Introduction to Asia

Today Monday 9th May we began our Asia unit by looking at the physical environment and human interaction with that environment in China.

Culture Fair Research

Today Tuesday 26th April we spent the day research our countries for culture fair.

Comparative Religion - Islam Day 2

Today Friday 15th April we finished our video exploration of Islam and the journey to Mecca. Honor students had a quiz on the video as well.

Thanks

Comparative Religions - Islam Day 1

Today Thursday 14th April we began our look into Islam. We began by watching a video of three very different Muslims as they made preparations to go on the sacred Hajj. Students got a chance to see Muslims outside of the stereotypical view that many Americans have and at the same time learn a little about the belief structure of Islam.

Thanks.

Comparative Religions - Buddhism Day 2

Today Wednesday 13th April we spent more time discussing Buddhism. The concepts of Buddhism are in some ways much different from Western thinking and so we needed more time to cover the concepts of samsara (reincarnation), dharma (natural law), and karma (the idea that our actions return to us). Students than spent time analyzing the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

Thanks.

Comparative Religions - Buddhism

Today Tuesday 12th April we spent our time correcting the assignment from Judaism and then discussing Buddhism. Students were taught about the origin, founder, and basic belief system of Buddhism. Students will spend time tomorrow discusing the Four Noble Truths as presented in Buddhism and analyze the Eightfold Path a outlined.

Thanks.

Comparative Religions - Judaism

Today Monday 11th April we read a packet on the basic beliefs and structure of Judaism. This packet covered cultural traditions such as baby naming, marriage, dietary restrictions, etc. We also learned about the structure and layout of synagogues and the activities inside a synagogue.

Thanks.

Comparative Religions - Christianity

Today Thursday 7th April we began our comparative religion unit with a look at Christianity. We took a general approach to the two largest Christian groups in the world: Catholics/Protestants. We discussed briefly the organization and beliefs of both and then we took a look at one of the most famous Christian writings on human behavior: the Sermon on the Mount.

The purpose of this unit is to give the students a brief overview of each of the world's major religions and help them understand the basic beliefs and cultural impacts of each religion. We will be covering:

- Christianity
- Judaism
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Islam

Unfortunately time constraints limit us to these five main religions. Thanks

Culture Fair Assignments

Today Wednesday 6th April we made our Culture Fair assignments. Students were allowed to choose a partner and a region of the world they prefer. They were then asked to randomly draw a country from that region to prepare their culture fair presentation on. Students who were unsatisfied with their countries have two options:

1) They can make a trade with another partnership if they are willing.
2) Come in tomorrow morning and see what countries are still available on a first come, first serve basis.

The Honors classes had their European potluck. Today.

Thanks.

PURPOSEGAMES.COM PROBLEMS!!!

ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS!!!!

For some reason I can not access the purposegames site, so anyone who achieves 100% will receive the reward. Sorry.


ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS!!!!




Thanks.

Physical Features of Europe

Today Monday 4th April we spent the day discussing the physical features of Europe. We focused on nine that were especially significant for economic, cultural, and historical reasons. These nine features will be on the test tomorrow.

Thanks.

Europe Mapping - Final Day

Students were given a total of 4 days to actually draw, label, and color their maps of Europe. Today was the last day and most students who took their maps home have minimal labeling left and mainly just coloring. These maps will be due on Monday 4th April.

Thanks.

Europe Mapping Day #4 & Requests

Today Wednesday 30th March we spent the day again going over capital cities and working on our political maps of Europe. Most students are well into drawing the countries of Europe and labeling. We will likely take one more day to finish up the map and then anyone who is not finished will take the map home and have it ready for Monday.

Thanks

P.S. You should bring colored pencils to color the maps for tomorrow.

Europe Mapping Day #3 & Classical Music

Today Tuesday 29th March we spent the day working on our maps of Europe and we also played a game for extra credit called Name That Tune. While the students worked on their maps, I played various artists such as Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Rossini, etc. and had the students guess composer, title, and various related questions for extra credit.

Thanks.

Mapping Europe Day #2

Today Monday 28th March we continued on with our maps of Europe. We spent Thursday the 24th putting the maps together and working on the outlines.

TEST: Government

Today Thursday 17th March we took our test on government. Redos will be available for this test ONLY until Monday after school. Any student who wishes may come in Friday or Monday after school or Monday TA or 7th period if their teachers will let them.

Thanks.

Review - Government Test

Today we reviewed for the government test. Each student received a review crossword and made sure he or she had the 5 note sheets from the government unit. These will be turned in tomorrow before the test.

Thanks.

European Union - Library Research

Today Monday 14th March we spent our time in the library researching the European Union, also known simply as the EU. Students learned today what the EU is, why it was formed, and how they have combined democratic and socialist principles to create a unique form of government. We also looked at the concept of pooling sovereignty or giving up some independence in order to work with others. We will continue looking at the structure of the EU and how it functions.

Thanks.

Intro to Government

Today Thursday 3rd March we introduced our government unit. We will be looking in depth at the three main government systems in use today: democratic, socialist, and totalitarian. We discussed the three main purposes of government and the different types of governments. The three main purposes of all governments are: provide law and order, offer protection, and provide public services.

Thanks.

TEST: Africa Political Map #2

Today Wednesday 2nd March we took the second part of the Africa political map test. For the regular classes no floating As or testing out was allowed. I required a minimum of a C or higher in order to be considered passing. Only those students who passed the second part of the Africa test are allowed to use floating As or do a redo for the first part. This is because the majority of students did not take the first part seriously.

Those students who did not pass the second part make redo it normally if needed.

Thanks

Presentations of Africa

We spent Thursday 24th February - Tuesday 1st March enjoying presentations from students who all worked in partnerships and created a report and visual representations of a country from Africa. A few of the students also brought in artifacts and even food from these countries. As the presentations were given students were required to take notes on each.

The purpose of the assignment was to allow students a chance to look at a country from Africa in which they were interested and be able to research the aspects of the country that were most meaningful to them. We used several of the presentations to decorate our room.

Thanks.

TEST: Africa Political Map

Today Wednesday 23rd February we took our test on the political map of Africa. Students who missed today will need to arrange a time after school, during 7th period (if their teacher will let them, or TA to come in and make it up.

Students who scored 43 or less on the test are also more than welcome to schedule a redo and make up their grade to a B max.

Thanks.

Culture Contact - Video

Today Tuesday 22 February we watched a video on the cultures and lifestyles of Africa. Most classes choose to watch "Voices of the Forest" which focused on the Pygmies of Cameroon and the people of Ghana. Some classes choose to watch the"Leopards of Zanzibar" which focused on the lifestyles of the island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania.

Thanks.

Africa Mapping Day #4

Today Thursday 17th Thursday we spent the day singing, mapping and listening to African music. Most students are well into having drawn the actual countries of Africa and many are labeling them. We will work on the map again tomorrow and then students will take the map home and have it ready on Tuesday.

Thanks.

Africa Mapping Day #3

Today Wednesday 16th February we worked on our maps of Africa. Most students completed the outline and were well into drawing the countries.

Thanks

Africa mapping Day #2

Today Tuesday 15th February we actually got onto the grid and started mapping out the continent of Africa. We spent a few minutes going over capital cities and singing the country song for Africa.

Thanks.

Africa Mapping Day #1

Today Monday 14th Monday we began our Africa unit by discussing capital cities and learning a song that is intended for the students to help them memorize the 54 countries of this amazing continent.

We also graded last week's test and collected the notes and review crossowrds from our culture unit.

Thanks.

Friday - Culture Test

On Friday 11th February we took our test on culture. Other than that it was a short day and we did nothing else. We will be collecting the review crossword and the notes for the culture unit on Monday.

Thanks.

Library Research Day - Africa Day #2

Today Thursday 10th February we spent the day in the library using the internet to research our countries for our Africa Country Presentation project. The students were taught how to use and access a website called Culturegrams. Each student was given instructions on how to use this website at home, as they will need a username and password.

Thanks.

Culture Review

Today Wednesday 9th February we spent the day reviewing for our test on culture. Students completed a crossword review and collected their three note sheets for the unit. These note sheets will be collected for points on Friday before the test.

The note sheets are:
1) Culture and Cultural Expressions
2) Language Families, Dialects, and Linguistics
3) The World's Five Main Religions

Thanks

Africa Research Project

Today Tuesday 8th February we assigned partners and countries for our Africa Research Project. Students were allowed to choose their partners and one country of the 54 from Africa. Students will create a 3 page typed report along with a poster board presentation for their country. These projects are worth 150 points and will be due on the Wednesday 23rd February.

After countries were chosen, students spent the rest of the day working with their partners researching their country.

Thanks.

World Religions Day #2

Today Monday 7th February we spent more time looking at the unique characteristics of the different world religions. We also looked at religion distribution in the United States. We also discussed why people had religions and how like other aspects of culture, how religions represented difference and unique characteristics of people all over the world. We also looked at some of the positive and negative impacts religions has had on people in general terms.

Thanks.

Friday - Presenting Culture Posters

On Friday 4th February we presented our culture posters to the class. Several students were given the opportunity to share their personal posters with the class. Students discussed their favorite music, holidays, foods and things that defined them as an individual.

After culture poster presentations we corrected a worksheet we completed on cultural geography and discussed the differences between innovation and diffusion as it relates to cultural change. Innovation is something new within the culture itself and diffusion is something new that has come from somewhere else. We also talked about globalization and traditionalism as it relates to changes today. Globalization is the connection of people in ever closer ways today and that culture is becoming more alike. Traditionalism is the desire to keep to the old ways and resist change and connections.

Thanks.

World Religions

Today Thursday 3rd February we discussed the five major world religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. We discussed the basic structure, location, and vocabulary for each religion. We then finished our assignment from yesterday and began a small assignment on religion.

Thanks.

Wednesday - World Languages

On Wednesday 2nd February we spent the day discussing language as a part of culture and learning the difference between a dialect and a language. We also discussed language families and what ideograms are. The assignment we did was an inc lass assignment that will require the student to come in during TA, 7th period, or after school to make up.

We also did a grade check with all students.

Thanks.

Culture Unit Introduction

Today Tuesday 1st February we continued on our opening assignment by working on our culture posters. This assignment will be due on Thursday of this week and needs to be in full color. Also there is a small writing portion that is needed which can be done on the back of the poster.

Thanks.

TEST: South America

Today Friday 28th January we took our test on the countries, capitals, physical features, and culture of South America. Redos are available for any student who received a C or lower. Remember that a B is the highest grade for a redo.

We also turned in our Current Event #8.

Thanks.

Grading Day

Today Thursday 27th January we spent the day grading our political and physical maps. We also took the time to finish our South America Today reading. We then discussed the test and went over the test questions for tomorrow's quiz.

Thanks.

South America Today

Today Wednesday 26th January we looked at South America today and the main geographic characteristics that define South America culturally, economically, and politically. We took notes and completed a small reading assignment that will be due tomorrow.

Thanks.

Physical Features of South America

Today Tuesday 25th January we discussed the Physical Features of South America. The seven main features we looked at included:

1) Amazon River
2) Andes Mountains
3) Lake Titicaca
4) Galapagos Islands
5) Pampas
6) Patagonia
7) Atacama Desert

Students received a physical map to label and color that will be due tomorrow. Please remember that your large political poster map is also due tomorrow.

Thanks.

Finishing Mapping South America Day #3

Today Monday 24th January we spent our last day in class working on the political poster maps of South America. All students have a yellow instruction sheet that gives step by step instructions on how to complete the map. Students who did not finish the map in class today will take it home and they have until Wednesday 26th January to complete it. It will be due that day!!!

Thanks.

Friday - Mapping South America Day #2

Today Friday 21st January we spent the period continuing our large political poster maps of South America. These maps will be due on Wednesday 26th January.

Thanks.

Thursday - Substitute Video

Today Thursday 20th January we watched a culture video on Peru or Brazil (depending on which period you were in). If you were absent this day, you will need to write a one page report on a country from South America of your choice.

Thanks

Mapping South America Day #1

Today Wednesday 19 January we began our political poster maps of South America. Students were given a yellow instruction sheet that has all the information they need to complete the map. This map is especially easy and smaller than any other. Students should bring colored pencils for Friday.

IMPORTANT - NO NEW EXTRA CREDIT!!!

There will be no updates on video, flag, brainteaser or picture for this week ONLY. Sorry. I will update all these things on Monday of next week, and we will resume extra credit then.

Test Correct and South America Introduction

Today Thursday 13th January we corrected the population test we took yesterday. We then went over final grades and used floating As for those who needed. We then introduced South America's countries and capitals.

Thanks.

Bwahahahahaha!!!

Today Wednesday 12th January we had our population test. We also turned in the following items:

1) Population Reading assignment
2) Population Review
3) Population notes

Thanks

Population Review

Today Tuesday 11th January we reviewed for our test on population tomorrow. Every student was given a study guide and we went through every answer. We also had a review crossword for vocabulary. Students were allowed to keep their worksheet on population geography and will turn that in tomorrow. Also the review crossword and population notes will be turned in tomorrow.

Thanks.

Demographic Transition - Book Work

Today Monday 1oth January we read a chapter in the book and learned about the difference between emigration and immigration, the three stages of the demographic transition, and the varieties of push and pull factors that affect popualtions.

Thanks.

World Population

Today Thursday 6th January we looked at predicting population on a world scale and what impact the changes to population over the next 5, 10 and 15 years will have. We looked at population changes in regions instead of countries. The formulas were the same as what we have studied over the last few days, but the numbers were of course much larger.

Thanks.

Future Numbers and What They Mean

Today Wednesday 5th January we looked at predicting future populations and using these future populations in the formulae for population density, total births, and infant death. For example, how do we find the population density of Mexico six years from now? First, we use the formula to predict what Mexico's population will be six years from now. Once we have determined what that population number is, we can use that number in the formula for determining population density. The same is true if we are asking how many babies will be born in a particular country 8 years from now. Always determine the future population first and then use that future population in the formula you are solving for. Very easy!

Thanks.

Population Statistics

Today Tuesday 4th January we looked at formulae to determine the population density, total number of births, and number of infant deaths in a country. The formulae were very easy to learn.

population density = total population / total land area in square miles

total births = (total population / 1,000) * birth rate

total infant deaths = (total births / 1,000) * infant mortality rate

We are learning these statistics because they can give us an indication of standard of living, level of development, and environmental impact a country has.

Thanks.

Population Prediction

Today Monday 3rd January we looked at predicting future population growth for various countries in the Americas. The formula is a simple one and students were taught how to use it. Each student will need to memorize it so they can use it from memory.

The formula is y=a*(1+b)n. The n in the formula is actually an exponent.

y = the population in the future (This is what we are solving for)
a = the initial population
b = rate of natural increase as a decimal
n = the number of years in the future

So we basically plug the numbers we have into the formula and then use a calculator to solve. Example, if the US has a population of 300,000,000 and a rate of natural increase of .58%. What will the population be in 7 years?

Answer: y = 300,000,000 * (1 + .0058)7 or y = 300,000,000 * 1.0058(7)
which is y = 312,393,993

Thanks.