The Final Post for 2019-2020

It has been  a real joy traveling the world with y’all this year!  Y'all have really stepped up to the plate and dealt with all this like champs! I wish we hadn’t been “homebound” for the last term, but I'm glad I got to know you this year.   I hope to see you all next year as 7th graders!  

We'll have a short "End of Year Zoom" Thursday - details on the ItsLearning calendar.  Wear a "traditional head dress" of your choice if you want! 

Don’t forget to send me postcards as you travel over the coming years! I've already got a fabulous chain to hang them from once we're back in the classroom. 

Finally, if you're getting this in an email, you may want to unsubscribe - unless you just want to keep getting my delightful posts next year. 😉

Niki Connor

12550 Vindon

Houston, TX 77024

May 18-28

Next week, May 18-22,  I will have a lesson about the Korean and Vietnam Wars in ItsLearning.  This is based on your choices in the poll. There is nothing to turn in or graded, just some basic overview and a few interesting details.

I have placed the ISNs that were left in my room in the hall across from the front office - look for a brown paper sign.  You can pick it up during your turn-in time next week. 

On Friday, May 22, we will take a Zoom trip to Antarctica. It will be from 1:00-1:30, optional, and posted in ItsLearning.

The week after, May 25 -28,  I will post lessons on Australia.  Just like the war lessons they are based on your choice and not for a grade.  

On Thursday, May 28, at 1:00, I will  host a final “end of year Zoom”.  Feel free to wear the "traditional head dress" of your choice.  We'll just celebrate the end of the year with a few corny jokes and time to visit.  This is for sure not the 4th Nine Weeks I had envisioned, but I do appreciate all your hard work and flexibility.  I hope I get to see all of you next year for a hug and 7th grade!

May 11-15

When you have kids, people tell you, “The days are long and the years are short.”  That’s what this Crisis Schooling has felt like to me.  I’m still enjoying the inspired art you are submitting!  So many great examples of creatively re-purposing things.  And, I love reading about what inspired you.

Map Review seems to be going well this week.  A lot of you struggled with question 7, so I added +5 to everyone’s Task Three: Maps and Globes and Landforms as I record them in the gradebook.

Next week we will review economic and political systems – and also practice reading and analyzing demographic information and charts and graphs. Those two grades will be the last of the grades for this year! We will not have a Zoom next week because I will be on campus during our scheduled Zoom time.  We will have a Zoom the following week.

The last two weeks of May, I will provide some lessons on the topics YOU chose in our poll. There won’t be any grades or any required work, but there will be opportunities to learn some new stuff and interact.  Of course, I will also be working to help anyone who needs to finish up the graded work.

Check out the poll results below:

May 4-8 and Grades FYI

Grades (Some of this is a repeat, but we’re all getting A LOT of info right now; I won’t judge you if you need it again!):

• I have updated all grades as of what was turned in by 3:30 today, Friday, May 1 for the progress report.
• I put in zeros for any work that is missing from April 6-24 - ALL of those assignments MAY be done for FULL credit, let me know what you need help with.
• If you haven’t turned in this week’s grades, the Travel and Art Reflection Questions and the Art Project, I just left them blank.  It is fine to turn them in next week if you need more time.
• The Silk Road grade was a homework grade BEFORE Spring Break and cannot be made up or changed at this point.
• The ALWTW grade is a “sneaky bonus” – if you completed all the questions thoughtfully, I put it in as an extra 100.  If it was incomplete or undone it won’t hurt your average in any way.

 May 4-8

• We will focus on Geography, Maps and Globes.  
• Look for lots of maps and a few more silly memes (Did y’all appreciate those? Or where they too cheese-y?)
• Look for two graded activities in ItsLearning Monday morning. 
• Look for one scheduled Zoom at 1:00 on Friday, just for check-in and question-answering time. 
• Look for a poll this week.  We just can’t cover everything we would have, so I want to know what y’all are most interested in for May 18-29.

I’m REALLY enjoying all your fabulous art – wish we could all enjoy it together!

April 27 - May 1 Travel and Art

This week is going to be fun! We’re going to take some trips, check out some cool animals and places, then study and create art!

There will be two tasks with several parts, two grades, and an extra-special Zoom on Friday.  I will meet you at the *Zoom International Airport* at 1:00 pm on Friday, May 1.  There will only be one flight, so be sure you leave plenty of time to get through security.  Don’t forget your passport, walking shoes, bug spray, clothes for warm/humid weather, and an international charging cord for your phone – you will want to take lots of pictures! J

Please, please read EVERYTHING carefully this week! I can’t wait to see your art!

In ItsLearning, look for:

• Overview
• Task One: Travel, Eco-Tourism, Animals with reflection questions
• Task Two: Art with creation
• Friday Zoom link to our trip through Southeast Asia

April 20-24 - Religion

Y’all are doing great!  I’m really pleased with many of the thoughtful water reflections and thoughtful questions you have asked.  We’ve seen all year that because water is essential to life, it dictates and controls much of human history.  When people, goods and ideas MOVE from place to place, one of the strong PULL factors is clean water.

Religion has also MOVED around the world and plays a central role in human life and history.  We looked at the big three western religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  We will review those and look at the other two of the top five (by number of practitioners): Buddhism and Hinduism. We’ll also learn a few interesting tidbits about some other Asian or African-originated religions.

This week there are FOUR TASKS, one grade, two Zooms.  If you still need to do the Water Reflection or the Movement Questions, please keep working on those first. Remember, I’m not counting anything as a late grade, so just keep at it.

Task One – Buddhism

Task Two – Hinduism

Task Three – Some other interesting beliefs

Task Four – Religions Quiz 

• Of course it has the same weight as all the grades this Nine Weeks.
• You may use your notes. 
• If you don’t have your ISN at home to review Judaism, Christianity and Islam there is a copy of my chart on the blog http://nikiconnor6thela.blogspot.com/2020/02/  It’s in February 2020.  Title of the post is “Feb. 17-21”

Last, but not least, we’ll have a zoom at 1:00 and 2:00 on Friday.  I will put the details in ItsLearning and also add them to the Itslearning calendar.  They are not mandatory, but I sure enjoy seeing y’all and want to make sure you have any answers you need.

April 13-17

This is going to be long – but not a lot to DO, I just want to give you as much information as I can.

Recap: March 23- April 9 – We were figuring all this out, continuing to learn, and not taking regular grades.

Now: We will continue to figure all this out, continue to learn, and start taking some grades. I have tried to distill the curriculum down to its most essential elements.  Starting this week, we will have due dates for assignments, but if your internet crashes, your Chromebook hates you, your Mom and Dad decide you need a dance party before you do anymore school work – whatever – it’s okay if it takes an extra day or three. I just want to try and keep you on track with the dates so you don’t get a ton of stuff to do all at once.

Going Forward: I’ll keep putting in each week’s work in ItsLearning Sunday night or Monday morning. You will not need to do anything from the Digital Backpack, but of course you may if something intrigues you! I’ve combined Africa and Asia to make us more efficient. We’ll still do a tiny bit with Australia/Oceana/Antarctica and a modified passion project, but no final exam!

Grades: There will be 11 grades in the gradebook by the end of the year. The first grade was the Silk Road questions you did after reading the BrainPop.  This was before Spring Break. If you did ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING at all during the last three weeks, I made the second half of that grade the full 50 points.  If not, I just doubled the percent you got out of 50 for the first half.

The second grade is a bonus grade – if you read A Long Walk to Water and thoughtfully and completely answered the questions for the book, I put an extra 100 in the gradebook for you.  If you didn’t, it will just be blank.  It won’t hurt your average in any way.

Speaking of bonus, if you did the Jordan Royal Tour extra credit, I will add those points to grade 3, The Water Reflection questions.  You will see how many bonus points (up to 10) were added in the notes on Skyward. I put in Tuesday, April 14 as the due date for the Water Reflection Questions, but finish it as you can this week.

Grade four will be 10 multiple choice questions on “Movement” – migration, immigration, Silk Road, push-pull factors. That is our focus for this week.

If you have any questions about any of this – or the grades in the grade book, please reach out.  Zooms at 1:00 and 2:00 on Friday.  If you have any questions, want to talk about anything, or just say hi, please zoom in!

(Zoom links/details in the email and in ItsLearning)

April 6-10 Water Wrap Up

Can you believe we've been at this for two weeks now?  You're doing GREAT!  I'm so proud of all of you.  I know you miss being at school with your friends, and I miss y'all.

The district is going to give us some guidelines for grades soon. I want you to know there's not going to be any late grades from me.  If you need time or help - you've got it.  Just let me know what you need!

Monday, April 6 I'll activate new plans in ItsLearning for the week of April 6-10. You DO NOT need to do anything from the Digital Backpack.

Task One: Salva videos - since we have to wait until next school year to see him in person.

Task Two: Problems and Solutions with water

Task Three: Analysis and  Reflection

If you have time, check out the Spring Holidays slide show I put into ItsLearning last week.  It has a variety of new life and rebirth holidays. I'm not going to add any additional bonus material or do a Friday Zoom this week because this Friday, 4/10 and next Monday, 4/13 are holidays.  But this Monday-Thursday I will be available via email. I can set up a quick Zoom help session, too,if you need it.

Friday is Good Friday - and whether you celebrate the religious significance of the day or not, I hope you will take the long weekend to appreciate your family and how blessed we are to be safe, in houses where clean water comes right to us!

Spring Holidays Bonus Material

I just added a power point in ItsLearning about Spring Holidays.  I added it under the A Long Walk to Water plans.  This is just for fun and enrichment.  If you read the power point and have questions, comments or additional information, please shoot me an email!  I'd love to hear from you.

March 30 - April 3 A Long Walk to Water Reading Week

• This is just an overview and FYI for next week.  
• ALL the details and information you need are in ItsLearning which will go live Monday morning.  
• You DO NOT need to do anything in the Digital Backpack for Social Studies for the week of March 30-April 3 (but you may do any of it that appeals to you). 
• Miss y'all!  Please email if you need anything!

March 23-27,  y’all learned about the Ganges/Ganga River and how essential it is to the spiritual and physical health of India.  It also plays a huge role in the economics and politics.

This week, we’re finally going to read A Long Walk to Water – another example of how essential water is to humans. You will have several options to get the book, so don’t stress. 

Salva Dut – who is featured in the book was supposed to visit our school next month.  Because of the virus, he is rescheduled to come in October.  You will STILL get a chance to see him/meet him next school year.  

Task One: Read the background information about Sudan and South Sudan. 

Task Two: Read A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park and answer the questions in Google Docs.

Options to read the book:  (The audio version narrated by David Baker and Cynthia Bishop is far superior to the one on YouTube. It also includes music made with traditional Sudanese instruments used as transitions.)

1) If you have an older sibling who went through MMS, they may have a copy.

2) You can find the audio book free on YouTube.

3) Get a free copy of the better version of the audio book on Amazon with a free Audible trial.

4) Check out the electronic or print version from the school or public library.

4) Buy an electronic version of the print or audio book from Amazon, Audible, Barns and Nobel, Kindle, etc.

Task Three: Share your answers in Google Docs with me.  Jennifer.Connor@springbranchisd.com

Task Four: Join us for a Zoom discussion/question and answer session on Friday at 1:00 pm OR 2:00 pm.  Ideally, 1st and 2nd period will meet at 1:00 and 3rd and 7th will meet at 2:00, but if you need to swap it's not a problem. 

1.       Dress appropriately for video conferencing.

2.       Mute your mic unless you have been called.

3.       Raise your hand and the teacher will call on you.

4.      Check your surroundings for anything you would not want to share with the world.

5.      Act as if the meeting will be recorded and played for the principal.

March 25 - Bonus Material

I've built a plan with some cool stuff about West Africa in ItsLearning. It's all optional, but interesting stuff we would have covered. After the video and stories, there is a discussion board for talking about them - or just how you're doing. The discussion is open from 8 am Wed. 2/25- 4 pm Thu. 2/26. I will be responding on and off all day, both days. Hope to see you there!

Hint: 🦁♔

March 23-27

Howdy from my couch! I know things are going to be a little unusual to say the least. For this week there are three essentials for GT Social Studies:   1) WHEN we get to the point where there are actual grades for this 9 weeks, I will keep track of stickers and get them to you at some point! 2) The Digital Backpack assignments are about Asia and good information we would have gotten to in a few weeks anyway, so please do them so you have the information. 3) I will put a couple of enrichment pieces on It's learning this Wednesday. They are a few fun activities we won't be able to get to now. They are NOT a grade and NOT required.   Email me with questions, and I will do the best I can to help you out! Miss y'all!   Mrs. Connor

March 9-13

Friday, March 13 Update: Y'all all stay healthy and safe and enjoy your rest!  I'm happy to take the Jordan Royal Tour extra credit via email today.  IF there is a need to send further updates after Spring Break, I will post them all here and in ItsLearning.  I will assume not everyone has their ISN, but that you all have your textbook at home. 


Almost to Spring Break! ☘

Monday - Must have completed the Silk Road questions in ItsLearning before class today.
-debrief Silk Road
-quick vote on Wed. or Thur. for Pre-school viewing of Nile IMAX
-Nile Reading  ( We are reviewing selective highlighting, then you are going to read the article and highlight or underline in two different colors.  Color 1= how the Nile River has impacted people and culture.  Color 2 = stuff you think is cool/interesting.)

Tuesday and Wednesday - Practice STAAR testing for 6th grade.
-background on Israel and start reading Three Wishes

Tuesday after school - Nile IMAX in my room.  Starts promptly at 3:35.  Will be over by 4:30.

Jordan Royal Tour Extra Credit - must be turned in by Wednesday, 3:30.

Wednesday before school - Nile IMAX in my room.  Starts promptly at 7:45.

Thursday - Continue Reading Three Wishes and reflection questions on page 74 in the ISN

Friday - St. Patrick's Day mini-lesson
-Syria and Jordan    Wrap up Three Wishes

Jordan Royal Tour Extra Credit

Jordan: The Royal Tour

This really is a ROYAL tour.  Jordan’s King, King Abdullah II takes Peter on a tour of Jordan.  You can find it on YouTube by searching for “Jordan: The Royal Tour”.

If you watch the episode, answer the questions, and turn-in the answers by Wednesday, March 11, you may earn up to 10 points on your lowest quiz/mini-project grade for the 4^th Nine Weeks.

Answer these questions in complete sentences.  You may type or hand write.  Be sure and put your name, date and class period on the paper.

1. What is one way King Abdullah II and former Mexican President Calderon are similar? Do you think this is a quality many leaders share or just a coincidence?

2. Name your THREE favorite spots on the tour – tell me the name, the location in Jordan, and why you liked it so much.

3. What surprised you most about Jordan?  Why?

4. When they pause for a minute before entering Petra, look at the right of the screen.  You will see feet of people and animals.  There used to be full carved caravans pointing and heading to Petra.  What is this like in modern times?

5. Who made special appearances throughout the show?

March 2-6

Monday - last Friday replacement 😀

Tuesday - Rotate through the Ancient Discoveries Presentations

Wednesday - Complete presentations with debrief and reflection, update ISN and set up for the rest of the unit*

Thursday - Rosetta Stone, Start Persia - complete for homework as needed
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/persian-empire


Friday - Discuss Persia and The Silk Road, draw cross-cultural conclusions about Prehistoric and ancient civilizations

Homework - in ItsLearning - what the BrainPop video, take the practice quiz on BrainPop THEN go to ItsLearning to answer the questions for a grade.

*big sent out note:

Dear Students and Parents,

I cannot believe Spring Break is so quickly approaching. This is long, but I want to keep you all in the loop – and I am tired and terrified it’s full of typos, so I am asking for grace as you read!

We have had a lot of days where curriculum took a back seat to testing or enrichment or bad water… We also have a wonderful opportunity next month when Salva Dut will come speak to MMS about Water for South Sudan and his experience as a “Lost Boy” of Sudan.

To make sure we get A Long Walk to Water read and understand the basics of the politics and history of Sudan before his visit, I am going to need to make some cuts and adjustments to the current unit, North Africa and Middle East.  The following are dates, opportunities, and general info based on those revision.

Nile River IMAX – We normally watch most of this 48 minute video in class.  We’ll still learn the essential information, but viewing is the exciting and memorable part.  So, I’m going to offer a viewing immediately after school in my room Tuesday, March 10.  It will be done by 4:30 for the late bus or pick up. Kids are welcome to bring popcorn to enjoy during the movie.  If there is demand, I will also arrange a pre-school showing starting at 7:30 am that Wednesday or Thursday.

Jordan: The Royal Tour – We watch two episodes of this wonderful travel series each year.  The first was in Mexico with a tour by a former president.  The kids loved it. In this episode, Peter Greenberg is escorted around Jordan by their king!  This video is a balance to all the conflict and struggle we learn about in this region.  I believe it’s important, therefor I am going to offer it as extra credit. Details will be on my blog and Its Learning by the end of the week.

Assessments – The map quiz was already going to be a combined map for this region and sub-Saharan Africa.  I am now going to combine the test and ISN for these two cultural regions as well.  Since they share so much history and physical space, I think it will work out well. All three of these grades will be during the 4^th Nine Weeks.

What’s up for the rest of the flying-by-year?

We will wrap up all of Africa mid-April.  Then, we will study Asia through the first week or so of May.  Then, we will do a super-fast “trip” to Australia and Antarctica.  We will wrap the year up with a “passion project”.  The kids will choose ANY topic related to culture, spend some time researching it, and then present their findings in one of the formats we have analyzed all year – maps, political cartoons, or infographics.

You made it through!  Thanks!

Niki Connor

6^th Grade GT Social Studies

Feb. 24-28 - Ancient Civilizations - LOTS of INFO

All week you will be working on two goals:

1- go through the Ancient Civilizations Stations - these sheets need to be turned in to the turn-in box or placed on the appropriate page of your ISN by EOC Friday (2/28)
2- research and create a presentation on your assigned ancient wonder/mystery/site - this is due Monday, March 2 when you walk in the room.

Use your time wisely, and you should be fine.  Play around, and you're going to end up with a lot of homework late in the week and over the weekend. TIP: If you seem to be running out of time, you could do the textbook reading and watch the videos during Activity or as homework.

LINKS to the STATIONS sites:

 “Write Like a Babylonian” https://www.penn.museum/cgi/cuneiform.php

“Four Empires of Mesopotamia...in five minutes or less” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sPVe5mjphA

**Epic of Gilgamesh - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqOC17D3k5M  If you have time, watch the whole video, but if not start at 14:25 and go to the end.  The essential part is Gilgamesh and the influence of Mesopotamia.

Nubian Article http://www.history4kids.co/2013/02/the-land-and-people-ancient-nubia.html 

Nubian Video **https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1zgX2M4Cvo  from 3:50 on it's just pictures.  You can look at them, of course, but there is not additional information after that.

**These two videos are updates of what is on the paper copies.  I should have doubled-checked the links before I ran off the papers.

Suggested places to RESEARCH: 

• Encyclopedia Britannica on the Library Resources Page is a great place to start and get a quick overview of your location.  You may also find good terms to use for searching elsewhere. (Bonus - they give you the citation in the correct format on the page.)
• Sirs DISCOVERER - also on the Library page has most, not all of the topics and also has the bonus of citation provided - AND a nice collection of pictures.
• LEARN 360 - same as the first two resources above, plus videos.
• Ancient History Encyclopedia - https://www.ancient.eu/  Online Source dedicated to ancient history. Doesn't have citations pre-done, but gives you all the info you need to create a citation - PLUS has maps, timelines, visuals, details and sometimes videos or links to other good sources.
• Most of these sites are United Nations World Heritage Sites.  http://whc.unesco.org/  Their web site offers lots of data about each site and why it's worth protecting.  It also often has pictures from different time periods and drawings of the "missing parts".
• Finally, check out the History Channel, Travel Channel and YouTube for TRAVEL videos to your site.  CHECK the source - we don't want alien visitors tours, but reputable travel journalist. 

Copy of the assignment and rubric:

Ancient Discoveries Project!  

You’re going on an archaeological exploration.  Sadly, Indy can’t make the trip, but you can!  With the other people who have the same mystery highlighted on the back of this sheet, you will explore that site and bring back images and information to share with the rest of the class!

 We will set up stations around the room to rotate through, so that you get to “visit” each site.  Not all sites will be covered in each class, so your presentation may be shown to other classes. Your job is to make a visual presentation for your ancient discovery – pretend you went there and tell us all about it!

You must:

·       create a presentation with at least 6 images of your site. (more is great, not all the same)

·       include the name of the site.

·       give the name of its location and show its location on a map.

·       tell who built it – and when and why (political, religious, economic, etc.) they built it. (or rebuilt, or…)

·       include at least 5 interesting facts about the place in addition to the information above.

·       document your sources.

You may:

·       create a movie, a slide show, a cartoon, an online or paper scrapbook, a newscast, magazine layout, or any other visual presentation format that you have access to and can present in class.

·       use in-class time and at-home time to work.

·       ask for Activity passes to work with your group.

You may not:

·       make a presentation that takes more than 4 minutes to watch from start to finish.

·       make up anything about the historical site or its history. (Reliable sources only!)

·       tell us speculative facts, undocumented information, or conspiracy theories.

·       present live.

·       include bloopers. (Sorry, but you are welcome to show them to me between classes!)  J

________(30) Who, what, when, where and why – there, accurate

________(25) 5+ additional facts are interesting and accurate

________(20) Images and presentation are clear, appropriate, easy to follow (organized),                  

                         4 minutes or fewer

________(10) Group cooperation and participation - presentation is accessible and

                            ready to go at the beginning of class

________(15) All sources are documented (MLA Citation*) – may put at the end of presentation or turn-in separately  

*You MAY use the simple citation form for images that Mrs. Fraser taught you for the IMAGES  "Name of picture" by Name of creator on Name of site where it was found.

.

Feb. 17-21

Monday - President's Day Holiday

Tuesday - Wrap up any Introduction to Monotheistic Religions
Sects and denominations  - see charts below

Wednesday - Review for quiz on Monotheistic Religions
Go over graded tests (my recently cut up right hand willing)

Thursday - Quiz over Monotheistic Religions
Go over graded maps and add in big physiographic features

Friday - Map Analysis
Start Early Civilization Stations as time allows

Feb. 10-14

Monday - Check Test Review Part Two – study time for tomorrow’s test.

Tuesday – Europe Unit Test – also Europe Unit in the ISNs is due today.

HMWK: North Africa and Southwest Asia Map – due Friday BOC

Wednesday –  World Population Map over Time 

Start Monotheistic Religions with Judaism

Thursday – Judaism and start Christianity as time allows (update)

Friday – Maps Due BOC
Go over graded tests

Complete Christianity and begin with Islam (update)

Feb. 3-7

Nota Bene: Europe Unit Test is next Tuesday.  The map elements are the same as listed from the Map Quiz a few posts below. 

Mon. - We went over the WWI notes and talked about the Treaty of Versailles. 

Tue. - WWII

Wed. - Wrap up WWII and start Modern Europe - quick look at the UN, NATO, EU and "Brexit", Cold War and fall of the "Eastern Block"

Thu. - Wrap up Modern Europe as needed; Review Part One with political cartoons, maps, charts and graphs - due Friday, BOC.

Fri. - Check Review Part One; Work time for Review Part Two - due Monday, BOC

Revolutions Mini-Projects - Notes

Overall, I was very happy with your work on these mini-research projects.  A few tips for next time:

·      Practice saying names and hard words ahead of time

·      Don’t just stand and read the slides

·      Put some sort of image and title on each slide, not too much text

·      Even though you have cited your sources, you still have to use “quotation marks” when you use their words

·      A smile, joke, or a little humor can make everyone more comfortable. J

Below are my notes from the presentations.  You may want to read over them to see if you missed any important points.  You may print them out and tape them to page 52 in the ISN WITH your notes, or you can just refer to them here.  You do not have to print them out or add to your notes, but you would be wise to read over them.

Protestant Revolution (Luther trying to “fix” church, not start new one)

Causes: non-Biblical practices, corruption in the church, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, monarchy frustrated with the Pope’s power

Effects: start of Protestant denominations, loss of power for Rome/The Pope over political/economic/social/religious matters throughout large parts of Europe, allowed people to publicly question the church helping lead to the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment

Enlightenment  (”The Age of Reason”)

Causes: Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, Scientific Revolution, desire for new ways of doing things like governments and medicine, people unhappy with their current social and political situation

Effects: inspired political and social rebellions, further challenges to the power of the church, new and more “modern” ways of viewing the world/politics/science/life,

Scientific Revolution (if the church was wrong about X, it could be wrong about Y)

Causes: Printing Press – allowed for ideas to spread and people can build upon prior knowledge/discoveries instead of always “reinventing the wheel”, desire to discover the properties of the physical world, specific geniuses who had access to learning and bravery to challenge the Catholic Church, plagues

Effects:  led to more questioning of the church and old beliefs, led to huge advancements in technology, medicine and science – including the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, beginning of modern science/scientific method

Industrial Revolution  (Started in Great Britain moved across Europe and beyond)

Causes: new improvements in science/tech such as the steam engine, people are not starving/takes fewer people to farm because of the Scientific and Agricultural Revolution

Effects: mass migration from rural to urban, rise in population, increased pollution and disease in the cities, capitalism, shift in child labor (for the worse), efficiency, advances in mechanics of all kinds

American Revolution (from Great Britain’s Perspective)

Causes: distance, Enlightenment philosophy, excessive taxation, lack of power and say in decisions made for them, lots of resources in America

Effects: a new country, loss of land/money/trade/power for Great Britain, lots of death and debt, inspired other revolutions across the world

French Revolution (ironically King Louis XVI would have been OK with a constitutional monarchy)

Causes: American Revolution (inspired and bankrupted France), Enlightenment thinking, People were broke and starving, monarch lost control and touch with the people,

Effects: lots of death and debt, “triggered” loss of absolute monarchy and feudalism throughout much of Europe, inspired further rebellions

Russian Revolution (Tsar Nicolas II was particularly anti-rebellion since his father was killed in one, this made him unwilling to listen to the people’s needs and demands)

Causes: people were broke and starving, previous semi-successful rebellions, unresponsive leadership, rise in communist theory (Marks, Lenin), WW1

Effects: lots of death and debt, communism spreads – eventually leads to the cold war, still mass starvation under Lenin/Communism

Jan. 27-31

Monday - Speaker from the Holocaust Museum

Tuesday - Complete and practice Revolutions Mini-Projects

Wednesday - Present Revolutions Mini-Projects

Thursday - Complete Presentations and do reflection

Friday - World War 1 activities in ItsLearning.  I have a copy of the notes below for each student, but in case you lose yours and/or are absent, there is a copy below.  All instructions on what to read and watch are on It'sLearning under "World War 1".

World War I  19____ - 19____

AKA “The _______ to _______ all __________”  and 

“The _____________ _______”

World War I was an extremely bloody, complicated conflict that eventually involved countries from all over the world.

The assassination of Arch Duke Franz and Arch Duchess Sophie Ferdinand of _______________ was the inciting incident of World War I.  However it is far from the only cause of the war.

Historians often use the acronym M.A.I.N. to summarize the complex web of causes leading to WW I.

M____________________________ (arms race, race to control the seas, assumption there                                                                              will always be a next war)

A____________________________ (distrust of different, old allies and enemies, military                                                                                alliances and pacts)

I_____________________________ (colonialism, race to control the seas, race to control                                                                                    resources)

N____________________________ (fear of different, prejudices, feelings of superiority)

Nationalism does not equal patriotism – you can love your country and be proud of your country without thinking your country is better than the rest of the world and therefor entitled to rob or invade other countries.

Because so many of the European powers at the heart of WW I had colonies and territories all over the world, eventually 32 countries were involved.  The main battles and focus of the conflict were in Europe, called “The Western Front” and “The Eastern Front”.  The two sides were:

The Allies –

Central Powers –

Special case:  Italy, at the beginning of the war, was part of a three-way alliance with the Central Powers (Triple Alliance). However, they *sort of* became “neutral” instead of joining the war. THEN, when they saw the Allies were clearly going to win, they made a secret deal with Great Britain and France to support the Allies.

As a result of many of the revolutions we studied, especially the scientific and industrial, WW I was incredibly deadly.  People became efficient at killing each other. List some of the major advancements in military tactics and machinery first used in WW I.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.  Airplanes

            A.

            B.

Give 3 additional interesting facts about WWI. (Don’t repeat info. already on this sheet.)

1.

2.

3.

Age of Revolution - Due BOC, Wed., 1/29 - will be assigned Tue. 1/22

Age of Revolution

Revolution  (noun)

1.    the usually violent attempt by many people to end the rule of one government and start a new one;

2.    a sudden, extreme, or complete change in the way people live and work.

The Age of Revolution is the period from approximately 1775 to 1848 when several significant revolutionary movements occurred in Europe and the Americas.  However, the roots of this time can be seen as far back as the signing of the Magna Carta.

You and your group will research and present one of the following revolutions that occurred in Europe (but not only Europe) before or during the Age of Revolution.

v  Protestant Reformation

v  Enlightenment

v  Scientific Revolution

v  Industrial Revolution

v  American Revolution (from Great Britain’s point of view)

v  French Revolution

v  Russian Revolution

Find the following information about your revolution and include all in your presentation. 

·       When did the revolution begin?

·       Where did the revolution begin?

·       Who were the individuals or groups of people who were involved in the revolution?

·       What events led to the revolution?

·       Is there a connection between your revolution and any of the other revolutions?

·       What happened during the revolution?

·       How did life change for people because of the revolution – positive and negative?

Divide and Conquer!

You will have two class periods to research your revolution and plan your presentation, but in order to complete the research in time to work on your presentation, you will need to divide the information you are looking for among the people in your group.  I would suggest you have TWO people responsible for each questions so they can compare answers. You will have enough class time to plan and prepare your presentation if you use your time wisely.   

Revolution Presentations

There are several methods you might choose to present your revolution to the class.  Decide which would be the best for the members of your group and for presenting your revolution. 

Presentations are due : _________________________________

Revolutionary Rubric

________(40) Individual Notes – relate directly to questions, have source documentation

________(10) Individual Participation – worked well with others, did your share

________(40) Group Presentation

-       answers all questions, with relevant details/specifics

-       no longer than 6 minutes

-       easy to follow/understand, well organized

-       citations for any images/visuals used

________(10) Individual Reflection – thoughtful reflection with examples and connections

Reminders about Documentation

There are many different ways to document your sources.  For this particular project, we are using a modified MLA style*.

For each online source you use, you will need to note:

-       The author or creator of the site.

-       The name of the PAGE or ARTICLE on that site

-       The name of the web site

-       The copyright or last updated date of the site

-       The day YOU went to the web site

You need to create a citation for any and every source you take notes from. You are turning your notes into me – the notes will be quotations directly from the source and/or summaries from the source. You may need to use several sources to answer a question completely. You must cite the source.  The citation will follow this format:

Baxter, Bob. “Protestant Revolution.” Encyclopedia of Revolutions. 2009. 9 Jan. 2017.

For any books you use, you will need to note:

-       The author of the book

-       The title of the book

-       The city where the book was published

-       The publisher (maker) of the book

-       The date the book was published

Baxter, Bob. Revolutions. New York: Bantham Press, 2012.

                             *You may use Noodle Tools or other online resources that help you make a MLA citation. Some online sources even give you the citation format if you look carefully. J