle Ages – Scientific Revolution Book - Turn in Write up
2) Class Speak Up - Group by group roundabout class talk on Middle
3) Enlightenment Figures
4) Enlightenment Questions


HW:


a) Enlightenment Figures (Worksheet)
- Complete by Thursday - Easy stuff. It is simply your opinion.
b) Enlightenment Questions (Powerpoint) & (Worksheet)
- Complete for Thursday - Check to make sure Mr P is NOT giving out wrong info on purpose. He likes to keep his students on their feet.
c) Going to be bored on Wednesday? Want something cool to read? Ask Mr P for a copy of Neil Postman's Disappearance of Childhood. On Thursday, Mr P will talk more about the topic of Disappearance of Childhood and how it not only relates to the Enlightenment, but more importantly, you.


WEDNESDAY – November 11th

NO SCHOOL! Holiday – Veteran’s Day - Ask Mr P to explain why you are off, if you want to know.

HW:

a) Enlightenment Figures (Worksheet)
- Complete by Thursday - Easy stuff. It is simply your opinion.
b) Enlightenment Questions (Powerpoint) & (Worksheet)
- Complete for Thursday - Check to make sure Mr P is NOT giving out wrong info on purpose. He likes to keep his students on their feet.
c) Going to be bored on Wednesday? Want something cool to read? Ask Mr P for a copy of Neil Postman's Disappearance of Childhood. On Thursday, Mr P will talk more about the topic of Disappearance of Childhood and how it not only relates to the Enlightenment, but more importantly, you.



THURSDAY – November 12th

1) Enlightenment Figures
2) Enlightenment Questions

3) Misc Information -

A) Geo Retake @ 3:22

a) Sketch's Geo Review Website - Email and thank her at oliviasketch@yahoo.com
b) Technical Thompson's Website - Email and thank her at music.freek@gmail.com

GEOGRAPHY NOTICE: Mr. P MIGHT be hosting the Geography Re-take Exam #4 Thursday at 3:22pm. All students interested in trying to ace the Exam in order to change their original score are invited to attend. Mr. P will likely hold Geo Re-take Exams once a week. If a student can't make the Re-take this week, students are welcome to show for a future Geo Re-take. Yet, do note that Mr. P does the Geo Re-take Exams out of the kindness of his heart and love for Geography. There is NO guarantee that Mr. P will give the Retake Exam after school, especially if Mr. P has personal or other matter to attend to. Once Mr. P’s wife and twins return to California he will likely NOT have the time to offer such opportunity. He’ll be busy changing diapers and doing such stuff. So take advantage now of the Geo Retake offerings while they last.


B) Extra Credit is due at lunch or after school on student computer

GEOGRAPHY EXTRA CREDIT:
1) Assignment Info
2) Example (Geddy Lee)
3) Geo Maps & Location Info

Confused on the extra credit? Talk to the following students for help:

Period 2 - Megan "I like Zappa" Kuttler
Period 5 - Nicky "I've never shot a 100 freethrows" Roos or Chris "no relation to Geddy" Lee
Period 6 - Natalie "Smiles" Dickinson

HW:

a) American Revolution & Constitution Notes (Power Point) & (Worksheet)
- Fill out notes using Mr P's power point for HW. This way you won't have to write during class and can instead focus on what Mr P is saying. You can also concentrate on questions to ask Mr P on any part of the notes you need clarification on. Bingo!



FRIDAY –the 13th of November 2009 (Spooky!)


1) Spread of Enlightenment
2) American Revolution and Constitution (SHR)


HW:

a) American Revolution & Constitution Notes (Power Point) & (Worksheet) - Study up on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights




AUTOCRACY vs DEMOCRACY
1) Table of Contents (TOC)
2) Nader's Deserted Island (Omit)
3) Scenarios / Spectrum (Spectrum & Vocab Power Pt)
4) Vocabulary Worksheet
.....a)
Sketch's 2002 Online Vocab Email Sketch and tell her thanks for helping you out. oliviasketch@yahoo.com
.....b) Milie's 2008 Power Pt Vocab Game Email Milie and tell her thanks for helping you out
.....c) Vocab List and Vocab Game Point System
5) Timeline
6) Historical Figures - Front Page includes John Locke & Back Page includes King Louis XIV
.....a) Historical Figure Group Prep & Instructions
7) QuickWrite: Which historical figure's ideas do you like the most? Why are those ideas better than others? (2/3 Page)
7a) Discussion Notes Worksheet (Worksheet) & (Power Point)

AUTOCRACY & DEMOCRACY ESSAY INFORMATION
a) 5 paragraph essay (Due Monday, November 9)
b) The 5 paragraph essay prompt is:

Assess the validity of this statement: Autocracy is the best form of government.

Need help with writing your 5 paragraph essay watch the Essay Bunch & Essay Video Notes to help out while you watch. Follow the essay notes & video and your 5 paragraph essay should be splendid.




SEMESTER FINAL

LEGACY PROJECT OR FINAL EXAM

Each semester students will have a choice of taking either the Final Exam or doing a Legacy Project as their ‘semester’ final. The semester final (exam or project) will equate to 20% - 25 % of the student’s semester grade. There is an application and qualification process that involves doing a legacy project. All students who do not apply or qualify to do a Legacy Project will partake in Final Exam process as a means of fulfilling their semester final obligation for the course. Written below are the specifics for both the Legacy Project and Final Exam.

LEGACY PROJECT


There are several purposes for students to apply to do a legacy project.

1) Students want to create a project to assist & inspire future students’ learning.
2) Students actually want to make a difference and contribute to the betterment of Mr. P’s class.
3) Students prefer to create a project versus taking an Exam for a final.

All student interested in doing a Legacy Project for their semester final must apply and qualify to do a legacy project. To apply and qualify for the Legacy Project, students must submit at least 3 typed proposals to Mr. P. In addition, students are required to schedule a brief meeting with Mr P after school to explain their legacy project proposals. Basically, students are to ‘sell’ their legacy project idea to Mr. P. Students will “qualify” to do a legacy project, if students convince Mr. P of the usefulness of their Legacy Proposal(s). Students should bring their 3 typed legacy proposals and explain them to Mr. P. At the after school meeting, students MUST do the following:

A) Be prepared, articulate and brief (Mr. P is a busy guy and doesn’t like to waste time)
B) Quickly & clearly explain to Mr. P your Legacy ideas (Mr. P has to be able to understand what it is)
C) Explain how it will be beneficial to future students, Mr. P, etc.
D) A typed working schedule that explains how you will be completing the project
E) Samples that demonstrate your ability to do certain kinds of work (i.e. your artwork, video equipment, computer skills or previous projects you've done).

The deadline to apply and qualify for doing a Legacy Project as a student’s “Final” for the semester will be the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. If a student does not apply and qualify by this date, the student will then, by way of default, partake in the Final Exam process at the end of the semester. If a student qualifies and agrees to do a Legacy Project, then he/she is committed to doing a Legacy Project. They will not be allowed to change from doing a Legacy Project to taking the “Final Exam.”

GROUP or SOLO WORK: Mr. P highly recommends that students work solo on their legacy project. Once again, he advises students do NOT work with other students. However, students might be allowed to work with others if they can justify the need to have more than one person do the project. Yet, the group work limit is 3 students. Students may also work with students in Mr. P’s other World History classes. Most importantly, if students qualify to work in a group it is entirely their choice and responsibility to do so. Mr. P will NOT, once again, will NOT hear any grievances or feel any sympathy pertaining to group work problems. Group work is a choice of the students. Again, Mr. P suggests students do NOT work in groups. Yet, students are old enough to make their own decision on such matter.

LEGACY GRADING SYSTEM:


A Grade:

Most likely any legacy project that will be or is actually used in Mr. P’s class achieves an “A” grade. If Mr. P will not use it in the future, it probably is NOT going to get an “A” grade. Legacy projects rarely take 1 day or 1 weekend to complete. Students with a desire to achieve an “A” should put in a fair amount of time and effort to complete their legacy project. However, time and effort does NOT necessarily equate to an “A” grade. Students can work very hard and still not achieve an “A” grade. The project should be of the utmost quality. It should also be ready for classroom use. Usually any needed adjustments that Mr. P has to do will deduct from the grade of the Legacy Project. All students witness how Mr. P runs the class on a daily basis. Students should become aware of what is “needed” and what “works” with regards to legacy projects. Also, “A” legacy projects are well labeled, packaged, easily stored or accessed. Presentation of the Legacy Project is memorable. It is NOT just another boring final presentation. Fellow students believe the project is useful and of quality.

B Grade:

Usually a good legacy project but does not do all the requirements listed for an “A” grade. Most likely, a “B” grade results because Mr. P will have to “adjust” the project so that it can be used in class. “B” rate Legacy Projects lack the originality, usefulness and quality in comparison to “A” rate Legacy Projects. Presentation of the project is above average and is somewhat memorable.

C Grade:

Results when the Legacy Project will NOT be used in the classroom. It does NOT fulfill the general standards of a “B” grade. Presentation of the project is average and is NOT memorable.

D Grade:

“D” stands for Disappointment. This project is obviously substandard to what is expected of Legacy Projects. It appears to be done quickly and with substandard care. It will NOT be used in the classroom. Presentation is unprepared, robotic and/or boring.


F Grade:

Produces an overall gross Legacy Project. There is a sense of making a mockery out of doing the Legacy Project. Unorganized and poor presentation. If anything, this project serves as a sample of what NOT to do for a Legacy Project.



FINAL EXAM

The Final Exam will take place the day of the scheduled final in late January for the fall semester and in June for the spring semester. The Final Exam will consist of approximately 200 multiple choice questions. The questions will be related to the unit topics covered during the semester. Students are welcome to pick the Final Exam as their semester final.

180 – 200 correct; 90% - 100% = A
160 – 179 correct; 80% - 89% = B
140 – 159 correct; 70% - 79% = C
120 – 139 correct; 60% - 69% = D
0 – 119 correct; 0 - 59% = F

WORLD HISTORY UNITS


FALL SEMESTER


1) Geography
2) Autocracy vs Democracy
3) Middle Ages – American Revolution
4) French Revolution & Napoleon
5) Industrial Revolution
6) Nationalism & Imperialism
7) WWI

SPRING SEMESTER


1) Geography
8) 20th Century Revolution & Nationalism
9) WWII
10) Cold War
11) Current Issues




































Mr P listened to this song over and over while updating his website for you this week. Just some pure rocking jazz by some Nordic dudes. The piano player died tragically in 2007. He was way too young to go. His piano playing was really taking off. Well, at least he lived life to the fullest when he was around. The video is proof of that. And now Mr P introduces you to E.S.T.

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ4435-K4i0&NR=1