Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts

Monday, November 6, 2017

Culture, Day 11 - Class Recap


Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo taken in 2016 during the Rio 2016 Olympics. Lots of culture on display, for sure!

Hello everyone,

Our last class dealing with culture, as students had a timed write in class with finishing the DBQ essay. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Sirius" by Alan Parsons Project. Selected for today as another pump up song for writing the DBQ. No lyrics, but listen here.

AGENDA 11/6/17:
News Brief - Emmanuel M.
Grade Updates
Write DBQ Essay
SSR/Quiet Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. All Culture unit work was due in class today - if you did not turn it in, do so ASAP! As a reminder, this is:

1) Surface culture worksheet (National Geographic photos PowerPoint)
2) Cornell Notes on Culture definitions/iceberg PowerPoint
3) Nacirema writing (neatly written or typed, 200 words minimum)
4) Time for School Notes/Answers

Next news brief: Noah.

News Brief: Emmanuel M. had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about with the class: BBC.com - Saudi prince killed in helicopter crash near Yemen border. We found Yemen in the Middle East map and talked for a bit in class about this story and what is currently happening in Saudi Arabia. We also checked in about what people were up to outside of class this weekend.

Noah was selected to do the next news brief.

If you wanted to watch the one minute BBC World News update, here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day:


Grade Updates: After the news, I talked about what I saw while updating grades for the Progress Report. In general, I loved the Culture Projects the class did! I enjoyed the students that wrote they had never really thought about their own culture before, and I know that everyone enjoyed the presentations in class about cultures around the world, as well. Thank you for your hard work with these! The next grades in the grade book with be for the Culture DBQ, which are the same learning targets as the Culture Project, so your grade may change when I grade them (hopefully later this week).

Write DBQ Essay: The rest of class was devoted to writing the DBQ essay (this is linked to in Google Classroom), based off of the documents that you analyzed last class. Before we did this, we went through the handout going through the steps to writing a DBQ (as well as recalled our notes on the Justin Bieber example):


As students finished the five paragraph essay, they turned it in on Google Classroom or handed it in to me in person, along with the rest of their Culture Unit work.

SSR/Quiet Work Time: After students finished the essay, it was quiet work time in class as everyone had until the end of class to complete the assignment. Next class, we will begin our next unit, on Governments and structures of power around the world! See you then!
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Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Culture, Day 10 - Class Recap

One of the ways culture both reflects and shapes society is through religion. This is a church in Budapest, Hungary, in 2013. I just loved the lighting here! No special effects!

Dear class,

We are almost done with the Culture unit! One more day of DBQ writing to go. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited. Intended as a pump up song to begin writing the DBQ essay today in class! Here's a link to the version I played in class, from ESPN's "Jock Jams" CD.

AGENDA 11/1/17:
News Brief - Andrew
DBQ Scaffolding
Questions?
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Bring all Culture unit work next class to turn in after writing the essay section of the DBQ! As a reminder, this is:

1) Surface culture worksheet (National Geographic photos PowerPoint)
2) Cornell Notes on Culture definitions/iceberg PowerPoint
3) Nacirema writing (neatly written or typed, 200 words minimum)
4) Time for School Notes/Answers

Next news brief: Emmanuel M.

News Brief: Andrew had the news brief today, but was not in class, so I filled in and selected an article about this story to talk about with the class: WashingtonPost.com - Five old friends from Argentina reunited in New York. They died together in a terrorist attack.. We found Argentina in the South America map and talked for a bit in class about what happened with the terrorist attack in New York City yesterday. We also checked in about what people were up to outside of class this weekend.

Emmanuel M. was selected to do the next news brief.

If you wanted to watch the one minute BBC World News update, here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day:


DBQ Scaffolding: Today was almost entirely devoted to answering the scaffolding questions portion of the culture DBQ (which is on Google Classroom or was handed out as a paper copy in class if students did not have their Chromebooks).

We began this process as a class, with this handout going through the steps to writing a DBQ:


We had about 30 minutes in class to be completing the document analysis. Next class, we will write the essay response in class, so please come prepared with all of your notes!

Have a great long weekend!
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Monday, October 30, 2017

Culture, Day 9 - Class Recap


A clock in a park in Hanoi, Vietnam. Next class will used for your DBQ essay final! Today, students took a look at the documents and began to think of possible responses for the essay. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today was dedicated to Culture Project presentations! Next class, you will be writing an essay on the prompt "How does culture both reflect and shape society?" Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen. Selected for today because the song is typically seen as representing patriotic themes, but a closer look at the lyrics (as we did in class) show that the song is really about a deep dissatisfaction with American culture.

AGENDA 10/30/17:
News Brief – Ido
Culture Project Presentations
DBQ Prep
Work/Prep Time

Homework: Read the blog. Bring ALL of your culture unit work to be used during the first part of the DBQ!

1) Surface culture worksheet (National Geographic photos PowerPoint)
2) Cornell Notes on Culture definitions/iceberg PowerPoint
3) Nacirema writing (neatly written or typed, 200 words minimum)
4) Time for School Notes/Answers

Next news brief: Andrew.

News Brief: Maria had the news brief today and chose an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Should women in Pakistan be told what to wear?. We found Pakistan in the world map packet and talked about this story, and also shared some stories from the Halloween weekend and other current events.

Andrew was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Culture Project Presentations: This was most the rest of the class, as students who did PowerPoint presentations or visual representations for their Culture Project talked about their own culture. I really loved this, and it is always so cool to learn more about different cultures around the world and in our classroom! Way to go, everyone that went today! If you did not turn in your project yet, please submit it on Google Classroom, or turn in a paper copy to the box in the classroom. I will grade these later this week - the grades will be on the progress report, so please turn it in ASAP if you have not already.

DBQ Prep: The last part of class was for getting ready for an upcoming Documents Based Question (DBQ), which is a type of essay that you will likely see many more times in your high school career. In order to help understand what to do with the writing portion, I had the class take notes on this PowerPoint presentation:


Your notes from this will help next class as we start the DBQ together! Thank you for your hard work! See you next class!
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Thursday, October 26, 2017

Culture, Day 8 - Class Recap


Camels in front of the entrance to The Treasury in Petra, Jordan. Photo taken July 2014.

Hi everyone,

Today was our last in-class work day for the Culture Project assignment. Here's the recap for the day:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. Selected for today because of the association with Halloween! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/26/17:
News Brief – Shaylee
Reflect/Shape
Grade Check
Culture Project

Homework: Read the blog. Continue working on the Culture Project - due next class! Next news brief: Maria.

News Brief: Shaylee had the news brief today and came in early to find this article with me before class: CNN.com - North Korean official: Take hydrogen bomb threat 'literally'. We found North Korea on our world maps and talked a bit about the ongoing conflict over their nuclear weapons and missile program. Thanks, Shaylee!

Maria was selected to bring in the next news brief, and we checked in about the upcoming weekend, as well.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Reflect/Shape: I wanted to be sure students had another opportunity to understand how to respond to the learning target of how culture both reflects and shapes society, so we went through this quick PowerPoint together in seeking to provide some more information about the terms:


Hopefully this helped in understanding some of the key terms of the learning target for the unit.

Culture Project/Grade Check: The rest of class was devoted to work time on the DBQ (which students passed back at the end of class) and continuing to work on the culture project, as I checked in with every student in the class about grades and what could help. There are a lot of options of what to do - it could be writing, a visual, a presentation, or something else. Here's the assignment:


This will be due in class on Monday, so be working on it at home and ask questions if you need help!

Have a great weekend, everyone!
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Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Culture, Day 7 - Class Recap


A big part of American culture is sports. This was taken at the 2010 Holiday Bowl, before Oregon played Oklahoma State, and won! :-)

Dear class,

Most of today was taken up with working on your Culture Project, which is due next week on Tuesday! Here's the recap for today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Selected for today because we talked about American culture, as well as Halloween upcoming. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/24/17:
News Brief – Kenzie
Time for School Updates
Culture Project
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Continue working on the Culture Project - due next Monday! Next news brief: Shaylee.

News Brief: Kenzie had the news brief today and came in early to find this article with me before class: BBC.com - Syria: Russia vetoes extension of chemical weapons inquiry. We found Syria on our world maps and talked about this ongoing story, as Syria is a focal point in terms of conflict in the world right now. We also checked in about the weekend and what students were up to outside of class.

Shaylee was selected to bring in the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Time for School Updates: After watching Part 2 (just the parts having to do with the students, not the interview at the end), I showed the updates that PBS recently put out about 6 of the 7 students in Time for School. Here are links to see them again (the video should start playing at the new sections of the video):





It was really interesting to see how everyone is doing now, and what they are up to in their lives!

Here is the most recent version of the Time For School documentary (including Shugufa) if you want to see what everyone is up to!


Culture Project/Work Time: After watching the updates, the rest of class was devoted to work time, in completing the Time for School questions, and continuing to work on the culture project. There are a lot of options of what to do - it could be writing, a visual, a presentation, or something else. Here's the assignment:


This will be due in class next week on Monday, so be working on it at home, bring work into class to do next class, and ask questions if you need help! I went around the class and answered questions about it, or helped brainstorm ideas. Please continue to be working on this at home! See you next class. :-)
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Friday, October 20, 2017

Culture, Day 6 - Class Recap

Note: My classes today had a substitute teacher today due to me needing to attend a Westview Global Studies team meeting in Salem. This recap is what I wanted to have happen in class - a shortened day due to the Homecoming Assembly schedule!


A pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This was right across the street from where my friend Clarke lived for a while. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today we finished the Time For School assignment and continued to work on the Culture Project. Here's the recap for today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Rhapsody in Blue" by Leonard Bernstein. Selected for today because I went flying over the last weekend, and this song is used in United Airlines commercials. No lyrics, but listen here.

AGENDA 10/20/17:
News Brief – Anya
Time for School
Culture Project

Homework: Read the blog. Continue working on the Culture Project! Next news brief: Kenzie.

News Brief: Anya had the news brief today and hopefully had something interesting to share with the class as everyone noted on their world maps where it was. Kenzie was selected to do the next news brief last class.

Because I was not in class, there was no BBC News today. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

Time For School: We finished Time For School today. If you missed class and the handout, here it is:


Again, the point to this was to analyze how we see surface culture and what deeper culture is like in different areas around the world.

If you missed class and need to catch up, or simply want to review it again:
Today, we went back to the assignment, talked about the students and their culture, then answered the three questions on the back side of the paper. Please keep this for the future, as it will be part of the Culture Unit Collection of Evidence.

Culture Project/Work Time: I introduced this last class. This is one of the main assignments for the culture unit, and I hope it is interesting for students to work on! There are a lot of options of what to do - it could be writing, a visual, a presentation, or something else. Here's the assignment:


This will be due in class on Monday, October 30, so be working on it at home, bring work into class to do, and ask questions if you need help!

The rest of class was devoted to working on the Culture Project. Please continue to be working on this at home and let me know if you have questions by sending me an email! See you next class. :-)
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Culture, Day 5 - Class Recap

On the football field at Westview, later this past summer. Athletic events are a big part of Westview culture!

Hi everyone,

We continued learning about culture today! I also introduced the Culture Project that you will be working on the next couple of weeks. Here's the recap for today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Represent" by Weezer. Selected for today because we were talking about how people in different cultures represent themselves. This was also a pump up song for the 2010 World Cup. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/18/17:
News Brief – Kallie
Culture Project
Time for School
Plans for Friday

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in missing/incomplete geography work ASAP. Start working on your Culture Project! Be good for the substitute on Friday! Next news brief: Anya (then Kenzie on Tuesday).

News Brief: Kallie had the news brief today and talked about this story with the class: BBC.com - Quebec bans niqab for public services with neutrality law. We found the Canada in our world maps (in North America) and talked about this new law and the possible consequences regarding culture. Thanks, Kallie! Anya was assigned to do the next news brief (and then Kenzie on Tuesday).

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Culture Project: This is one of the main assignments for the culture unit, and I hope it is interesting for students to work on! There are a lot of options of what to do - it could be writing, a visual, a presentation, or something else. I'm really interested in learning more about your own culture, and I hope that you are able to learn more about your own culture, too. Here's the assignment:


This will be due in class on Monday, October 30, so be working on it at home, bring work into class to do, and ask questions if you need help! Talk with me if you are thinking about doing something in the "Other" category!

Time For School: I really like this documentary as part of our unit on culture, because it is especially interesting to me to see how school and education is a part of different cultures around the world. Here was the handout that I gave to students to fill out as we were watching:


Again, the point to this was to analyze how we see surface culture and what deeper culture is like in different areas around the world.

We finished Part 1 of Time For School 3 today, if you missed class and need to catch up, or simply want to review it again:

We also started Part 2, and finished class about 15 minutes in.


We will finish this next class with the substitute on Friday and continue working on the culture project after that! Thank you!
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Monday, October 16, 2017

Culture, Day 4 - Class Recap


I really like this picture I took of a kid (I have no idea who it is) at Trillium Lake by Mt. Hood, last summer. Fishing could be a part of his family culture!

Dear class,

We are now really getting into the culture unit! Today, we learned more about education and culture, as well as sharing our Nacirema stories! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Abc" by Jackson 5. Selected because it relates to the theme of school and culture, which we learned more about today with Time for School! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/16/17:
News Brief – Ms. Rice
Review Cornell Notes
The Nacirema Stories
Time For School

Homework: Read the blog. Finish working on the Nacirema assignment if you did not in class (see below). Check your grade in Student VUE and improve it, if possible. Next news brief: Kallie.

News Brief: Ms. Rice brought in an article about this story to talk about for the news brief today: BBC.com - Hurricane Ophelia: Three people die as storm hits Ireland. We found Ireland in the world map packet (the Europe map) and discussed this article for a bit - this is an incredibly unusual event, to have a hurricane hit part of Europe! Thanks, Ms. Rice! Kallie was randomly drawn as the next news brief.

We checked in about the weekend, and anything else that was happening, as well. I had an incredible time in Orlando, watching the Thorns win the NWSL Championship!

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

Review Cornell Notes: Last class, we went through a PowerPoint on culture. Today, we returned to our notes as part of the AVID process of Cornell Notes, and made questions about the material, as well as summarizing information. There were two handouts that went with this (from last class):



Again, here's the PowerPoint on culture that I wanted notes to be taken on:


Thanks for trying this way of taking notes!

The Nacirema Stories: We returned to the Nacirema reading and assignment from last class, as students tried to make their own versions of the Nacirema stories.


Here's the assignment that has to do with the with the Nacirema reading:


Remember, you are trying to identify something about our own culture, that, when described from an outsider's perspective, would actually seem pretty strange. We finished these in class (if you did not, please finish it at home) and shared a few out before moving on.

Time For School: I really like this documentary as part of our unit on culture, because it is especially interesting to me to see how school is a part of different cultures around the world. Here was the handout that I gave to students to fill out as we were watching:


Again, the point to this was to analyze how we see surface culture and what deeper culture is like in different areas around the world.

We got about 34:00 in to the following video, if you missed class and need to catch up, or simply want to review it again:


I hope you are finding this interesting and engaging! See you next class! :-)
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Thursday, October 12, 2017

Culture, Day 3 - Class Recap


Today's soundtrack was "Wavin' Flag" by K'Naan, so the photo for today is of a picture I took of the flag of Turkey on a ferry, overlooking the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul. Photo taken in 2013.

Hi everyone,

I enjoyed blowing your minds today (see below)! I think it was a good class, with finishing the culture PowerPoint lecture notes, and then having fun with the Nacirema reading. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.

Soundtrack: "Wavin' Flag" by K'Naan. Selected for today because flags are a symbolic representation of a county, which is integrated into culture. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/12/17:
News Brief – Zachary
Cornell Notes
The Nacirema
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Finish your Nacirema short writing, please! Check your grade in Student VUE and improve it, if possible. Next news brief: Ms. Rice.

News Brief: Zachary brought in an article about this story to talk about for the news brief today: BBC.com - Israel to join US in quitting Unesco. We found Israel in the world map packet (the Middle East map) and discussed this story for a bit. Thanks, Zachary! Ms. Rice was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Cornell Notes: This is a note-taking strategy that we are going to be using frequently this year at Westview - especially if you are at all familiar with the AVID class. There were two handouts that went with this:



We went through both of these together, as I made sure to talk about the way in which Cornell Notes help with retaining information. Here's the PowerPoint on culture that I wanted notes to be taken on:


Really, the Iceberg Model is all about what we cannot see. We had an interesting discussion in class with this, as we looked more into deep culture, and what some good examples might be. As I said in class, I think everyone does not want to stereotype cultures, or be prejudiced against them in some way, so we need to seek to understand cultures around the world. Your notes are a good start in this!

The Nacirema: I always enjoy this (an old school reading, but a good one). To begin, we used another AVID strategy that involves numbering the paragraphs of a reading. We read this famous article together, as most students sat perplexed about what the heck was going on.


Spoiler alert: here's the assignment that has to do with the with the Nacirema reading:


The end of class was spent looking at the reading, and trying to analyze how the Nacirema story might relate to our own culture. Next class, we will share our writing about the Nacirema using similar language and theme. This is usually a pretty fun assignment, once you think of an aspect of our culture to use!

That was it for the day! See you next week! :-)
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Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Culture, Day 2 - Class Recap


Another part of my culture is having dual citizenship, due to my mom being born and raised in the United Kingdom.

Dear students,

Today, we got back to work on our new unit of culture. We learned a little bit more about the "iceberg" model for it. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "American Pie" by Don McLean. Selected for today because we were talking more about American culture, and this song famously contains lots of references to it. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/10/17:
News Brief – Dahson
NG Slides
Our Culture
Cornell Notes

Homework: Read the blog. Check your grade in Student VUE and improve it, if possible. Next news brief: Zachary.

News Brief: Dahson brought in this article to talk about for the news brief today: BBC.com - Kenya's Raila Odinga quits election re-run. We found Kenya in the world map packet (the Africa map) and we talked for a bit about the situation with the recent election being redone there. Zachary was assigned the next news brief.

Next, we checked in about the weekend and anything else students wanted to talk about, before moving on.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

NG Slides: After the news, we finished the National Geographic culture slides activity from last class. I passed out this sheet last class (it is also on Google Classroom):


After that, we went through this slideshow of pictures from the National Geographic Photography: Culture website. Here are the photos we went through:


I love all of these pictures because the world is such a diverse and interesting place! I enjoyed the class guesses as to what was going on in each. At the end, I revealed where each photo was taken and a bit of a description, as well.

Our Culture: After the slides, we moved on to looking at what our own culture is like. I split students up into groups and had each group brainstorm the following: What is our culture like? With your group, brainstorm aspects of what culture is like at the following three levels. Use your culture traits from the slideshow last class!

American Culture
Portland/Beaverton Culture
Westview Culture

I had a lot of fun listening to the examples given for each of these, which did do a good job of highlighting different elements of culture! I think it was really fun and productive in understanding culture.

Cornell Notes: This is a note-taking strategy that we are going to be using frequently this year at Westview - especially if you are at all familiar with the AVID class. There were two handouts that went with this:



We went through both of these together, as I made sure to talk about the way in which Cornell Notes help with retaining information. We will look at these together next class! Here's the PowerPoint on culture that I wanted notes to be taken on (we were able to get to slide 10 in class):


Really, the Iceberg Model is all about what we cannot see. Last class, the National Geographic slides that we went through were all surface level culture. I want everyone to start thinking about DEEP culture - what is ingrained in us and we do not even think about.

That was it for the day! See you next class! :-)
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Friday, October 6, 2017

Culture, Day 1 - Class Recap

Part of my family's culture is attending Oregon Duck football games (well, maybe not so much for my sister). This is us outside the 2011 BCS National Championship Game in Arizona.

Hi everyone,

Today, we moved on to a new unit: Culture! What an interesting topic. Culture defines who we are, yet we shape and create it every day! Here's what happened today in class (we did a lot, so be ready for a fair amount of reading):

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.

Soundtrack: "Food" by Common and Kanye West. Selected because we talked about what we had for breakfast today, as a part of our culture. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/6/17:
Grades/News Brief – Arno
What is Culture?
The Lost Boys
Our Culture

Homework: Read the blog. Make sure you have all of your Geography unit work turned in if you haven't turned it in already! Next news brief: Dahson.

News Brief: Before the news brief today, I passed back the grades from the Geography unit (record turnaround on them for me!) and explained why I gave what I did. Then, Arno brought in an article about this story for the news brief: TheGuardian.com - Man shot dead by French army after killing two people at Marseille train station. We found France in the world map packet and talked about what happened with this story for a bit, before moving on. Thanks, Arno. Dahson was assigned to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


I also asked about the upcoming weekend and had a good time hearing what students were up to, before we moved on.

What is Culture?: I started this section and new unit by asking what everyone had for breakfast today. The answers were:

• Nothing x 15
• Popcorn
• Sandwich
• Hashbrowns
• Cereal x 4
• Waffles x 3
• Pastry x 3
• Eggs x 2
• Ramen
• Tortilla
• Almonds

I saw this article a while ago and thought it was interesting, which is why I asked:


We looked at a few of these different types of breakfast (all of which were certainly better than "nothing" as the high answer - you need to eat before school, everyone!) and identified "food" as an aspect of culture. Then, I passed out this sheet (most students did this in Google Classroom using their Chromebooks):


After that, we went through this slideshow of pictures from the National Geographic Photography: Culture website. As we went through, we brainstormed as a class all the different aspects that could go in the second box, of 10 characteristics of culture. Here are the photos we went through:


I love all of these pictures because the world is such a diverse and interesting place! I enjoyed the class guesses as to what was going on in each. We only went through the first 14 in class today, so don't skip ahead and do the rest, yet!

The Lost Boys: Next, I showed part of a documentary on The Lost Boys of Sudan. This shows the dramatic differences between the culture in Sudan and the culture in America - something I think we do not think much about at all:


As a counterbalance, I showed this commercial that was made about Lopez Lomong, who was one of the "Lost Boys" and who eventually gained American citizenship, made the US Olympic Team, and carried the American flag into the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing:


I showed these videos to highlight some key aspects to American and Sudanese culture. We will continue to explore cultural similarities and differences of various different cultures during this unit.

Our Culture: We didn't have the time at the end of class to dive into this, so I ended it here. Next time, we will finish the photo slides and continue introducing culture. Have a great weekend!
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Monday, November 7, 2016

Government, Day 1 - Class Recap


On the roof of the Bundestag building in Berlin, Germany. This is where the government of Germany meets. Photo taken in 2013.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to a shortened week, with Veterans Day on Friday and a staff development day on Thursday! I really enjoyed the discussion today in class. I'm sure it was a nice change from all of the writing students have had to do in the last few days for the class! Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Communication LT 1:  I can use language and  style that is appropriate to the content area.

Soundtrack: "The Final Countdown" by Europe. Selected for today because it is the final countdown (of hours!) until the end of the 2016 Presidential Election! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/7/16:
News Brief – Nate
The Election
Finish DBQs
Culture Presentations
Forced Choice

Homework: Read the blog. Watch the election coverage tomorrow. Next news brief: Alondra.

News Brief: Nate had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: TheHindu.com -  India, Japan set to sign nuclear deal this week: report. We found Japan in our world maps and noted that we did a news brief on the country, before moving on.

Alondra was selected to do the next news brief.

Here's the link to see the latest one minute update from BBC World News, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

I also asked about the weekend and what people were up to.

The Election: Because today is the last day before the presidential election tomorrow, I made sure to go through what is happening and when to expect results. We went through a few websites for this:

1) The FiveThirtyEight.com election forecast. I have been showing this all semester in class, and it appears that the polls have recently tightened a bit, though Hillary Clinton is still favored to win a majority of the time. As a reminder: it is not who wins the most votes in the country, it is who wins the amount of states that add up to at least 270 electoral votes that wins.

2) A map of poll closing times for each state, when results begin to be announced. Yay for geography and maps! This map is in Pacific Time, whereas the map I showed in class was Eastern. I pointed out some keys in the early states to look for in terms of who might be ahead. Virginia and Georgia at 4:00 PM tomorrow are two examples of important indicators. At 8:00 PM on the West Coast, polls close, and it is likely that within the next couple of hours after that, we will know who will be the next President of the United States.

3) A map of how long it took to determine who won each state in 2012. Helpful to know how long things might take!

Finish DBQs: Since the substitute wrote to me to say the class on Thursday had 20 minutes taken away due to a drill, that's how much time I gave for it to be finished in class today. Thank you for your hard work on these! I will probably begin grading them over the long weekend.

Culture Presentations: Because I wanted to give as much time in class last time to writing the DBQ, we did not have the time for presentations (for the students who chose to do a presentation for the culture project). I enjoyed everyone that went today! Thank you for your effort in crafting great presentations and visuals.

Forced Choice: We will start this activity next class! It was cut short today because of the DBQ time.

See you on Wednesday, when we will surely have lots to talk about! :-)
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Thursday, November 3, 2016

Culture, Day 10 - Class Recap

I am going to bet that many students wrote that one of the ways culture both reflects and shapes society is through religion. This is a church in Budapest, Hungary, in 2013. I just loved the lighting here! No special effects!

Dear class,

Hooray! You are finally done with the DBQ final essay for the culture unit (if you were able to complete it in class)! I am sure that everyone focused during class and I am excited to start looking into how everyone did. Here's what happened in class with Mr. Smith, who was my sub as I was at a Beaverton School District Equity meeting:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited. Intended as a pump up song to write the DBQ essay today in class! Here's a link to the version I would have played in class, from ESPN's "Jock Jams" CD.

AGENDA 11/3/16:
Welcome Mr. Smith
News Brief - Anecia
Write DBQ Essay

Homework: Read the blog. Enjoy your weekend if you are done with everything!

Next news brief: Nate.

News Brief: Anecia had the news brief today and I'm sure did a great job with selecting a story to talk about with the class, as everyone found the location in the world map packet.

Nate was selected to do the next news brief.

If you wanted to watch the one minute BBC World News update, here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day:


Write Essay: Today was almost entirely devoted to writing the essay portion of the culture DBQ. We began this process last class, with this handout going through the steps to writing a DBQ:


We had about an hour in class to be writing, with finishing up the document analysis, and writing the essay. This was due at the end of class. I hope that it went well for everyone!

Have a great weekend!
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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Culture, Day 9 - Class Recap


A clock in a park in Hanoi, Vietnam. Next class will used for your DBQ essay final! Today, students took a look at the documents and began to think of possible responses for the essay. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today was dedicated to Culture Project presentations! Next class, you will be writing an essay on the prompt "How does culture both reflect and shape society?" Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen. Selected for today because the song is typically seen as representing patriotic themes, but a closer look at the lyrics (as we did in class) show that the song is really about a deep dissatisfaction with American culture.

AGENDA 11/1/16:
News Brief – Jay
Culture Project Presentations
Work/Prep Time

Homework: Read the blog. Be good for the sub! Have a plan of action in mind for writing the DBQ essay in class. Bring ALL of your culture unit work to be used during the essay, as no electronic resources may be used.

1) Surface culture worksheet (National Geographic photos PowerPoint)
2) Cornell Notes on Culture definitions/iceberg PowerPoint
3) Nacirema writing (neatly written or typed, 200 words minimum)
4) Exchange student presentation notes
5) Time for School Notes/Answers

Next news brief: Anecia

News Brief: Jay had the news brief today and chose an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Mosul: Iraqi forces on city's doorstep. We found Iraq in the world map packet, talked about the ongoing battle against ISIS in the region, and also shared some stories from the Halloween weekend and other current events.

Anecia was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Culture Project Presentations: This was most the rest of the class, as students who did PowerPoint presentations or visual representations for their Culture Project talked about their own culture. I really loved this, and it is always so cool to learn more about different cultures around the world and in our classroom! Way to go, everyone that went today! If you did not turn in your project yet, please submit it on Google Classroom, or turn in a paper copy to the box in the classroom.

Make sure you are on top of everything and ready to write your DBQ essay in class with the substitute on Thursday! Thank you!
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Friday, October 28, 2016

Culture, Day 8 - Class Recap


Camels in front of the entrance to The Treasury in Petra, Jordan. Photo taken July 2014.

Hi everyone,

Today was an in-class work day for the Culture Project assignment, which will be due next class, and in starting the DBQ that you will be finishing in class on Thursday. Here's the recap for the day:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. Selected for today because of the association with Halloween! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/28/16:
News Brief – Jungmi
Reflect/Shape
How To DBQ
Culture Project

Homework: Read the blog. Continue working on the Culture Project - due next class! Next news brief: Jay.

News Brief: Jungmi had the news brief today and came in early to find this article with me before class: BBC.com - Philippines Duterte: God told me to stop swearing. We found the Philippines on our world maps and talked a bit about the new president, Duterte, his war on drugs in the country, and his insult of President Obama recently. Thanks, Jungmi!

Jay volunteered to bring in the next news brief, and we checked in about the upcoming weekend, as well.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Reflect/Shape: I wanted to be sure students had another opportunity to understand how to respond to the learning target of how culture both reflects and shapes society, so we went through this quick PowerPoint together in seeking to provide some more information about the terms:


Hopefully this helped!

How to DBQ: Since the end of the Culture unit is your first DBQ in high school, I wanted to give as much preparation time as possible. So today was spent analyzing the actual documents on the test and writing out answers to five of the eight document questions. On Thursday, you will use three of the five documents you analyzed in order to construct your essay (due in class).

We went through a guide together in class, learning about how to write a DBQ. Again, I think this is going to be a really helpful resource for you in planning what to write (especially the graphic organizers on pages 8 and 9):

Google Drive - How to Write a Document Based Question

Please let me know if you are confused on any of this - and come prepared ready to work next Thursday on the timed in class essay!

Culture Project: The rest of class was devoted to work time on the DBQ (which students passed back at the end of class) and continuing to work on the culture project. There are a lot of options of what to do - it could be writing, a visual, a presentation, or something else. Here's the assignment:


This will be due in class on Tuesday, so be working on it at home and ask questions if you need help!

Have a great weekend, everyone!
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Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Culture, Day 7 - Class Recap


A big part of American culture is sports. This was taken at the 2010 Holiday Bowl, before Oregon played Oklahoma State, and won! :-)

Dear class,

Most of today was taken up with working on your Culture Project, which is due next week on Tuesday! Here's the recap for today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Selected for today because we talked about Miley Cyrus and American culture, as well as Halloween upcoming. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/26/16:
News Brief – Daisy
Culture Project
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Continue working on the Culture Project - due next Tuesday! Next news brief: Jungmi.

News Brief: Daisy had the news brief today and came in early to find this article with me before class: BBC.com - Brazil man freed 'after 20 years held by family'. We found Brazil on our world maps and talked about this horrifying story, as well as cases like it here in the United States.

Jungmi was randomly drawn to bring in the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

Culture Project/Work Time: After watching the updates, the rest of class was devoted to work time, in completing the Time for School questions, and continuing to work on the culture project. There are a lot of options of what to do - it could be writing, a visual, a presentation, or something else. Here's the assignment:


This will be due in class next week on Tuesday, so be working on it at home, bring work into class to do next class, and ask questions if you need help! I went around the class and answered questions about it, or helped brainstorm ideas. Please continue to be working on this at home! See you next class. :-)
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Monday, October 24, 2016

Culture, Day 6 - Class Recap


A pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This was right across the street from where my friend Clarke lived for a while. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today, we had some exchange students come in, we finished the Time For School assignment, and continued to work on the Culture Project. Here's the recap for today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Rhapsody in Blue" by Leonard Bernstein. Selected for today because I went flying over the weekend, and this song is used in United Airlines commercials. No lyrics, but listen here.

AGENDA 10/24/16:
News Brief – Leah
Exchange Students
Time for School
Culture Project

Homework: Read the blog. Continue working on the Culture Project! Next news brief: Daisy.

News Brief: Leah had the news brief today and talked about this story with the class: BBC.com - French citizens killed in surveillance plane crash on Malta. We found Malta on our world maps (in Europe) and talked about this story for a little bit, in context with what is going on in Europe to combat drugs. Daisy was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Finally, we checked in about the weekend (I am still quite tired from my quick weekend trip to the Bay Area!), and anything else that was happening, as well.

Exchange Students: We were very fortunate to have two exchange students at Westview present about their culture today in class: Marjo from the Netherlands and Paulette from Mexico! I really enjoyed hearing about their culture and perspective on our culture. Thank you for your focus and great questions during this time! If you see either of them around Westview, be sure to say hi and thank her again for coming in! :-)

Marjo did not make her presentation sharable, but here was Paulette's presentation that she went through in class:


So cool! My thanks again to Marjo and Paulette for coming in!

Time For School: We finished Time For School today. If you missed class and the handout, here it is:


Again, the point to this was to analyze how we see surface culture and what deeper culture is like in different areas around the world.

We started at about 1:05:25 in to the following video, then finished it, if you missed class and need to catch up, or simply want to review it again:

PBS.org - Time For School 2003-2016

After the documentary, we went back to the assignment, talked about the students and their culture, then answered the three questions on the back side of the paper.

Culture Project: I introduced this last class. This is one of the main assignments for the culture unit, and I hope it is interesting for students to work on! There are a lot of options of what to do - it could be writing, a visual, a presentation, or something else. Here's the assignment:


This will be due in class next week (on Tuesday), so be working on it at home, bring work into class to do, and ask questions if you need help!

The rest of class was devoted to working on the Culture Project, as I went around the class and answered questions about it, or brainstormed ideas. Please continue to be working on this at home! See you next class. :-)
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Thursday, October 20, 2016

Culture, Day 5 - Class Recap


On the football field at Westview, later this past summer. Athletic events are a big part of Westview culture!

Hi everyone,

We continued learning about culture today. I introduced the Culture Project, as well as continued watching the Time For School series of videos. Here's the recap for today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Represent" by Weezer. Selected for today because we were talking about how people in different cultures represent themselves. This was also a pump up song for the 2010 World Cup. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/20/16:
News Brief – Carter
Culture Project
Exchange Student Questions
Time for School

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in missing/incomplete geography work ASAP. Start working on your Culture Project! Next news brief: Leah.

News Brief: Carter had the news brief today and talked about this story with the class: CNN.com - Scientists discover 'voids' inside Great Pyramid. We found the Egypt on our world maps (in Africa) and talked about this latest interesting discovery about ancient history. Thanks, Carter! Leah was randomly drawn as the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Finally, we checked in about the upcoming weekend, and anything else that was happening, as well.

Culture Project: This is one of the main assignments for the culture unit, and I hope it is interesting for students to work on! There are a lot of options of what to do - it could be writing, a visual, a presentation, or something else. I'm really interested in learning more about your own culture, and I hope that you are able to learn more about your own culture, too. Here's the assignment:


This will be due in class on Tuesday, November 1, so be working on it at home, bring work into class to do, and ask questions if you need help! Talk with me if you are thinking about doing something in the "Other" category!

Exchange Student Presentations: In preparation for our next class, when some of Westview's exchange students are scheduled to be visiting us, I had students write at least two questions they might be interested in having the exchange students answer about their culture (surface or deep). Keep these for next week, please!

Time For School: I really like this documentary as part of our unit on culture, because it is especially interesting to me to see how school and education is a part of different cultures around the world. Here was the handout that I gave to students to fill out as we were watching:


Again, the point to this was to analyze how we see surface culture and what deeper culture is like in different areas around the world.

We got about 1:05:25 in to the following video, if you missed class and need to catch up, or simply want to review it again:


I hope you are finding this interesting and engaging! See you next week! :-)
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