Preparation Pays!

Grand Mosque in Mali

 

This week we continued our journey through Africa.  You had time to work in the library with your partners on your power point project.  Learning to work successfully with a group is a great skill to have as you get ready to enter the work force or go on to further professional development.  Using your MHS email accounts allowed you to collaborate beyond the school building and regular class hours.  As with any technology we have to be prepared for glitches.  Your room management plan clearly stated that MHS email accounts had to be up and running by October 1.  Many students were ready on time and that made the project start smoothly.  Some of the paper work got tied up in the office but again with enough advance warning most of you were ready.  You will need an MHS account for another project in the future so please be sure to make any necessary arrangements now.

A few last minute hints:

1.      Read the rubric and then reread it; it is a very clear list of what you will need to do to have a project that meets standard.

2.      Use visuals; limit writing on the slides; you may put all of your words on note cards that will be handed in.

3.      Practice your presentation; be confident, be comfortable; you are the expert on the country.

4.      Focus on the 3 main questions: what are the challenges, opportunities and successes of your country?

5.      Be knowledgeable about the entire presentation, not just the slide or slides you built.

If you have other questions about the assignment, please post a comment and I will get back to you.

Maps

You received your political map assignment on October 10 and 11. This assignment was also posted on the blog along with the rubric. Your quiz, using the map, was given to you on Thursday or Friday so you should have had ample time to complete the assignment.  Students who took the time to draw a clear and well labeled map earned high quiz grades.   Be sure to follow the rubric to earn all your points.

National Geographic Reading

We also read an excerpt from National Geographic on Africa and the impact of geography on its development. As we read, we took the time to pull out one or two main ideas per paragraph.  Keep in mind a paragraph contains at least one main idea and after reading you should be able to select the key idea.  Keep your notes short…don’t write long sentences…look for the nuggets of information.  Effective note taking skills are a necessity for your future years of work or school.

Economic and Health Worksheets

We started reading the sections in the text on health care challenges of Africa and how they are directly linked to the economic future of the continent. Bill and Melinda Gates are funding a major initiative to have all children in Africa vaccinated over the next few years.  Healthy children have a better chance of growing up to be healthy adults and workers.  Vaccinations are an affordable way to help this continent rid itself of diseases that are no longer known in the more developed countries. You will have additional time next week to complete this assignment.

Timbuktu

We also watched the MSNBC story on the ancient city of Timbuktu.  Western Africa was a rich region and home to wealthy and powerful kingdoms.  Cities traded in slaves, gold and salt.  Today, these cities have fallen into disrepair but there is a new interest in preserving the culture, especially the thousands of documents that were part of the Timbuktu library. As we study current conditions in African countries and consider their future possibilities, we must also be mindful of their rich history.

Current Event

Your next current event will be due Thursday, October 25, and it must be about Africa.  Why not take this opportunity and do an article from an African newspaper from your power point country – that way, you can use the article in your project!

Women in Africa

Thank you to Ms. Averill for her lesson on the changing role of women in Africa.  It was only a year ago that two women from Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and peace activist Leymah Gbowee, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in bringing peace and stability to their country.

Political Radio Ad

This week your radio promo ad was due.  Congratulations to our creative students who taped the ads…well done and fun! You had a rubric and an article outlining the differences between Obama and Romney, and I posted a video on last week’s blog to help you with this project.  I look forward to reading your ads.  We have only 18 days to go before the election.

World History

This week we finished presenting our Scientific Revolution posters. We had a power point on what makes for a good project.  Please keep in mind that when you have a project, I expect to read your words…not the words of a source.  You can’t copy and paste or even paraphrase without giving credit to the original author.  How would you feel if your words were used by someone without attribution?  This was your first project so we followed up with a power point on what makes for a good project.

You had a quiz based on the presentations and you were able to use your notes.  Good grades were earned by all who took down the key contribution of each scientist.  

We continued with The Age of Exploration.  You had a map due that asked you to show the routes of the key explorers.  This was a good exercise to see how brave these explorers were in their efforts to “discover” new lands. You also had to read pages 372-378 and do questions 1-4 from the section review.  These questions then became the basis of the quiz you had on Friday.  Make sure when studying for a quiz that you know the key vocabulary.  Also you can turn the bold headlines in the text into questions…can you answer the question after reading the section?

For homework you need to complete the worksheet that goes along with chapter 16 section 5 on trade and the Columbian Exchange. You had a power point that helped you with some of the key vocabulary that might be new to you.

You also have a current event due on Friday…your choice of a national or international article.

Finally we had two baseline assignments: a document analysis sheet and a one-paragraph writing response.  These assignments will be used in designing lessons to help you improve in both areas.  The Social Studies Department is working to have you become better document analyzers and writers.

If You Are Out

As you can see, we have very full class days.  When you are absent it is your responsibility to come before or after school to sit down with me and go over the work and assignments.  It is not always possible to spend the time with you during class as we are continually working on the assignments. I would also urge you to check the blog every weekend.

Extra Credit Question

Who is Mohamed Bouazizi and why do we need to know him?  Be the first in your class to email me the correct answer using your MHS email account to earn extra credit.

Happy Birthday to BABM…a faithful reader.