Week 6, 3/8-3/12

March 8, 2010 in Homework | No comments

To all of those who went on the snow trip, thank you for a wonderful time!  While I was certainly tackled a lot more this year than last, I had an excellent time and really enjoyed spending time with all of you.  I hope that you all enjoyed the trip as much as I did.  We really missed those of you who could not make it!

And now it’s Monday and we are back to school.  No more snowballs to throw, no more tackling teachers and stuffing snow in their faces.  Just imperialism, Ms. Pratt’s lectures and…a TEST!!!!  You will have your imperialism test on Wednesday, 3/10.  You will get a study guide in class on Monday and have time to work on it that day in class, it is due on Wednesday, the day of the test.  Tuesday we will do some review for the exam and after the exam we will do review for world history leading up to World War II.

Make sure that you complete your study guide this week and study for the test on Wednesday.  The test will be multiple choice and short answer questions.  No essay this time!

Homework:

  • Study guide due the day of the test, Wednesday, 3/10
  • Study for test on Wednesday, 3/10

Week 5, 3/1-3/5

February 26, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

Did anyone else notice how the days of February are exactly the same as the days of the week for March?  For example, 2/1 was a Monday, so is 3/1.  I got confused a few times when I was trying to get my calendar organized,  but I think that everything is settled now.

Anyway, I hope that you all have an excellent Monday and Tuesday, I’m sad to be away from you for 2 days again.  While it’s great to learn how to be a better teacher, it’s tough being away from my classroom and you all, where I find so much joy!  Anyway, be sure to show the sub how wonderful you are, let’s change the reputation at this school!

You will be watching the movie, “Blood Diamond” with the sub.  Keep imperialism in mind as you are watching the movie and see if you can connect what you see in the movie to imperialism and how imperialism plays a role in setting the scene for the movie.  Also don’t forget that your first current event of the semester is due on Wednesday, the day I return.  Get ready for some fun discussion, it seems like it’s been a long time since our last current event day!  The rest of the week we will wrap up the loose ends of where we’re at with imperialism and launch the project for DSA, yay!!

Homework:

  • Current event #1 due Wednesday, 3/3

Week 4, 2/22-2/26

February 23, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

Does it feel like second semester just began to anyone else?  And while the feeling of the semester is still fresh, we are actually in the 4th week already, nearly half way done with the quarter.  This stretch can be long, no breaks until spring break which is the first full week in April.  Use the month of March to get refocused.  You know what my expectations and routines are, use this time to get back on track with your homework and get settled back into the routine of school.

We are continuing our study of imperialism, but this week we will turn away from Africa and look at how imperialism affected other parts of the world as well.  We will start our lecture on imperialism in India and China and we will finish it when I return from my conference on Thursday.  While I am gone on Tuesday and Wednesday you will be working in your imperialism groups and analyzing poetry from Vietnam on Tuesday and writing a group essay on Wednesday about whether or not France should continue its influence in Southesast Asia.

Keep up the good work and remember to be as wonderful for the sub as you always are for me.  Continue to give me material so that I can keep bragging about all of you to everyone I know!

Homework:

  • Page 307 in your textbook, #3, 4, and 5, due Thursday, 2/25
  • Page 81 in your workbook, due Friday, 2/26

Week 3, 2/16-2/19

February 17, 2010 in Homework | No comments

Another short week and a field trip!  I am really looking forward to our trip to Berkeley, it should be a lot of fun!  Tuesday we will do our scramble for territory activity and hopefully you will have fun and understand imperialism in Africa a bit more.  Wednesday is our fieldtrip (hooray) and Thursday we will do review for the Africa map test which will be on Friday, 2/19.

Homework:

  • Workbook page 75 due Thursday, 2/18
  • Africa map due Friday, 2/19
  • Study for Africa map test which will be Friday, 2/19

Week 2, 2/9-2/12

February 9, 2010 in Homework, Uncategorized | 1 comment

The first of our 2 short weeks is here.  I hope that you enjoyed your weekend and the Saints victory on Sunday!

100_0320As I was thinking about the content of this week I can’t help but think about my time and friends in D.R. Congo.  We will finish watching the movie Hotel Rwanda on Wednesday, a movie that deals with the harsh and ugly reality of the world that we live in, the world our ancestors have created.  I see so much hate around me, a world where people hate one another because that’s what they have been told to do and I wonder how I can change things.  How did I make a difference?  How can I help my friends in Congo who have lost their homes, who have seen murder, torture, and rape?  What can I do for people who are suffering on the other side of the world?  Sometimes I get so fed up with my helplessness that all I can do is cry.  I see people suffering all around me and I feel so useless.

I have realized that all I can do, that the best thing I can do is educate people.  I can tell people about what is happening around the world.  I can refuse to be one of the Americans who ignores what is happening in other places and I can refuse to plead ignorance.

Sometimes history is ugly, sometimes it’s uncomfortable.  For this reason we must study it.  We must look at what has happened in the past and learn from it so that we can try to prevent it from happening again.  Once we finish the movie we will look at how imperialism has affected Africa and the impact the Europeans had on the continent.

Homework:

  • Workbook pg. 73, due Wednesday, 2/10
  • Page 296 in textbook, #1, 3, & 5 due Friday, 2/12

Semester 2, Week 1, 2/1-2/5

February 3, 2010 in Homework | No comments

It’s Wednesday and I am just now updating our blog…dang it!  Grades are all in, first semester is truly done and I finally have time to sit down and update you all on what to expect for this first week of the new semester.  I’m sorry that it’s so late, I will certainly try to do better the rest of the semester.  Remember that it is a clean slate for all of you and each one of you has the ability to succeed if you do the work and ask for help when you need it.  I am here for you, if you need help, please ask.

Ok, back to business.  Most of you are taking the CAHSEE this week, good luck!  In history class we are starting a new unit on imperialism.  We will spend the majority of this week kind of setting up for the major content which will start next week.  Monday will be spent reviewing grades and working on vocabulary and a timeline for the imperialism unit.  If you don’t finish the worksheet in class you may finish it for homework and turn it in on Tuesday.  Tuesday and Wednesday you will work in your groups, preparing to teach your classmates about the sections to which you are assigned.  You will present on Thursday and on Friday there will be a quiz on Chapter 8 followed by a movie.

The movie that we are watching this week is called Hotel Rwanda.  I show this at the beginning of the imperialism unit because I want you to see the effects of imperialism before we study it.  Imperialism has impacted the world in major ways and many of the issues we are dealing with in third world countries today are a direct result of imperialism 150 years ago.  It’s important that we understand how our actions affect other people and make an imprint on history.

Homework:

  • Imperialism worksheet due Tuesday, 2/2/10
  • Page 261 in your textbook, #1 and 3 due Wednesday, 2/3/10
  • Page 267 in your textbook, #1 and 4 due Friday, 2/5/10

Finals Week, 1/25-1/29

January 25, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

Finals are here!  Be sure that you take some time this week to rest so that your brain is all geared up for the incredible thinking that you are all going to do at the end of the week.  Do your best to get some good sleep this week and eat a healthy breakfast each morning (not a lot of sugar).  Your brain functions much better with rest and healthy meals!

Remember that each one of you is responsible for turning in a completed study guide the day of the final (Friday), before the test begins.  The test is 80 multiple choice questions, 30 true/false, 5 short answer, and 1 essay.  Good luck studying and with all your finals this week, be sure to let me know if you have any questions.

Homework:

  • Study for final
  • Study guide due Friday, 1/29 (the day of the final exam)

Week 18, 1/19-1/22

January 18, 2010 in Homework | No comments

A short week before finals…get ready!  I encourage each of you to try to get out to see the GreenBiz presentations on Thursday night to support the DSA seniors and see what you are being prepared for as a part of the academy.  All our projects are created to provide you with skills and information that build up each year.

We will finish watching the World War I movie when we return on Tuesday and then do lecture to wrap up the outcomes of WWI before we begin reviewing for the final exam.  The final will cover everything we have studied this semester and will have multiple choice questions, short answer and an essay.

Homework

  • Workbook pages 94 and 95 due Thursday, 1/21
  • Study guide due the day of the final exam, Friday, 1/27

HOOF wonderfulness!

January 15, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

Congratulations, you have completed your first DSA project!  It was so incredible to see all your hard work on the screen and to meet so many of your families.  Thank you so much for sharing your stories, your hearts, and your family’s history with all of us!  You all did a WONDERFUL job and I am so proud of each and every one of you for getting up there, speaking to the crowd and showing off your talents!  Here are some pictures from the night…

Group 1, Tuesday night

Group 1, Tuesday night

Group 2, Wednesday night

Group 2, Wednesday night

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Chrystal and Indigo

Chrystal and Indigo

Jesus and Bany checking out their pictures from the night.

Jesus and Bany checking out their pictures from the night.

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Cristian, Felicia, and Rjay showing us all how to properly eat in public!

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Time to clean up

Week 17, 1/11-1/15

January 11, 2010 in Homework | No comments

And now we are right back into the swing of things.  The routines that I seemed to have lost over the break are back in place and the work has piled right back up (although I guess the piles never truly went away in the first place). This week in particular things are going to be a bit crazy with the end of our first DSA project fast approaching.  I am so excited to see what you have all created and I can’t wait to see the look of pride on all your faces as your family and friends admire all your hard work and dedication.  It’s a great night and I hope that all of you are able to make it to both nights to support your classmates, friends, and DSA family.

Last week in history we learned about MANIA, the causes of WWI.  Militarism, alliances, nationalism, imperialism, and assassination all played a part in creating the Great War.  This week we will take a closer look at the role of alliances in the spark that created WWI and then we will study the war itself more in depth.  Remember that World War I dramatically changed the way that wars were fought and introduced the world to many new technologies and war tactics.

Homework

  • Workbook page 91 due Wednesday, 1/13
  • Workbook page 93 due Thursday, 1/14

Have a great week everyone and good luck with your HOOF projects, I can’t wait to see them!

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