Mon., Nov 30

Hello on this glorious last day of November!

You got two homework assignments today:

The Annotated Bibliography, which is DUE FRIDAY by 8:20 a.m.
Link:
Assignment Description, Annotated Bibliography

AND

Worksheet 19-1
#1-5 by Tomorrow
#6-12 by Friday
Link:
Worksheet 19-1

Mon. Nov 23 and Tues. Nov 24

It's almost Thanksgiving Break, woooooooooooooot, woooooooooot!!!!

Before your excitement overwhelms you, let me tell you your homework for said break:

• Send me your research question via e-mail by Wednesday, November 25, 2009!!! Because it is break and my bedtime of 8 pm does not need to be strictly enforced, the time does not matter. But your Thanksgiving present to me will be letting me know your final choice of a research question.
• You will receive a reply, either letting you know I have approved your research question or giving you feedback on what still needs to be tweaked.
• Once you've got a solid research question, I will then share a GoogleDoc with you that we will be sharing back and forth throughout the entire IA process. You will need to select "Make a Copy," and name it IA, (Your Last Name). Ex:) IA- Roselander
• On the very first page of this document, you will need to put your name where it asks for it, and fill in your "Research Topic," and "Research Question." DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER IN FILLING OUT THE DOCUMENT (aka, resist the urge to do your entire IA over break).
• Once these sections have been filled in, share the document back to me ASAP.
• READ AND BEGIN RESEARCHING. I cannot overstate the importance of using this time to give yourself a jump-start on the research process. Make a trip to the school/local library!!

Fri., Nov 20

Over the weekend, your homework is to:

• Begin formulating research questions. I gave each of you worksheet titled, "Consider These Sample Questions." Use this as a guide.
• E-mail me what you've come up with by 9pm SUNDAY NIGHT. Your questions don't have to be perfect, but make sure you send me some ideas we can work with.
• Keep READING about your topic!! Use this time to keep researching and familiarizing yourself with the topic you've chosen.

Please e-mail me with question and concerns. I'll do my best to produce a timely response, although it is the weekend so cut me a little slack :)

Link:

Sample Research Questions Hand-Out

Forgive the delay!

We are in the midst of IA topic choosing and research!

What should you be doing to stay on track?

• Make sure you've e-mailed me your topic. If you've already done this, and I haven't put the kabash on it, then send me another message letting me know where you are in the process of narrowing your this general topic, and what you've found so far.


• READ, READ, READ about your topic!
• Tomorrow we will be in the library again. I will be sitting down with each of you to see where you are at, and how you plan to focus your investigation. Be ready to discuss the materials you've found!

Wed., Nov 18th

E and F Periods were in the library today, figuring out potential topics for your IA's. Use your time well to nose around and figure out what specific aspects of a broader topic might be worth further investigation.

Homework:

Your homework for tonight is to e-mail me your broad topic, and let me know where you are in the process. My e-mail is croselanderginn@sturgischarterschool.org.

The second part of your homework is to set up an account on delicious.com. This is a site, which allows you to access your saved bookmarks on any computer. It will also give me the power to stalk your web research choices and give you guidance if it looks like you are lost in the muck of the internet.

Once you set up your account, search for me--my user name is roseginnder. Add me to your network. Also add Mr. Hyer, whose user name is jeffhyer. He has a lot of bookmarks saved which will be helpful to you.

Tues., Nov 17

B Period-

We spent class today in the library. Hopefully you are feeling good about the process of choosing a topic and have found one that interests you. We will have more time in the library Thursday and Friday.


E & F Periods-

Today we explored the MAIN causes of WWI, Militarism, Alliance Systems, Imperialism and Nationalism.

Here's a link to the PowerPoint:
Background, Causes of WWI ppt.

Here's that awesome video about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary which we washed and enjoyed....
"Days That Shook the World" The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Homework:

Keep thinking about a topic for you IA! You need to have chosen a topic and be moving toward a focused research question by Friday!

Today we started talking about the IA (Internal Assessment), which will be taking over your lives this coming quarter...muhahahaha!

Your homework tonight is to check out all the information Mr. Hyer has put on his website, breaking down and explaining all the various sections of the IA. Here's the link:
IA Explanation on jhyer.com

You should start thinking about some general topics you may be interested. Once you've chosen a general topic, we will spend this week helping you refine a broad topic into a specific research question.

We will also delve into discussing WWI tomorrow, so much multi-tasking, I know! Here is your homework, which is due tomorrow:

Link:
Front Page, 19-1: World War I Begins
The back page of the worksheet is a handy-dandy graphic organizer that asks you to list and explain the four major causes behind World War I which your textbook discusses. Unfortunately, it didn't transfer into a GoogleDoc very well.

You do not have homework this weekend.

Next week we will be launching into talking about the IA, "Historical Investigation" you will be doing this quarter. This weekend I would like you to start thinking about some specific topics you might be interested in. Next week you will be given some time and direction to help you choose a suitable topic.

F Period-

You took your In-Class Essay Test today!! You are now rewarded with a weekend free of homework. You are welcome :)

B and E Periods-

You will be taking the In-Class Essay Test TOMORROW. If anyone feels they need some extra help/guidance in putting your outline together, please come see me. I'm available before school, during break, at lunch and during G & A Period Studies (G I'm in room 200, A I'm in 210).

Good luck and please keep me posted if you need help!

B and F Periods- Your Paper 2 (In-Class Essay) Test will be on Thursday!
E Period- Since I won't be seeing you until Friday, that's when you will have the Paper 2 Test.

Prompt:
Analyze the causes and impact of the Spanish-American War (1898).

Link:
Assignment Description, Spanish-American War Essay and Review Sheet

Remember, you can use an outline for the In-Class essay!!!! Your homework is to prepare a detailed outline, which lays out how you will go about responding to the prompt and what evidence you will use!

If you have questions during the process of preparing, please e-mail me: croselanderginn@sturgischarterschool.org (longest e-mail EVERRRRRR)
I will do my best to check my messages frequently.

Have a great day off! See you soon.

Nov. 5

We went hunting for good sources to use for historical research today in the library.

Here is the assignment page, in case you had an unfortunate accident, or were absent today:
Link, Finding and Recording Sources

Homework:

Today in the library you found sources and recorded basic info on the "Source Worksheet." Your homework, which is DUE MONDAY is to turn that basic info into a working bibliography. All information to help you do so and specifics are on the assignment sheet!

An resource available to you is the Google Group set up by Mr. Hyer all about the Historical Investigation project. Joining this group will help you with this assignment and many others which will follow. There is a link to do so, right above this post.

As an incentive, there is a fully formatted Working Bibliography template available once you joing the site. DO IT!

Wed., Nov. 4th

Today in class, we finished debating the choices our nation faced at the close of the Spanish-American War, and discussed what actually ended up happening.

Homework:

Read Section 18-4 of your online textbook and complete worksheet 18-4.
Link to 18-4
B Period: Due Tomorrow
E and F Periods: Due Friday

Tues., Nov. 3

Everybody, (SASS members most especially), thank you for making this a terrific birthday!! Thank you times a million!!! Please inform me when all of your birthdays are, so I can make sure your day is just as fantastic.

Also, I found your "Townhall Meetings" to be informative, and certainly entertaining! I got a chance to meet some of E Period's multiple personalities. Lucky me!

Homework:

Read, Epilogue: Imperialism's Bitter Fruit and complete Study Guide--Epilogue
DUE TOMORROW