1/30 HW/Review

No HW tonight :)
Today was NWEA testing all day.  We did have enough time to begin reading and annotating "The Lemon Tree",  a book about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in the second class.
Tomorrow we begin research on your country's policy on the North Korean nuclear issue.

You can review the MLA powerpoint presentation here to remind yourself of how to begin formatting your works cited page.

You can also review how to find reliable sources on the internet by reviewing the internet research slideshow here.

The most important two things to remember in gathering research is to ask yourself:
A.  Does the author of the resource have a strong opinion on the subject, or are they simply presenting information?  (Generally, you want to go with the person who is simply trying to present information).
B. Do they back up their facts with citations that I can easily find and double-check for myself?  Are the facts true?

If the resource you are looking at doesn't meet both of these criteria, you should probably move on (or at least double-check with me before using it).

1/29 HW/Review

HW:  No HW :)
Review:
Starter #9 (If you were Kim Jong-Un, would you continue your current policies, become more peaceful in order to have trade sanctions eased, or become more aggressive in an attempt to extort what you need from other countries?  Why?)

--Review of setting up quotes
--MLA lesson on citations and Works Cited page
--Research to find four sources on your assigned country's view on North Korean nuclear program in preparation for Policy Paper, due Thursday 2/6.

Also check out this video of a time-lapse of the amount of nuclear weapons that have been tested since their invention.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLCF7vPanrY

1/28 HW/Review

No HW tonight :)
Review:
In-class essay writing
Reading "Lemon Tree" (a story about the history of Israel/Palestine) if completed essay early.

Tomorrow we will be learning MLA style citations as well as beginning to research our assigned country's perspective on North Korea.

1/27 HW/Review

HW:  Complete your in-class essay outline, including a concessive thesis answering the question "Should North Korea be allowed to keep their nuclear weapons?"

Today we:
Had a question-and-answer session about the in-class essay
Began and hopefully completed our in-class essay outlines for tomorrow,  including quotes from articles for evidence.

1/24 HW/Review

HW:  No homework, but if you want to investigate more articles on North Korea, see previous post.
Review:
Riddle/Logic puzzle
Concessive Thesis Lesson
Review in-class essay rubrics and outline
Gather evidence (quotes) from the articles you received in class, as well as a third article you find on your own OR an article from the previous post.
Check-ins with Matt on the topic and thesis of your in-class essay.

Remember, the question you will be answering on Tuesday in your in-class essay is "Should North Korea as a sovereign nation be allowed to keep nuclear weapons?"

Friday preparation

Here are some additional articles that you can use as evidence in your in-class essay:

UN sanctions of North Korea:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44122&Cr=democratic&Cr1=Korea&Kw1=#.UuGeNWTn_oB

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44313#.UuGd9WTn_oB

Why UN should respect North Korean sovereignty:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/29194764.html

Why the UN should not respect North Korean sovereignty:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/13/opinion/bomb-north-korea-before-its-too-late.html

All in all you should cite from the two articles that we read together in class, PLUS one more article (either from the list above, or one you find on your own).  You may, but are not required to, use as many additional articles as you like.

1/23 HW/Review

No homework tonight :)

Today we:
Started class with a riddle

Read and annotated as a group Robert Kaplan's article "Why North Korea needs nukes"
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stratfor/2013/12/04/why-north-korea-needs-nukes/

Debated in teams on the pros/cons of the article's arguments, as well as several related arguments about how best to deal with North Korea's nuclear program

Began reading/annotating "7 reasons to worry about North Korea's weapons"
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/04/7-reasons-to-worry-about-north-koreas-weapons/275020/

Tomorrow in class we will be revisiting our learning styles to help us discover what study and preparation strategies will be best for us to practice before our in-class essay on Tuesday of next week.  

Click on this site to see a cool list of countries that have nuclear weapons OR nuclear energy
to fill out your map.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2012/05/201252416836407993.html

1/17 HW/Review

If you were in class today and took the quiz--no homework this weekend.
If you missed class today--you will take the quiz on Wednesday, so take whatever time you need to study for the quiz.
See  "Quiz Info" link under "Class Handouts" page on the left for the codument that will help you study for the quiz.
Enjoy the long weekend!
-Matt

1/16 HW/Review

HW:  Study for the UN Quiz which will take place tomorrow.  Check "class handouts" page to see the UN pre-quiz sheet with the questions.

Review:
-Wealth simulation activity
-Group discussion
-Quiz study time

1/15 HW/Review

HW:  Complete 5 notecards to help you study for the UN quiz.
The notecards simply have to contain some of the information that is on the quiz.

Review:
Worked in class on completing our country research packets
Mounted our human rights posters
Studied for the UN quiz/had time to complete the notecards.

Tomorrow we will be doing a simulation of how wealth is divided between nations.
See you then!

1/14 HW/Review

You have in-class work time tomorrow to complete your country research packet.
If you've finished your packet (and it is rigorous and in-depth), you will have an opportunity to do Challenge Extension research on your country.


Upcoming Due Dates:

*Research Packet due end of class Wednesday

*Five completed notecards with information you are studying for the quiz are due start of class on Thursday

*Quiz is on Friday.  You can find a spare copy of the pre-quiz handout (what the quiz will be on) under "class handouts" page on the left.

1/13 HW/Review

Woohoo, Monday!!!
THE QUIZ IS POSTPONED TO FRIDAY
You have NO homework tonight :)

Today we started to really dig our teeth into understanding the countries we've been assigned for model UN.

Review:
Starter #5 MUN (observing the silence and your thoughts that arise in silence)
Completed Poster on your Human Right
Lecture on choosing good research sources (Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, and Up-to-date)
Ind. Worktime on Country Research packet

See y'all tomorrow!

1/9 HW/Review

Your homework tonight is to work on your Difficulties/Curiosities Journal if you didn't finish it in class.
It will be graded tomorrow.

Today in class we:
*Had 2 presentations about the successes/failures of the UN
*Watched a video about the Model UN in action
*Read and annotated the Preamble to the UN Declaration of Human Rights
*Completed starter #3 about what you as an individual think to be the most important human rights, and how they should be protected
*Worked on our Difficulties/Curiosities Journal for the rest of class

1/8

Homework:  We had time to do the below homework in class today, but use tonight if you need it.

1.  If you didn't do the vocabulary word on the google doc in class, find one difficult vocabulary word from our readings and email the definition to me.  I shut down the google doc because it was giving us too many logistical difficulties.


2.  Successes and Failures of the UN: Prezi/Powerpoint Presentation

Research one success OR one failure of the UN. 

You will find one to two articles that describes one failure OR one success of the UN. Based on your research you are going to create a Prezi or a Powerpoint presentation.  Use the following guide.  

One success of the UN	One failure of the UN
5 keys points of why it was a success. Include any background information from the article Explain how the UN was successful (what steps or actions led to success?)	5 keys points of why it was a failure. Include any background information from the article Explain how the UN failed (what steps or actions led to failure)
3 images that go along with the content (make sure to cite the image with a URL)	3 images that go along with the content (make sure to cite the image with a URL)
The sources of your information (put the URL’s at the end of the presentation as a bibliography)	The sources of your information (put the URL’s at the end of the presentation as a bibliography)
And as always make it beautiful work!!

Also check out this link http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/study-fight-performance-anxiety-by-getting-excited/282886/  if you want to learn a little bit about how to handle anxiety about public speaking!

Two of you will be randomly picked tomorrow to share your presentation at the start of class tomorrow! Be prepared.

1/7 HW/Review

HW:  Prepare a 30 second--1 minute presentation on one aspect of the UN Charter reading that you did today in your group.  Check the "Grading Rubrics" tab to see the updated grading rubric for this project.

Today:
 *We learned about the definition of national sovereignty and a wrote a starter on the concept
 * Watched and took notes on a video about the UN's efforts, from peace-keeping to disaster relief, in 2013
*Reviewed the project rubric
*Learned our role assignments for this project
*Broke into small groups to read and answer questions about different sections of the UN charter.

1/6 HW/Review

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nntbLKgGajw

Today we began our Model United Nations Project!
Check out the new Calendar page on the left if needed.
Your Homework tonight is to read and make 5 Annotations on the briefing on North Korea that you received in class today.
If you were absent you can find the briefing on the "Class Handouts" page at left.
It is due tomorrow (Tuesday 1/7) at the start of class.