Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - Projects Day

I'm posting into the future so I don't forget to on Wednesday :).

Today you did peer editing on your papers for Projects.

Next class we're moving into economic philosophy, so I have a short homework assignment for you that acquaints you with a little something called "The Invisible Hand." Enjoy, and have a great Turkey Day!

Don't forget: Dec 1st is our next class, and that is when your 2nd News Magazine Progress Report is due. Can you believe it's nearly December? Wow, time flies...

Homework:

• 2nd News Magazine Progress Report due
• Europe and the Rise of Capitalism HW
  

Monday, November 23, 2009 - Political Primary Source Comparison

Today you used your knowledge of political philosophy to analyze primary source documents. You tried to figure out what Enlightenment idea influenced specific pieces of sources like The Rights of Man and the Bill of Rights...and hopefully were able to pair the philosopher with the specific idea!

Next class you'll be doing peer editing with your Projects papers, so be sure to bring a copy of your rough draft! Other than that, no homework tonight :).

Thursday, November 19, 2009 - The Three Revolutions

Today we:

• Got into small groups by revolution (ex: American, Glorious , French) & came up with the top 5 causes of your specific revolution.
• Combined small groups with others exploring the same revolution, agreed on the top 5 causes, & created a 5-point Bill of Rights on what basic human rights people should have based on what happened during your revolution.
• Each large group did a 3 minute presentation on their revolution & main points.

I loved today because I got to be sneaky. Unbeknownst to the rest of the class, I had 1 of the French groups read information about women's issues during the French Revolution. This made for interesting discussions/experiences when the larger groups got together; the women in the PM French group seceded and formed their own group. Way to go, ladies!

Monday's my birthday, so I'll be taking the day off and Mr. Powell gets the pleasure of wrapping up our work on political philosophy & revolutions. Actually, I won't see you guys until Dec 1 because Wednesday you have projects, which is also Mr. Powell's domain, so I won't be attending those classes, either. Have an excellent Turkey Day & I'll see you in a week!

Homework:
None for this weekend, but bring your rough draft of your Projects paper to class on Wednesday for peer editing.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 - Rousseau & Montesquieu

Here's what happened today:

• Turned in News Magazine Outline & Enlightenment HW
• Did an activities on Rousseau & Montesquieu
• Received individualized homework assignments
  

Homework for next class: depending on which group you're in, your assignments are found below:

3 Revolutions Groups Chart (this will tell you which homework you need to do)

• The American Revolution
• The Glorious Revolution (English)
• The French Revolution

If you were absent in the morning class, please email me ASAP so I can prep you for our next class (swan5524@pacificu.edu).

Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Library Research Day

Today we:

• Turned in all missing/late work (today was the last day I could accept it since tomorrow's a Grading Day)
• Talked about credible internet sites vs. site you probably shouldn't use in your News Magazine Project
• Had group time to work out who would be doing what
• Worked in the library on the News Magazine Projects

One thing we talked about in class was that successful projects in the past were typically modeled after an existing magazine you might see in the "real" world. For example, you might have a magazine called "Philosophy Today" instead of Psychology Today.

Homework:

• Enlightenment HW due Tuesday, Nov 17
• 1 Outline for the News Magazine Project for each group is due Tuesday, Nov 17
  

Monday, November 9, 2009 - Hobbes & Locke

Today we:

• Answered the first 2 questions on the Englightenment Homework (below)
• Discovered how much we either agreed or disagreed with Thomas Hobbes' theories of political philosophy through an interactive Powerpoint
• Analyzed 3 pieces of art using John Locke's views of politics & human nature
• Received the "New & Improved" News Magazine packet, complete with the guiding question AND due dates (sorry afternoon class; I forgot to give you these, but will hand them out on Thursday OR you can see the previous post & download the new version on your own)
  

Next class (Thursday) we'll be having our only planned Library day so your groups can start conducting research for your News Magazines. Thursday is also the last day I can accept late work since Friday is a Grading Day! Be sure to get me your late work by the beginning of the period.

If you missed class, please view these Powerpoints:

• Hobbes PP
• Locke PP

Homework:

• Enlightenment HW (Due next Tues, Nov 17th)
  

Revamped News Magazine Packet

We revamped the News Magazine! I'll hand out the new & improved packets tomorrow (Monday), but I wanted to post it online in case you need another copy.

News Magazine Project Packet

Missing Work Announcement!

Next Friday is a Grading Day, so that means all missing work is due next week!

The last day I will accept late work is next Thursday (Nov 12th) at the beginning of the period.

I will be posting grades to Basmati tomorrow (Nov 5th) so you can check your progress. If you need copies of the work you're missing, you can find them on this blog or you can ask me if I have copies after class. Please contact me if you have any questions!

Thursday, November 5, 2009 - Machiavelli

Here's what we did today:

• Projects check-in
• Group Quiz/News Magazine intro (people chose their groups of 3)
• What makes America Great & Unique
• Fear & Love Discussion
• Machiavelli Reading/Posters

Homework:

• Finish Machiavelli Poster (I don't have an electronic version of this, so if you were absent, you can do this alternate assignment)
  

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 - Renaissance In-Class Essay

Today we did our open-note in-class essay on the Renaissance. Students took about 20 minutes to fill out the outline sheet I provided (10 points), had me check them, & then wrote their essays (30 points) for the rest of the class. Students made sure to underline each topic sentence in their essays.

Instead of collecting the "World Reborn" notes & the green Renaissance homework (that was due last class, but I said I'd collect it after the essay), I walked around & graded them on the fly: if you had them completed, you got full credit. If you were missing some answers, you may have lost a few points. I did collect the Renaissance Comic Strips that were due today. After students finished their essays, they stapled their Outlines to their essays & turned them in.

At the end of class, I passed out a packet of the culminating project of our European Civilization Unit. It's a cool News Magazine project, and we'll talk about it more next class & I'll show examples of what students have done in the past when we reconvene on Thursday. This is your last formal assessment for this unit, so no more actual "tests:" just this project, and you have about a month to work on it.

If you were absent:

• Fill out the essay outline & write your essay. Underline each topic sentence & turn in these documents to class on Thursday.
• Do the homework posted below.
  

Homework:
Read through the News Magazine packet & be prepared for a 5 point quiz on Thursday.

• This is a group quiz: I will randomly choose 5 students to answer each of the 5 questions, and if they get their question correct, the whole class gets it correct. Be prepared & don't let your classmates down!