Blog Archives

T2 Week 2 - Monday:continue research & notes on "cultures in conflict summative

11/26/2015

Today, you will continue with your research and taking notes. I will begin meeting with each table group and looking individually at each student's progress; I will add comments to your research notes document. Reminder: Summative notes are due next Monday, November 30th

Links you may need to access for today:

T2 Week 1 - Friday: Global Issues: Conflict in the News

11/22/2015

Since Friday is time for our class to focus on Global Issues discussed in current events, I ask that students take some time today to read about the current terrorist attacks conducted by ISIS. Within your table group, please pick one of the following articles to read (no one in your group should pick the same article).

Recent Terrorist Attacks: (some of these articles contain videos as well, you may watch the videos but please use headphones)

2 killed, 8 held after France raid, but suspected ringleader's status unknown (CNN)
The inconvenient truth: There's no easy military answer to war on ISIS (CNN)
World Mourns Attacks in Paris (Time Magazine for Kids)
Some governors want to refuse Syrian refugees (PBS News Hour Extra)
Did the media ignore the Beirut bombings? Or did readers? (Vox.com)
Beirut, Also the Site of Deadly Attacks, Feels Forgotten (NewYorkTimes)
Islamic State says 'Schweppes bomb' used to bring down Russian plane (Reuters.com)

Once you and your table group have agreed on which article to read... make a copy of the following Current Events News Summary Template. (be sure to save your copy to your Individuals and Societies folder)

Today's Current Events - Notes Template - Make a Copy!
Current Events - Completed Notes (sample notes)

Fill out the Current Events document as you read the article. You have 20 minutes to complete this task.

Afterwards, you and your table group will summarize your article (you each get approximately 1 minute to summarize).

The remaining time in class will allow the whole class to discuss these recent attacks and share your thoughts, concerns, etc.

T2 Week 1-Wed. Intro to summative Cultures in conflict

11/19/2015

Today, you will select the Cultures in Conflict group for your summative research and 5-paragraph essay.

List of Cultures in Conflict

Today, you will draw a number... your number will determine the order (among your classmates) that you get to pick...

Today, you will need to access the following links for tasks:

For the Summative, please refer to the Summative "Cultures in Conflict Presentation.

2nd Trimester, Week 1 - Monday:(formative) Cultures in Conflict From cornell notes to essay format

11/18/2015

Today we will work on taking information from your Cornell Notes on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and adding this information to the 5-paragraph essay template. You do not have to have a perfect and complete essay.
Today we are practicing taking data and ideas from our notes and developing paragraphs--we will focus on which paragraph the information should be used in to support our ideas and understanding of "Cultures in Conflict".
Helpful links for today's task:

Link to Formative Case Study Presentation
Link to Cornell Notes & 5 Paragraph Essay Template
Sample Cultures in Conflict 5-Paragraph Essay: Conflict between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland
Link to Submit completed formative Cornell Notes + 5 Paragraph Essay

For homework... Please take a look at the following list of other "Cultures in Conflict". You will need to select your top 3 you are most interested in researching and writing an essay about. You will select your topic at the beginning of Wednesday's class.

On Wednesday, you will draw a number... your number will determine the order (among your classmates) that you get to pick...this is why you need to have more than one option in mind--yes, this is a bit of the "unfair games"...

Week 12: Friday's Global Issues: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

11/13/2015

Today, you will be representing either the Israeli POV or the Palestinian POV in a debate--and later, a Socratic Seminar. You may use your Cornell Notes to help you. You may also want to briefly read and refer to this document:

POV - Side by Side POV & Timeline of Events - pbs.org

And of course we have this week's edition of Flocabulary's The Week in Rap to close out today's class with. You're welcome!

Week 12 - Wednesday: evaluating sources & Recognizing bias

11/12/2015

Today, you will continue taking notes on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict using the Cornell Notes template. In this formative task, you are asked to evaluate your sources.

Link to Evaluating Sources Presentation

To help you learn how to effectively evaluate sources, we will go through an article together in class:

You will work with a partner and read through the article looking for bias.
You and your partner will mark on the laminated article using dry-erase pens and underline evidence of bias and write notes on the side about the article's bias.

After the first exercise in evaluating sources, you will compare two (2) of the sources within the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict presentation and fill out the handout form "Comparing Information From Sources".
Links for this:

Week 12 - Monday: Formative case study: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

11/10/2015

We will continue looking at the facts about this conflict. You will record the unbiased facts on your handout. You will also re-read through the resources provided and record information about the perspective of each group. You started this in class last Wednesday and will finish this up in class today.

Week 11 - Friday: Global Issues in the news

11/7/2015

We have a couple of groups that still need to present their Culture Quest Poster Project.
Afterwards...
We will take a look at the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict & read current news articles about this:
(at your table group, each of you will pick 1 of the following news articles to read--be sure you each read a different article); While reading, please use Google Extension "Split Screen"--have the article on one side and Dictionary.com or Google Translate on the other side. Look up the meaning of any words you do not understand.

Then...Its time for this week's Flocabulary:
"The Week in Rap"
Username: desertstudent2014 Password: deserstudent2014

Week 11 - Wednesday: Cultures in Conflict: Formative Case Study: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

11/6/2015

Today you will explore through some resources provided to you to learn about the conflict between two culture groups: the Israelis and the Palestinians.
You will watch videos, read through news articles and various online resources to learn facts about the conflict--the history of it, etc. You are asked to go through the information provided and record facts as well as both culture group's perspective.
For this activity, please use the following slides:
Formative Case Study: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
You will do this in the following steps: (you will be given 1 hour to complete this)

Go through the resources provided and look for FACTUAL information--do not record biased opinions. Try to only list facts about the conflict. This will be recorded in the middle column of the handout.
Go through the resources a second time; this time read to find the perspective of one group--try to focus on reading only one perspective at a time. Record details about the conflict from only this one culture group's perspective (their perspective of why they are fighting, their feelings, concerns, etc.)
Go through the resources a third time; this time read and find the perspective of the other group--try to only focus on their perspective. Record details about the conflict from only this one culture group's perspective (their perspective of why they are fighting, their feelings, concerns, etc.)
Do not try to pick a side. You are simply filling in the document with facts recorded in the middle and the two perspectives on either side. Once complete, turn this paper in to Mrs. Rennie. We will work with this paper again on Friday.

In the last 20 Minutes of Class....
You will begin a search to find out what other culture conflicts exist in the world today.
You will list the culture groups in conflict that you discover. You will find links for research and record this on the following shared document

Cultures in Conflict: List of Culture Clashes

(all 8th grade students have editing rights--please do not change the documents format or delete anyone else's list or delete instructions, etc.)

Week 11: Monday: Culture Quest Group Presentations

11/3/2015

You will have 45 minutes to prepare for your poster and presentation today. Please show me your digital poster prior to printing.

Please remember that each group member will need to present at least 1 minute of information explaining and further elaborating about the indigenous group you chose to research.

Each group will also be informally evaluated and given constructive peer feedback for their presentation and poster. Your group will be evaluated based on the task-specific clarification checklist as your classmates look for evidence of this demonstrated knowledge or skill conveyed in your poster and/or oral presentation. Please be sure you have reviewed the checklist and have met the task requirements and learning objectives for this project. Yes, this is still just formative!
Link to Culture Quest Research Project & Task Descriptions

Click HERE to access the Peer Evaluation Form for today's group poster presentations. You will complete this for each group presenting today.