Introduction Day - Class Recap

The start of a year long journey together! This is the road to Monument Valley, on the Arizona/Utah border, this summer.

Hello everyone,

Thank you for doing your homework and visiting the blog! As I said in class, I think this is a really helpful resource for students, staff, and parents to be able to follow along with what is happening. After every class, I will write up a recap and post it. Most of the time, your only homework will be to read over the blog and be prepared for what is coming next in class. With that, let's get started!

Soundtrack: "Changes" by 2Pac. I always choose this song to start off a new class with, because I like the idea of our room being somewhat different from your other experiences in high school. This song also has all sorts of lyrics that relate to Global Studies, like the line "Can't a brother get a little peace?
There's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East." Check out the full lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/3/14:
Introductions/Attendance
Syllabus/Grades
The Blog
Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz
Create Ground Rules
News Briefs

Homework: Share syllabus with parents. Bring binder. Check the blog and post a comment! Next news brief: Will.

Introductions/Attendance: At the start of class, I introduced myself and how the agenda on the whiteboard works. I am absolutely delighted to be your teacher at Westview this year!

I took attendance and tried to ask everyone how they wanted me to address them. It will take me some time, but eventually, I will know everyone's names, I promise!

Syllabus/Grades: I know that this is not the most exciting content in class. I wanted to make sure to go over some of the real key points to the syllabus (like where I am, how to contact me, how your grade is decided, and the need to bring a binder to class). Here is an electronic copy of the syllabus and rubrics:

Google Drive: Westview Global Studies Syllabus and Rubrics

If you or your parents have any questions about any of this, please let me know!

The Blog: As part of the syllabus, I introduced this website: the class blog! This is seriously so important for your success in this class. If you are staying up to date on here, reviewing what happened in class to get ready for the next meeting, and asking questions if you need help, I guarantee that you will be more successful than if you do not. Make sure to leave a comment at least once (the easiest homework assignment of all time for most students, I believe), so I know you are able to!

Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz: After the syllabus talk was done, I passed out a letter that I wrote to the class, explaining all about who I am and what sort of expectations I have. Hopefully, most of it was interesting information! I like passing these out and signing them all individually. To me, it represents that I really am interested in everyone in my class.

After reading the letter aloud, I asked everyone to write back to me in a similar sort of fashion. I gave a bunch of possible questions to answer as prompts and about 30 minutes or so to complete the assignment. I LOVE reading these and writing back to everyone! Thank you for your effort - I can't wait to learn a little bit more about who you are!

Create Ground Rules: Ahh, yes. The awkward process. You did not do too badly with this! The rules that you came up with and agreed to as an entire class are:

1. Be Respectful
2. Come Prepared
3. Have an Open Mind
4. Participate in Class
5. Ask for Help When Needed

I will be working to make sure everyone, including myself, is following the ground rules! Thank you for participating in this exercise.

News Briefs: This is the current event style assignment that everyone will do at least once. Basically, all I want is for someone (I will assign it) to bring in a print out (or email me) of an current news article (within the last two weeks) that is a story about something outside the United States (since this is a Global Studies class). We will talk for about 5-10 minutes at the start of class about whatever article this is - just as a way to help make class relevant and interesting to you and what is going on every day in the world.

Thank you for reading! See you next class!