Hey Cold War lovers! I just wanted to tell you what we have been doing the past couple weeks. First of all, we have been reading our tails off. Were reading a cold war book that is really hefty with amazing content. Were only on chapter two but were getting through the book nicely! We also have been learning about Stalin and Truman, who had a huge part in the cold war. The cold war is a pretty confusing yet easy to understand subject. The best thing i think is that we are learning Morse Code. Its so cool, were learning the letters numbers, and even how to say everyday words like your name. All in all, we have been having a great class so far, and it will get better and better!
Greetings and Salutations!
Just wanted to take a few minutes to send an update for our work today in class. Students are busy all three periods in the Lizard Classroom! We've hit a good stride and everyone is working exceptionally hard with a huge amount of focus - what an exciting semester. World History has transitioned from talking about religion during the Enlightenment to to science during the Enlightenment. Today they drew some great connections between Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation to Newton, Descartes, Galileo, and Bacon and the Scientific Revolution. We've been working hard "thinking about thinking" which has been quite a joy. Cold War is slowly but surely moving forward. We've been continuing to study Morse Code while also digging deep into the Gaddis book. Today was our first book discussion and the kids made incredible observations and made great points. We discussed the concept of "fear" at length and what fear does to our brain - especially in groups. It was fun to make some connections to the science and sociology classes that the students may also be taking. We're at about 1950 now and cruising forward! US History has been slowing inching forward. Today we completed our study of Jamestown which has included articles, an interactive from National Geographic, lectures, and watching Disney's Pocahontas looking for historical inaccuracies. The sketchbooks that students are building look fantastic and it is clear that they've been working really hard. In addition, their questions are on point and meaningful. Check In World History we've recently been learning about religion during the Enlightenment. Specifically, we have been learning about the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. To learn and understand this topic better, we've been reading primary sources, examining Baroque art, and making connections to current events involving religion. We had two options for the primary source we could read, one from a contributor to the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther, and one from a contributor to the Catholic Counter-Reformation. To understand the sources better, we divided them into sections and annotated them, circling words we didn't know, finding the topic of each paragraph, and making connections to our background knowledge. When we examined Baroque art, we started by trying to sketch some of our own based on the facts Liz gave us about it. We then looked at four different pieces of Baroque art and compared them to one another. Art was important during this time because the Catholics thought it should be in churches and religion to show the common person, but Protestants thought it led to idolatry. To help us make connections to background knowledge, we each chose an article to read pertaining to religion, and then discussed our articles and how they could relate to the Protestant Reformation. Some of the ways we decided they connected were conflict, changing ideas, and diversion from the norm. We are finishing up with our topic of religion now, and will be writing reflections about what we learned, what we thought about religion before we started, how our thoughts have changed, things we still would like to know, and our thoughts about religion in the Enlightenment.
Lizard class students have been learning about the beginning colonies in America. So far we have learned about the Roanoke colony and it's mysterious disappearance, as well as the Jamestown colony and the harsh awakening the colonists had to experience. Jamestown started off with pretty well until they ran out of supplies and couldn't find food through the terrible winter. Many perished and some who died were theorized to have been eaten to keep the others alive. The Jamestown people also resorted to eating their dogs, horses, and stealing food from the local tribes. later on we will be comparing what we learn about Jamestown to Disney's story in Pocahontas. Class is starting to get really interesting and fun. I can't wait to see what Liz has in store for us the rest of the semester!
It's still the beginning of Cold War history class, but we've already learned a lot. This includes the very beginnings and basic information such as Morse code and descriptions of major leaders.
In class the students have "code names," ranging from Agent Bullfrog to Agent Gopher. This comes along with a simulation based system where the students complete tasks CIA agents might do. So far, it's a fun class and I'm excited to see what we'll do next. Agt. Gopher p.s. ** *_**/**/_*_/* *__*/**/* As far as U.S. history has gone so far, I'd say it's going to be a really entertaining yet also challenging way of learning about the origins of this country. This awesome style of learning integration is in my opinion incredibly effective, as well as increasingly rare, especially the farther I go through high school. It's due to this that I'm really holding a lot of faith and excitement for the rest of this course. Even though we've really only gone over basic background knowledge regarding the American Revolution, I still think I've learned plenty about Europe pre North America colonization, and also what helped contribute to the establishments of the colonies. As a side note, I really enjoyed the first day when we each chose a quote about history ad analyzed it, because it helped put down a solid level of respect for the content that we're only just delving into. Also because I got George Orwell's quote, and he's a really radical guy who I liked anyways. I'm very much looking forward to making my U.S. history book a lasting representation of my learning, and especially because I know for a fact it's going to be really interesting, diverse, and broadly encompassing of a lot of highly important historical happenings and facts and such. I really hope I can get a better, more firm grasp of time too, because since all of what we're learning about it so long ago, and that kind of thing is really difficult for me to wrap my minds around.
-Jenna Wow!
It has been ages (or so it feels) since anything has been posted in this blog! The fall of 2013 was intensely busy and a little bit crazy, and some things just fell to the wayside. Check back soon for updates from students! Until then, here is a short preview of what will be taking place in Lizard Classroom this spring: Three classes + Senior Crew (hooray 2014!) -World History will be taking quarter three to learn about the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Students will be exploring different ways of thinking and practicing their historical thinking and analysis skills. -Cold War will be looking at, well, the Cold War. Students will read a difficult text by John Gaddis as well as study a multitude of primary sources as they act as members of the CIA. -US History will be looking at early American history. Quarter three will focus on the beginnings of the colonies as we focus on the guiding question...."How did loyal British citizens turn into rebellious American patriots?" Students will not only be writing in this blog, but also wearing a GoPro camera once throughout the semester. Check back for video snapshots of us at work! Happy 2014 - we're ready! --the "Lizard" and students |