During today's class, Khushali and I had a "debate" about the weather outside - is it partly cloudy, or partly sunny? Who was right? The answer is that unless someone can bring facts to the debate (being objective), both of us could make good arguments based on our opinions (being subjective). I took this picture on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten in 2009. Partly cloudy? Partly sunny? You decide.
Hi everyone,
So much talking from me today in class! I hope I didn't bore you out of your minds (I don't think I did). We were almost able to get through everything - there are two presentation slides for next class. If you want to review all of the material, this is the recap for you!
Essential Question: Why do wars happen?
Soundtrack: “Enter Sandman”
by Metallica. Chosen because it is played when famous Yankees "closer" Mariano Rivera comes into a baseball game to "save" the win. Somewhat like the US entering World War I. Lyrics here.
AGENDA 2/8/13:
News Brief/Blog Recap
US Entry into WWI
Objective/Subjective
A Flawed Peace
Homework: Read the blog! Review your "CDs" for the final essay!
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News Brief: Ethan G. had the news brief for us today. Here is the article he chose: CNN.com - Tunisia gripped by political uncertainty after killing. I talked about the unrest in Tunisia (North Africa) that started the "Arab Spring" (a major event in recent world history). I mentioned the concept of "self-immolation" as a form of protest - lighting yourself on fire to commit suicide in a very public way. The uprising in Tunisia started with this, and monks in Tibet have been known to do it as well (to protest Chinese rule). Michelle, you have the next news brief, please! Any article about something happening outside the United States.
Blog Recap: I talked about last class, and how I felt that it could have gone better from my perspective. Fortunately, it sounded like the peer review went better than I thought, because nobody wanted to continue with that. The point here was that even though last class was only my fifth as your teacher, I'm always trying to get better and reflect on what happened.
US Entry into WWI: This portion of class was devoted to learning how the United States became involved with the war. Hopefully this made sense - if not, please ask questions in the comments! For your final essay, it will probably be good to know the terms "Lusitania," "unrestricted submarine warfare," and "the Zimmerman Note." Here is the presentation to review if you missed class or want to see it again:
This is the first of two presentations today. Dang! I don't think I've ever done back to back presentations (or at least two in one class). So much to cover!
Objective/Subjective: Again, this started out with Khushali and I debating the weather. The two terms here are objective = facts/concrete details and subjective = opinions/commentary. I went over who wrote the Modern World Textbook in class (were multiple different perspectives engaged in writing it?) and then handed out this sheet of quotes of possible reasons why the United States entered World War I, and had students respond at the end with thoughts:
Please bring these next class (as well as everything else that we have done during this unit - I will have you turn in a big packet of work, right before writing the final essay).
A Flawed Peace: We did not get all the way through this, so we will finish next class. Hopefully, this was interesting and eye-opening information about the end of World War I. If you want to review (or are interested in seeing the two slides I will go over next class), here it is:
Thank you so much for your focus on taking notes! I think it will really help you during the prep for the final essay.
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Phew. So much happened today in class! I hope it all made sense. Definitely ask in the comments or via email if it was confusing. Have a great weekend!
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