This week we watched President-elect Obama reach out to some of our best and brightest leaders to build the strongest Cabinet possible to tackle the enormous problems our country faces. He has taken a page out of the Lincoln playbook by incorporating former rivals into his Administration. How many people could imagine the President-elect selecting his most formidable rival, Senator Clinton, for the top post in his Administration?
In a recent interview, Obama spoke about the books he has been reading and they included Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin (faithful blog readers will remember that I wrote about hearing her speak at Roger Williams University) and a new book about how President Franklin Roosevelt dealt with the first 100 days of his administration during our worst economic depression. It is comforting to know our soon-to-be President is a student of history who understands that much can be learned from past experiences.
With the naming of the new Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, President of the New York Federal Reserve, the stock market immediately turned around and shot up over 490 points. The market was endorsing Obama’s selection and some confidence was restored. Many of our current events this year have focused on the economy, so the blog will try to help you integrate this information so you get the big picture!
Speaking of a challenging economy, keep in mind that our canned food drive is coming to a close. Do your part and donate a can of soup, fruit or some other nonperishable item to help those in our community who are struggling. The Providence Journal headline in Friday’s paper said so much: “9.3% of Rhode Islanders out of work!” Over 52,900 people do not have jobs and therefore are finding it hard without community support to take care of basic needs. Let’s reach out and help!
CWI
This week we walked in the shoes of refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq, we talked with teens who are members of the Seeds of Peace program in Israel, and we read about teens growing up in Saudi Arabia. All of these activities allowed you to apply your background knowledge from our text and The World Today readings. By putting yourself into these roles you gained a better understanding of the conflicts and hopefully identified possible ways to resolve the issues.
Next week you will have your final assessment on Southwest Asia. You will have an in class writing assignment that will ask you to respond to a question that will allow you to incorporate all that you learned from these readings. Developing empathy for others and integrating information are critical thinking skills you will need time and time again.
Your next current event is due December 1 and it must be about South Asia. This region includes India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Make sure you check our text next week to get a list of countries in this region so you can earn full credit. You will find that different sources identify the regions using different names. To be consistent, we will stick to our text definition.
In early December you will also be working on a task for your portfolio.
AP European
Your projects are due on Tuesday. Please have your handouts ready for your fellow students. I will be glad to do photocopying if you drop off your materials on Monday.
Your 80 multiple choice questions for Chapter 19 and 20 will be on December 2. Your study guides will be due the same day. We decided that we would drop the bold to bold outlines for these two chapters.
World History
This week you designed your Age of Exploration charts and map. Designing a chart is a useful skill because it can help you organize complex information. You can use this skill in any content area. Keep in mind that you always want to use multiple sources to get the most complete and accurate information possible.
As historians we want to synthesize information and try to answer how this time period impacted the world then and now. The trading of crops, animals, ideas, technology, disease and people changed the commercial world and eventually the everyday life of the common people. New foods, especially the potato, provided a new source of inexpensive nutrition that eventually led to population growth in Europe. At the same time, European disease when brought to North America devastated the Native American population. This was also the time of great commercial growth with the formation of joint stock companies and the economic theory of mercantilism. Countries like England and France wanted colonies so they could increase their supply of natural resources and to have markets for finished goods. Strict trading policies were supposed to ensure wealth and power for the Mother country.
On Friday you had a quiz based on your text reading and our three focus questions in class. This is a reminder that we will never have enough time to go over all key points during our class period so it is your responsibility to review material and be able to respond to our guiding questions. Keep in mind that you are also learning new vocabulary which will be essential for you to understand as you embark on your three year Social Studies high school requirements. You will be reading about joint stock companies and mercantilism again next year during your American History course and again during your Junior year in Contemporary World Issues, AP World or AP European. This is all part of learning how to learn.
You have your Absolutism guiding questions to help focus your reading. This weekend you have your spoke diagram rubric for your Louis XIV assignment which is due on November 25. Your current event is also due that day.
In a recent interview, Obama spoke about the books he has been reading and they included Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin (faithful blog readers will remember that I wrote about hearing her speak at Roger Williams University) and a new book about how President Franklin Roosevelt dealt with the first 100 days of his administration during our worst economic depression. It is comforting to know our soon-to-be President is a student of history who understands that much can be learned from past experiences.
With the naming of the new Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, President of the New York Federal Reserve, the stock market immediately turned around and shot up over 490 points. The market was endorsing Obama’s selection and some confidence was restored. Many of our current events this year have focused on the economy, so the blog will try to help you integrate this information so you get the big picture!
Speaking of a challenging economy, keep in mind that our canned food drive is coming to a close. Do your part and donate a can of soup, fruit or some other nonperishable item to help those in our community who are struggling. The Providence Journal headline in Friday’s paper said so much: “9.3% of Rhode Islanders out of work!” Over 52,900 people do not have jobs and therefore are finding it hard without community support to take care of basic needs. Let’s reach out and help!
CWI
This week we walked in the shoes of refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq, we talked with teens who are members of the Seeds of Peace program in Israel, and we read about teens growing up in Saudi Arabia. All of these activities allowed you to apply your background knowledge from our text and The World Today readings. By putting yourself into these roles you gained a better understanding of the conflicts and hopefully identified possible ways to resolve the issues.
Next week you will have your final assessment on Southwest Asia. You will have an in class writing assignment that will ask you to respond to a question that will allow you to incorporate all that you learned from these readings. Developing empathy for others and integrating information are critical thinking skills you will need time and time again.
Your next current event is due December 1 and it must be about South Asia. This region includes India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Make sure you check our text next week to get a list of countries in this region so you can earn full credit. You will find that different sources identify the regions using different names. To be consistent, we will stick to our text definition.
In early December you will also be working on a task for your portfolio.
AP European
Your projects are due on Tuesday. Please have your handouts ready for your fellow students. I will be glad to do photocopying if you drop off your materials on Monday.
Your 80 multiple choice questions for Chapter 19 and 20 will be on December 2. Your study guides will be due the same day. We decided that we would drop the bold to bold outlines for these two chapters.
World History
This week you designed your Age of Exploration charts and map. Designing a chart is a useful skill because it can help you organize complex information. You can use this skill in any content area. Keep in mind that you always want to use multiple sources to get the most complete and accurate information possible.
As historians we want to synthesize information and try to answer how this time period impacted the world then and now. The trading of crops, animals, ideas, technology, disease and people changed the commercial world and eventually the everyday life of the common people. New foods, especially the potato, provided a new source of inexpensive nutrition that eventually led to population growth in Europe. At the same time, European disease when brought to North America devastated the Native American population. This was also the time of great commercial growth with the formation of joint stock companies and the economic theory of mercantilism. Countries like England and France wanted colonies so they could increase their supply of natural resources and to have markets for finished goods. Strict trading policies were supposed to ensure wealth and power for the Mother country.
On Friday you had a quiz based on your text reading and our three focus questions in class. This is a reminder that we will never have enough time to go over all key points during our class period so it is your responsibility to review material and be able to respond to our guiding questions. Keep in mind that you are also learning new vocabulary which will be essential for you to understand as you embark on your three year Social Studies high school requirements. You will be reading about joint stock companies and mercantilism again next year during your American History course and again during your Junior year in Contemporary World Issues, AP World or AP European. This is all part of learning how to learn.
You have your Absolutism guiding questions to help focus your reading. This weekend you have your spoke diagram rubric for your Louis XIV assignment which is due on November 25. Your current event is also due that day.
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