Final Test Day!

Also the last day to turn in work for First Semester.

No homework over the long weekend, but if you're looking for something to do check out the creepy instagram account that one of you (yes, I suspect it is one of my Frosh Academy kids) created documenting my converse collection.  Did I mention that I think it's creepy?

Today the class went over the homework assignment (A Flawed Peace) and discussed the end of the war.  Next students studied for the final exam by completing a WWI Crossword Puzzle, then they organized their logbooks for the check on Thursday.

Logbook Check

• Homework: Marching Toward War (notes)
• Causes of WWI + Map
• WWI Reading Activity
• Homework: Europe Plunges Into War (notes)
• Notes on WWI Propaganda Posters
• Homework: A Global Conflict (notes)
• WWI Photos Assignment
• Homework: A Flawed Peace (notes)
• The Big Four Negotiations
• WWI Crossword Puzzle

Today the class discussed the Paris Peace Conference and simulated the negotiations between the Big Four countries.  If you missed this activity please see me outside of class for an alternative assignment.

Today the class discussed the homework (A Global Conflict).  Then we went to a computer lab and looked at WWI photographs. To complete this assignment follow this link and the instructions below.

Choose 5 photographs from 5 different sections of the website.  Reflect on each photograph by answering the following questions in your logbook:

1. Describe or sketch what you see.  Be descriptive and/or detailed so that it is clear which photograph you are looking at.
2.  2.    Explain what this photograph can teach us about WWI.  Try to connect it with concepts and vocabulary learned in class.
3.  3.    Describe what you think the person or people in the photograph might be thinking or feeling.  What are their emotions and ambitions at this moment in time?  If there are no people in the picture, what do you think the photographer is thinking and feeling?

 Homework: A Flawed Peace

Today I turned the classroom into a really cheap museum of WWI propaganda posters.  Students discussed what propaganda is and looked at a few examples of what it is used for (objectives) and what techniques or tools it uses to be effective.  Next they went around the room looking at the posters, sketching and writing down what objectives and tools they observed.  Follow the links above to complete this assignment on your own if you were absent.

Homework: A Global Conflict

Today students discussed WWI battle field strategies.  We watched a second clip from the film War Horse; this time of trench warfare.  We compared it to the clip we watched on Monday and read about how un-creative and horrible trench warfare could be for soldiers.  Next we began learning about the first Battle of the Somme.  Students saw maps and a long panoramic drawing of the first day of that very costly battle.  Finally students read 3 sources describing the first day of the battle.  They compared and answered the question of which side won.  Follow this link to both the questions and documents.

Students discussed the homework assignment (Europe Plunges Into War) and watched a short clip from the movie War Horse that showed how technology forced changes in battlefield techniques.

Students reviewed the homework (Marching Toward War) and discussed the mostly poor reasons that countries had for entering WWI.

Next students read 2 different styles of literature to give them more information about the way that WWI was fought.  They chose between a novel excerpt, poetry, scientific reports, and biographies.  See me for copies of these if you missed class.

Homework: Europe Plunges Into War

Today students presented six main reasons explaining why World War I began.  Students also took notes on these causes and (on the same worksheet) created a map and timeline of the start of the war.  Students who were absent can easily get this information from the website www.pbs.org/greatwar/maps/.

Homework: Marching Toward War

Welcome back!

Students are starting the new year with a new unit: World War I.  Today we worked in groups planning presentations on the multiple causes of WWI.  Tomorrow the groups present their causes to the whole class.