History and Our Story

Last week Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich caused a political firestorm when he claimed he was a Zionist, and used not often remembered historical facts to deny Palestinians have a right to independence from Israel. Here is the snippet of an interview:

Over vacation I would like you to respond in a creative way that uses another reason from history why something today should or should not take place.

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Today I practically broke my arm in class proving that the secret to success is not how hard you work, but how effective your strategy. Think back from September until now, the end of term 1. What strategies have worked for you? What strategies have not worked as well? Share your thoughts in a comment so that we can all learn from each other.

Note: The AUP for Weymouth HS students is to post on-line using your first initial and last name. Please do your best to follow the acceptable use policy or we risk losing computer privileges.

Review last night’s homework reading and handout. Choose one of the people from the list and make a fakebook profile for them using the template linked here.

Be as creative as time will allow, but at a minimum your profile must have the following:

*Birthday, job and Birthplace for profile information

*3 status/wall posts from the person you choose, 1 of which must a be an actual quote (meaning something they really said).

*2 posts –either wall posts or comments on another’s post from “friends” of your person.

*3 friends – - you may choose other key Latin American leaders from the list.

*You must save your fakebook profile (you can’t do this until all areas have been filled out…so it won’t work unless you have some profile info, a post, and at least 1 friend) and post the link below as a comment.

TO SAVE AND POST:

After you have completed the basic requirements you can click “save this fakebook” under the person’s profile picture in the left sidebar. You will be prompted at the top of the page to “enter a password so you can edit this template later.” Use a password that you really will remember! Next a screen will appear with a link to the profile you just made…copy the link and paste in the comment section below.

Have fun!

First, let me thank you for completing this activity page with your student. If you don’t completely already understand why I am having you all tour the main internet sites we’ll be using this year, please watch this 5 minute video by students in a Kansas State University class taught by Michael Wesch.

Now, to make sure you are fully comfortable with this blog space – remember, a signficant portion of your homework will be completed here – I would like you to post a test comment where you share with your classmates at least 1 thing that you are excited about learning this year. You don’t need to share something that relates to history class–it can be any subject, but it needs to be related to learning at Weymouth HS. Remember to use your first name and last initial only when posting a comment.

Here are the results of all the classes’ research:

On Friday you were given a short packet with outline information on NATO and the EU. Here is a link to a copy if you misplaced yours:  Europe Today Handout. View the following presentation, pausing as needed to get all of the information to complete the outline paper.

Please reflect on the week we spent working on these projects. What was the purpose/goals of this assignment? To what extent did either you or your classmates (or both, or other classes) achieve these goals. Going forward, what did you learn…what would you do differently next time?

Also, see all classes’ projects at MsBuellTube

Yesterday was Yom HaShoah. In class we discussed the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden and traced the roots of the September 11th Terror attacks to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the post-Holocaust creation of Israel.

Remember every event has intended consequences and unintended consequences.

Today, we remember the Holocaust by viewing a documentary in which survivors tell their own stories. Please post your reactions in a comment below. You may discuss your thoughts on the Holocaust, or focus on the unintended consequences…explain your reaction.