We Made It!

This week we said good bye and good luck to our Seniors. It is always great fun having a mix of students in the classroom as different ages bring different perspectives. Your point of view will change over time as you gain more experiences. The classroom is a safe place to practice developing your points of view and sharing them with fellow students. Don’t ever be afraid to speak your mind but always take the time to gather information and think about your point of view. Argue and debate out of knowledge.

We have had an exciting year as we travelled the globe via our current events and study of Contemporary World Issues. You will soon find out that the world is really very small...we can see and be in contact with people from all over the globe in a matter of seconds....we can fly to, buy from and sell to any part of the world...and our actions as individuals and a country affect all. You are truly COTW: Citizens of the World!

In addition to our international studies we have spent much time thinking and talking about the major domestic changes our country is experiencing. You participated in the mock election and have been eyewitnesses to a turning point in history with the election of President Obama. You were there when he was inaugurated and now you are watching his efforts to bring the American Dream to more of our citizens. This summer make sure to keep track of the Sotomayor nomination...she may be our first Hispanic Supreme Court judge and our third woman to serve on the highest court in the land.

Presidential Power Points

On Monday you will present your power point on one of the assigned presidents. This has been a great end of year project where you get to work with a group, locate key information and build an attractive and informative power point. I was impressed with your ability to organize information along with photos to make attractive slides. You also have a great talent for sharing emails or using Google documents to make this project more manageable. With the completion of this project, you will have a good sense of the key events during the last 30 years of our country’s history. So often history classes end at World War II and students are frustrated that modern events and issues are never discussed. We should take great pride that we did it...studied all of the presidents while keeping up with current events! Great job!

Study Guide

You have a study guide to help you review for the exam. I would also urge you to use your portfolio and of course to read over each blog entry. By reading the weekly entry, you will have a review of all the classes since our midterm exam. When doing the study guide, don’t use just the glossary for definitions as that does not put the event, person or term into context. By using the text to read about the events, you will get a better understanding of the reason why the term is on the study guide. Make sure to include the significance....why we need to know...for each term, person or event.

World History

You have a current event due on Tuesday and it must be about our study of Israel and the Palestinians. You have completed your packet so they will be collected on Tuesday. You have your study guide and you will have class time to work on it. You also have a description of the exam so you should be well prepared. We will update our status of assignment sheet on Wednesday and then you can take the folder home. The portfolio is a great way to review for the exam

Last Entry

So it is now time to say good-by and wish all of you a happy and safe summer. I want to thank my blog editor for keeping my thinking and writing clear, crisp and accurate. I want to thank my many readers for their comments which always led to a better entry. But most of all, I want to thank all of my students for a great year. Your interest, enthusiasm, and questioning have led us all to a better understanding of our world and how we can contribute to a better tomorrow.