October 5

IB 20 HOTA

I gave you each a copy of the United States Constitution graphic novels to read this long weekend. I showed you a video on the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I also talked about how to write a Paper 3. I'll post the Paper 3 handout on the wiki and share the page with you all so you can print off a copy for yourself if you missed class today. You'll be writing a Paper 3 on Tuesday.

Social 30-1

We did some review of the "economic snapshots" of the business cycle and the Keynesian economic response to the various stages on the boom and bust cycle. I also had you listen to an NPR podcast on the Obama administration using Keynesian economics to deal with the global recession of 2008. I did a homework check on the Chapter 4 Key Terms and Questions. I didn't assign the Chapter 6 Key Terms and Questions for homework, but you should get working on them this weekend since they'll be later next week.

Social 10-1

We had our class debate on the following topic today: BIRT globalization benefits the world's cultures. I will give you feedback on this debate on Tuesday and my decision as to which side "won" the debate.

October 4

Social 10-1

I split you into two sides for tomorrow's debate on the following topic: BIRT globalization is beneficial to the world's cultures. I gave each side in this debate a different reading with different perspectives on this debate. We spent most of the class period in the computer lab putting together a Google Doc to organize your arguments and evidence for the debate.

Social 30-1

Much of today's class was spent watching videos from the BBC 20th Century History series and note-taking. We watched "Boom and Bust" and "FDR and the New Deal", and while you were watching these videos you should have taken notes. If you missed class today, please get these notes from a classmate. We also went through the "Case Study: USA in the Great Depression" notes in your 30-1 coursebooks. Your Chapter 4 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow.

IB 20 HOTA

You wrote your American Revolution Test today. I'll post the results on PowerSchool later this evening. We'll talk about the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights tomorrow. On Tuesday, October 9th you'll be writing a Paper 3 and I'll teach you how to write this kind of assessment tomorrow as well.

October 11

Social 20-1

You wrote your Unit 1 Final Exam today. You should get the results tomorrow. We're having our WWI conference tomorrow, please check out the page on the Social 20-1 wiki that I shared with you to see which country you'll be representing.

IB 20 HOTA

You wrote your American Revolution Test today, hopefully I'll have them marked by tomorrow's class. We're starting the French Revolution tomorrow. Your U.S. Constitution graphic novels need to handed in tomorrow, so make sure that you bring them back to school.

October 6

Please remember that there's no school on Friday (PD Day) or on Monday (Thanksgiving Day).

Social 20-1

You wrote your Chapter 3-4 Test today, which took most of the period to write. I gave back your French Revolution DBA Assignment today. Please remember that you're writing your Unit 1 Final on Tuesday, October 11th (please scroll down to find the study guide.

Social 20-1 Unit 1 Final Exam Study Guide:

You will be writing your Unit 1 Final Exam on Tuesday, October 11th. It is 75 multiple choice questions. Make sure that you have read Chapters 1-4 in Exploring Nationalism. Please make sure that you know the key concepts from Unit 1 (see below). Also review the PowerPoint presentations that you should have in your notes. They are also on the wiki under Unit 1 Presentations. These are the presentations that you should review:



1. Nation and Identity
2. The French Revolution
3. The Napoleonic Era
4. Contending Loyalties



Know the key concepts from the Unit 1 Worksheet (a lot of them have been defined on the wiki by your classmates, check under Unit 1 Key Terms). If you know the key concepts you'll be able apply them to test.

• nation
• nation-state
• nationalism
• patriotism
• self-determination
• sovereignty
• sovereign
• civic nation
• civic nationalism
• ethnic nationalism
• collective consciousness
• French Revolution
• Estates-General
• Louis XVI
• First Estate
• Second Estate
• Third Estate
• cahiers de doléances
• Ancien Régime
• bourgeoisie
• feudal system
• philosophes
• Declaration of the Rights of Man
• National Assembly
• Tennis Court Oath
• constitutional monarchy
• Jacobins
• Girondins
• National Convention
• levée en masse
• Robespierre
• Danton
• Marat
• Reign of Terror
• Napoleon
• Napoleonic Code
• Continental System
• contending loyalties
• cultural pluralism
• reasonable accommodation
• sovereignists
• federalists
• royal commission
• expressions of nationalism
• non-nationalist loyalty
• alienation
• segregation

IB 20 HOTA

We finished off our constitutional convention today in class by voting on the working papers. You wrote a current events quiz today. You have an American Revolution Test next Tuesday (October 11th) which covers the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights (we covered this today). You'll also be writing a Paper 3 on Friday, October 14th. 

September 28

Social 20-1

I finished off the lecture on "Contending Loyalties". You had the remainder of the class time to work on your Chapter 4 Key Terms and Questions, which are due tomorrow. Your French Revolution DBA Assignment is also due tomorrow. I'm going to be teaching you how to write a WRA I (three source analysis) tomorrow. This Friday (September 30th), you'll be writing your Unit 1 WRA I. One week from tomorrow you'll be writing your Chapter 3-4 Test and I'll be posting the study guide her tomorrow.

IB 20 HOTA

We spent the entire class looking at the Articles of Confederation. I gave each of you a copy of the U.S. Constitution graphic novel, start reading them! Please remember that your IA research question and preliminary bibliography is due on Friday, September 30th.

March 31

IB 30/35

We continued our examination of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, by watching Episode 2 of "Eyes on the Prize" called "Fighting Back (1957-1962)". Your film study for this episode is due tomorrow. You will be writing a Paper 3 on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement on April 17th, so please stay up to date with this unit.

Social 10-1

I gave you back your Unit 1 Essays today. If you want to go over this essay with me, please come and see me in tutorial (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in the morning). I finished off a PowerPoint lecture today called "Historical Globalization and Imperialism". This presentation is on the wiki under Unit 2 Presentations. One week from today(April 7th), you will be writing your Chapter 7 Test. Please check out the study guide below.

Chapter 7 Test Study Guide:

This quiz will have three sections: a matching section, a multiple choice section, and a short answer section.

1. Key Terms for Chapter 7 Test:

• historical globalization
• the Silk Road
• international trade
• the Columbian exchange (the grand exchange)
• mercantilism
• capitalism
• free market
• Adam Smith
• entrepreneur
• communism
• industrialization
• the Industrial Revolution
• cottage system
• physiocrats
• exploitation
• imperialism
• Eurocentrism
• ethnocentrism
• European imperialism
• "old" imperialism
• "new" imperialism
• colony
• protectorate
• sphere of influence

2. Study the Questions for Inquiry from Chapter 7 (be able to answer these questions using case studies and examples that we have covered in class):

• What were the beginnings of global trading networks?
• What values are associated with capitalism?
• Whose values did industrialization effect?
• Why did England industrialize before other European powers?
• What were some of the effects of the Industrial Revolution?
• In what ways did imperialism benefit one people over another?

IB 20 HOTA

I showed you a video today on the "United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights". While you watched this video you need to take notes. You should definitely have notes on the following concepts: the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, the Connecticut Compromise, and the 3/5ths compromise, republic, and federalism, among others. I also walked you through how to write a Paper 1 today. Please make sure that you review the OPVL Analysis handout that I gave you earlier in the term. You need to know the difference between primary sources and secondary sources. Pay special attention to the organizational chart as how to deal with the origins, purpose, value and limitations of sources. Please make sure that you examine very carefully the Paper 1 section on the IB 20 wiki tonight. Also, you might want to look at some sample sources from your History of the Americas textbook on pages 71-73.

Since we've been talking a fair bit about the U.S. Constitution of late, I thought you might find this segment from Fareed Zakaria's GPS interesting:

March 13

IB 20 HOTA

I did a homework check on your study guide for the Declaration of Independence at the beginning of class today. Most of today's class was spent examining the Articles of Confederation. I split you into groups, and each group had to read a section or sections of the Articles of Confederation and try to summarize their assigned section for the class. Hopefully by the end of the exercise you have a good idea of the historical context for the creation of the Articles of Confederation, and some its key characteristics, such as the following:

• “firm league of friendship”
• no national executive
• no national judiciary
• unicameral congress (like Continental Congress)
• 2-7 delegates per state (one vote per delegation in Congress)
• Powers of Congress – foreign policy, coin money, Indian affairs, settle state disputes, requisition troops and taxes (based on state property value)
• legislators selected by state legislatures (3 year / 6 year term limit)
• routine votes required simple majority / critical decisions (declaring war)– unanimity 
• amendment of the Articles (unanimous consent of delegates to Congress and of state legislatures)

As we'll see, the Articles of Confederation led to some political problems for the United States, so it only lasts as the first constitution of the USA from 1781 to 1789. In 1789, a constitutional convention is called, and delegates from the 13 states all meet to draft a new U.S. Constitution. Tomorrow will be a busy day because I will lecture on the U.S. Constitution, I will assign you roles for the constitutional convention that we'll be doing on Monday and Tuesday next week, I will teach you some Model UN parliamentary procedure, and assign you a copy of the United States Constitution graphic novel.

Social 10-1

We had a very spirited debate on the following topic: "BIRT globalization is beneficial to the world's cultures". I found it interesting that many of you focused in language so much during the course of the debate. I then did a little exercise after concluded the debate on argumentation and evidence, in which you had to brainstorm arguments to convince a friend to attend Churchill. We'll talk more about essay writing tomorrow, and you will get the Unit 1 WRA II Essay question sheet tomorrow. Please remember that you're writing your Unit 1 WRA II Essay over the course of two days next week: on Monday, you will write your 1st paragraph, save it to your H-drive and print off a hard copy. We'll then come back to the class, do some peer editing of the essay. On Tuesday, you will have the entire period to finish off your Unit 1 WRA II Essay.

IB 30/35

We watched another video from the CNN Cold War series today called "Conclusions". I also showed you some photos from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and I put some notes up on the board of the overlapping Soviet and American leaders during the Cold War. Please remember that you have your Social 30-1 Cold War Exam on Tuesday, March 18th. Please see the study guide below.

Social 30-1 Cold War Unit Final Study Guide:

Make sure that you know all the Cold War concepts:

• deterrence
• disarmament
• isolationism
• appeasement
• collective security
• direct confrontation
• brinkmanship
• containment
• detente
• collective intervention

Be able to define the following key concepts:

• superpower
• sphere of influence
• arms race
• Suez Canal War 1956
• brinkmanship
• Korean War
• Cold War
• decolonization
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• detente
• NATO
• collective security
• know the chronology of events of the Cold War (study timelines. Please check under Social 30-1 Links on the blog for links to the Cold War timelines)
• know key events that we've emphasized in class (for example: Berlin Airlift, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, Afghanistan) plus other key events from the timeline
• know major arms reduction agreements (bilateral agreements and multilateral agreements), please study the notes that I gave you on this (detailed notes and the chart)
• know about the formation of alliances (NATO, Warsaw Pact, SEATO, etc.) and the formation of "spheres of influence"
• know examples of American intervention in their "backyard" (Western Hemisphere, notes package plus notes from the CNN video useful here)
• anything that I gave you as a handout/notes on the wiki is testable material and should be reviewed!!
• know how the Cold War ends and its results/consequences

October 22

IB 30/35

I lectured today on the First World War, this PowerPoint presentation is already on the wiki. You can find it on the wiki in both the Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs and in the Causes, Practices and Effects of War sections.

Social 10-1

I collected your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions today. I went through a PowerPoint presentation called "Legacies of Historical Globalization in Canada". I will send this lecture to your e-mail accounts. You have your Chapter 7 Test tomorrow, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). On Monday October 29th your Imperialism Research Project is due, and you will also be writing your Unit 2 WRA I next Monday. Your Unit 2 Final Exam is on October 30th, see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).

IB 20

I finally collected your U.S. Constitution graphic novels at the beginning of class. We continued watching the History Channel's "The French Revolution" today, and we finished it. I continued with my PowerPoint lecture on the French Revolution as well today.

October 15

IB 30/35

You wrote your document analysis questions on the Reconstruction era today. Also, we watched a video from the U.S. History series called "U.S. and the World" (1865-1917) which you should have taken notes on while you were watching the video. You are writing your Paper 3 on the Civil War and Reconstruction tomorrow.

Social 10-1

I started a PowerPoint lecture today called "Legacies of Historical Globalization", which I will finish tomorrow. We also started a video called "Tools of Exploitation", while you were watching this video you were to answer questions from a film study sheet. We'll finish the video tomorrow as well.

IB 20

We watched a video on the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights (you needed to take notes on this). We then also talked about how to write a Paper 1. You'll be writing a Paper 1 on the American Revolution tomorrow. You'll be writing your American Revolution Test on Thursday. Please see the wiki for more information on OPVL Document Analysis and Paper 1 advice.

October 9

IB 30/35

We briefly assessed Lincoln's time as President, and the differing perspectives on his abilities as leader of the nation. As I said in class, C-SPAN does a survey every so often that ranks the U.S. Presidents. If you're interested, here is a link to their 2009 Presidential survey.
I also started a lecture on the Reconstruction Era. I have made some changes to the PowerPoint, so I will post the new version on the wiki tomorrow. Please remember to study for your Civil War Test (on Friday and Monday), please see the study guide on the wiki in the U.S. Civil War section.

IB 20

You wrote "The Patriot" quiz at the start of class. I then had you move back into your Articles of Confederation groups  to continue the activity that we started on Friday. You have to understand a few things about the Articles of Confederation, for one, it was a product of its time, so it's important to bear in mind the historical context in which this document was created. The United States had just successfully defeated the British in the Revolutionary War and there was a feeling among many Americans that they had just overthrown tyranny in their everyday lives. They didn't want a strong central government that they feared could grow just as powerful as the tyrannical government that had rid themselves of. That's why you see certain measures in the Articles of Confederation such as no executive branch. There are several conditions that led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution. There is a document on the IB 20 wiki under the Independence Movements section that is entitled Conditions in the USA 1781-1787 that should help you understand the motivations behind wanting to re-write the constitution. I started to deliver a lecture on the U.S. Constitution today, which I should be able to finish tomorrow. On Thursday, we will be having a constitutional convention simulation and you have all be assigned an actual delegate to that convention. Please follow the delegate research guide that I put up on the wiki. Check your e-mail for the link to the page on the wiki. I tried to include a mix of delegates who actually signed the Constitution, and those that did not.

Social 10-1

You wrote your Unit 1 WRA II Essay today in class. This took all the period.

March 14

IB 20

We continued looking at the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights today by watching a video on that very topic. Be able to distinguish between the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan and the Connecticut Compromise. Also, remember whole the issue of whether slaves would count in a state's population to determine the number of representatives in the House of Representatives. The issue of slavery was very much a "deal breaker" at the Constitutional Convention and as it was a sensitive topic the delegates dealt with it with the 3/5ths compromise. Please continue reading your United States Constitution graphic novels, I'll be asking for them back tomorrow. You do have a homework assignment tonight out of your History of the Americas book. On pages 71-73 you will find five different sources, you were assigned one of these sources (A-E) and you are to make an OPVL chart based on that source. Additionally, you are to answer the questions on page 73 related to these sources. This assignment is due tomorrow. For today's homework, I didn't collect it, but rather I would like to see you build the chart collaboratively on the wiki in the collaborative notes section. I also told you about some important upcoming dates (please see below). Use your IB Skills Handbook for help with the OPVL chart or the OPVL Document Analysis section of the IB 20 wiki.

Upcoming Important Dates for IB 20:

• American Revolution Test is on Friday, March 16th
• Paper 1 on the American Revolution is on Monday, March 19th

IB 30/35

Most of today's class was spent watching an excerpt from the movie "Born on the Fourth of July" which tells the story of Ron Kovic, a high school student from Massapequa, New York who enlists in the United States Marines and is wounded in the Vietnam conflict. As unsettling as this movie was you can see recruitment techniques, the fears of the times ("communism is all around us, they're moving in everywhere"), the techniques of warfare in Vietnam (how the war was fought: use of helicopters, dropping troops near villages, engaging the enemy/luring them out and then calling in air strikes) and the aftermath/impact that the war had on young men like Ron Kovic (issues of drug use, post-traumatic stress disorder). Please remember that your Vietnam War Assignment is due tomorrow (please see it below). IB Diploma students: please submit your TOK Essays electronically today. If you have any problems with this, please contact me by e-mail.

Vietnam War Assignment

A. PEOPLE
Identify and explain the role each played in the Vietnam War
1. Ho Chi Minh
2. Ngo Dinh Diem
3. Lyndon B. Johnson
4. Richard M. Nixon
5. Viet Minh
6. Viet Cong
7. Le Duc Tho
8. Henry Kissinger
9. William Westmoreland
10. "Draft Dodger"

B. CONCEPTS/TERMS
Explain the significance of the following with regards to the Vietnam War (identify participants or individuals if appropriate)
1. Ho Chi Minh Trail
2. defoliation
3. "search and destroy" mission
4. "Vietnamization of the war"
5. Gulf of Tonkin Incident
6. My Lai Massacre
7. domino theory
8. Kent State University protest (May 4, 1970)
9. Tet Offensive (January 1968)
10. Geneva Agreement (1954)

C. ISSUES
Provide the information requested
1. The predominant religion of Vietnam
2. The battle which marked the end of French colonial rule in Indo-China
3. The scandal which led to the only resignation of an American President
4. The Vice President who replaced the President after his resignation
5. Why was November 1963 a "bad month" for the governments of South Vietnam and the United States?

March 13

IB 30/35

We watched a video today from the CNN Cold War series on Vietnam. This video provided you with a lot of details on increasing American involvement in Southeast Asia, starting in the 1950s and into the late 1960s. Make sure that you have read the Vietnam War notes that are posted on the wiki in the Cold War section. I am assigning a Vietnam War Assignment for Thursday. You are responsible for the researching the following: (please see below)

Vietnam War Assignment

A. PEOPLE
Identify and explain the role each played in the Vietnam War
1. Ho Chi Minh
2. Ngo Dinh Diem
3. Lyndon B. Johnson
4. Richard M. Nixon
5. Viet Minh
6. Viet Cong
7. Le Duc Tho
8. Henry Kissinger
9. William Westmoreland
10. "Draft Dodger"

B. CONCEPTS/TERMS
Explain the significance of the following with regards to the Vietnam War (identify participants or individuals if appropriate)
1. Ho Chi Minh Trail
2. defoliation
3. "search and destroy" mission
4. "Vietnamization of the war"
5. Gulf of Tonkin Incident
6. My Lai Massacre
7. domino theory
8. Kent State University protest (May 4, 1970)
9. Tet Offensive (January 1968)
10. Geneva Agreement (1954)

C. ISSUES
Provide the information requested
1. The predominant religion of Vietnam
2. The battle which marked the end of French colonial rule in Indo-China
3. The scandal which led to the only resignation of an American President
4. The Vice President who replaced the President after his resignation
5. Why was November 1963 a "bad month" for the governments of South Vietnam and the United States?

IB 20

We started looking at the Articles of Confederation today. If you missed class today you missed guidance coming into the class to confirm your course selections for next year. You also missed some notes on the Articles of Confederation and the Second Continental Congress, so you should get these from a classmate. I have posted some notes on the wiki in Unit 4. I put up some Harvard style notes on the Articles of Confederation and summaries of the various articles that are in the Articles of Confederation. Please remember that the Articles of Confederation serve as the first constitution of the United States, and that they will be replaced rather quickly by the U.S. Constitution in 1789, and even the Constitution will be modified with the inclusion of ten amendments, which we refer to as the U.S. Bill of Rights today. Here is your homework assignment for tonight: create a four column chart similar to the one on page 70 of your History of the Americas textbook), with some modifications. The first column should be labelled as "Characteristics" (use the ones listed off in the first column from the chart on page 70), the next column should be labelled "Articles of Confederation" (include specifics from the articles themselves), the third column should be labelled "Problems that the Articles of Confederation Created" , and the fourth column should be labelled as "How the U.S. Constitution Addressed These Issues" (include specific details). I posted the full text of the Articles of Confederation on the wiki, but you can also find them here. You might want to check out the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. You can also find the full U.S. Constitution here. I also gave you a copy of the U.S. Constitution graphic novel today as well for your reading pleasure and for reference. I think one of the strengths of the book is that it provides some historical context and background for why certain items are included or not included in the Constitution. You have these books until Thursday.