Homework: Online Textbook Orientation!

Okay guys, here’s what I need you to do this weekend:

1. Please watch the videos below to get a sense of how the online textbooks work.
2. Try to log on to the online textbook resources following the instructions I provided in the video.  If you can log in, play around with the resources a little and try to familiarize yourself with them.
3. If you CAN’T log in to the textbook resources, please complete the online form I’ve provided on the online textbook resources page.  Provide as much information as possible on the form, just so I can know if it’s a roster problem, or a technical problem.
4. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and don’t forget to work on your vocabulary!

Welcome to AP World History!

I hope you all had a great first day back at North Cobb High School.  Remember, if you’ve got any problems with your schedule (missing classes, duplicate classes, incorrect classes) to let your teachers know immediately this week so we can get you settled into whatever courses are correct for you as quickly as possible.

Tonight, I need you to do a few things for me.  First, sit down with your parents or guardians and go over the AP World History Class Handbook which you received today in class.  We went over some of it in class, but you should really take a moment to look through the whole thing– and make sure you show it to your parents, as well.  (If they’d like their own copy, by the way, they can download a .pdf of the handbook here: AP World History Handbook.)  Once you’ve read over the handbook, please sign the acknowledgment sheet you received in class, and put it in your folder to return to me.

After looking over the handbook, please take a few minutes and complete the student information survey linked here.  Please provide the most accurate information you can so that I can have a better picture of who you are and how I can best help you be successful in the course.

After completing your student information survey, you’ll need to get to work on your first homework assignment of the semester: establishing a baseline understanding of the geographic regions addressed in this class.

While this course is (clearly) not a geography class, it certainly helps to be able to recognize regions and have a basic geographic knowledge of the world.  After all, you certainly don’t want to mess up and write an essay on China when you were meant to write about South Asia.  To that end, tonight you will need to read the short article I handed out in class today– “The Myth of Continents” by Peter Morris. Tomorrow, we’re going to start our discussion of world history with some Big Geography, so you need to come prepared.

Unit One Test Tomorrow!

Deep breath, guys.  You can do this.

First things first: I think most of you need to look over the last full text slide on the presentation on the Olmecs, so be sure to review the PPT. (Early American Societies)

Now.  On the subject of tomorrow’s unit test– you might want to consider the following.

Before the test, you should:

1. Review your notes and reading.  Do something ACTIVE with them; don’t just underline or highlight them.  Consider creating a chart comparing all the societies and civilizations we’ve talked about.  Make a timeline.  Write key terms on index cards, shuffle them, and make yourself sort them into their correct civilization or culture group– and then put them in order chronologically.  Ask yourself what is SIMILAR about the groups we’ve studied, and what is DIFFERENT– you can do this with a PERSIA analysis (Politics, Economics, Religion, Society, Intellect, and Arts) for each society or civilization.
2. Take breaks every fifteen to twenty minutes when studying.  You can focus better if you give yourself a five minute break at regular intervals.
3. DO NOT TRY TO STUDY WITH YOUR PHONE NEXT TO YOU.  You know you’ll check that text you just got, so don’t even pretend you won’t.  Put it somewhere out of reach.  You can check it on your next break.
4. Review the guided questions on the study guide.  Make sure you can FULLY EXPLAIN each question.  Think of what evidence you would use to prove your points for each question.
5. Go to bed at a decent hour.   Studying until three in the morning is an awful, awful idea.  You’ll be exhausted and stressed and your recall will suffer.
6. Eat a good breakfast in the morning— something with protein.  Brains work better when they’ve got fuel to burn.

During the test, you should:

1. Underline key words.  Make sure you fully understand what the question is asking.
2. Physically eliminate answers.  You may write on the test, and you SHOULD.  Mark through wrong answers, circle right answers, and write down information that will help you remember your thought process if you skip a question and need to come back to it.
3. Pay attention to your time.  You have fifty-five minutes on the multiple choice, and I’ll give you a five minute warning.  However, it’s a good idea to be able to keep your own time during an exam.  Wear a proper watch (no smart watches allowed, however) so you can always check the time during tests.
4. Answer every single question.  If you are running out of time and still have several questions remaining, make sure you fill in SOMETHING.
5. Make sure you write what you mean on the FRQ.  Use clear and concise writing, and make sure you fully explain yourself.  I shouldn’t have to think, “I wonder if they meant X?” when I’m reading your response; you need to write precisely what you want me to grade.

After the test, you should:

1. Remember that AP World History tests are like Fight Club.  The first rule of AP World History tests is: don’t talk about AP World History tests.  Let your colleagues fight their own battles, okay?
2. Relax.  This can be a stressful class, but it’s really best to think of every test and essay and homework assignment as part of a larger process: you’re refining your understanding of world history.  It’s going to take time and effort in order to master everything.
3. Remember that you can always ask to see your test to check which questions you missed, and that I’m more than willing to meet with you to talk over your results.  Failure might sometimes be an option– but it doesn’t mean that it has to be the final one.  If things don’t go well, come and talk to me.  We’ll figure out what you need to do to be successful in the future.

Good luck, and happy studying!

Homework: The Judgments of Hammurabi

This weekend, you’re going to work on your first analysis of a primary source document for this class– an excerpt from the judgments of Hammurabi, a Babylonian king from the 18th century BCE.  After carefully reading through the text provided for you in class (Judgments of Hammurabi), please respond to the prompt at the bottom of this entry in the form of a comment on this blog post.  You’ll find the “Leave a Comment” link right under the title of this entry, next to the date.  Your comment should be thoughtful and refer to at least two specific examples in the text.

In order to encourage you to use this blog as a venue for discussion, here’s how grading for this assignment will work: a response which appropriately answers the discussion question will receive a maximum grade of 95%.  To earn that final 5% of the grade, you must respond (thoughtfully!) to one of the comments left by your classmates.

A few reminders about appropriate online interactions: as this is an academic assignment, I expect your responses to reflect all standard grammatical and mechanical practices.  Remember that tone is sometimes difficult to discern in online communication, so be sure that you express yourself clearly.  If you’re uncomfortable using your full name to post a comment, please just post using your first name and last initial– I’ll know who you are.

Comments are moderated on this blog, which means that I have to approve your first comment before you’ll see it appear.  It’s a quick process– I just have to hit something on my phone, honestly– but I’ll be evaluating Senior Magnet research presentations all day on Saturday, so I’ll only have a chance to moderate your comments during breaks, as it would be rude for me to have my phone out during presentations.  So please don’t panic if you don’t immediately see your comment on the blog– you may need to wait for a bit before I get around to moderating it.

Here’s your discussion prompt:

Consider Hammurabi’s judgments.  Do you think they would have been effective as a law code?  Who were the judgments meant to protect or benefit?  What sort of social distinctions can we see in Hammurabi’s law code?  Did any of the laws or their implications surprise you?  If so, why?

Remember to include at least two specific examples from the text in your response!

Homework: Study for Unit One Reading Quiz!

Apologies for the late-ish post, guys!  I had a former student anxious about their upcoming Senior Magnet research presentation this Saturday come and talk to me after school, and I’ve only just had the opportunity to put this up.

Remember, you have your reading quiz over the first fourteen chapters of Guns, Germs, and Steel (including the preface) tomorrow during the first thirty minutes of class.  You will also need to turn in your summer reading journal prior to taking the quiz, so don’t forget to bring it in!

In order to help you study this evening, you might consider the following:

• With regards to the historical example Diamond uses in the chapter “Collision at Cajamarca,” what sort of advantages did the Spanish have?  What disadvantages did the Inca have?  Why did the conquest occur?
• Consider the reasons why food production developed in some parts of the world, and why it failed to develop in others.
• What makes an animal domesticable?  Why and how were animals domesticated?  Why do some places NOT have domesticated animals?
• How did plant domestication occur?  Be able to describe the process.
• Why did Diamond decide to write Guns, Germs, and Steel?  What is his point of view?  (Remember, POV is different from argument!)  How does that point of view influence what he’s writing?

This is only a starting point for the quiz, of course, so it’s a good idea to review ALL of your summer reading journal in anticipation of the quiz.  The quiz will be comprised of six multiple choice questions (worth two points each), and six short answer questions (worth three points each).

I will be posting our Twitter chapter summaries shortly, so please check back later this evening if you would like to see your classmates’ work summarizing each chapter.

Edited: Here’s most of the summary tweets, guys: Tweets GGS.  I left part of second period’s tweets and all of third’s on my desk.  Sorry!  However, I can link you to a good summary site here!

 

Homework: Thoughts on Civilization

Tomorrow we’ll be doing some discussion-driven work on a pretty contentious issue in world history– trying to define and understand the term “civilization.” Therefore, your homework tonight will be oriented around trying to give you some background ideas on civilization.  You should have picked up the handout today in class, but if you’ve lost it, you’ll need to download a copy of Thoughts on Civilization and following the directions on the sheet.

Your general tasks are as follow:

1. Read over the various definitions and quotations regarding the idea of civilization.
2. Generate at least one good comment or response to the definitions you’ve read, and at least one good question you might be interested in discussing on the subject tomorrow.
3. Watch the Crash Course: World History video embedded below. (If you can’t see it, the raw URL is provided is provided on your handout.)
4. Answer the associated questions regarding the video on your handout.

In order for our conversation tomorrow to be valuable, it’s extremely important that you prepare effectively by completing this work.

Welcome to AP World History!

I hope you all had a great first day back at North Cobb High School.  Remember, if you’ve got any problems with your schedule (missing classes, duplicate classes, incorrect classes) to let your teachers know immediately this week so we can get you settled into whatever courses are correct for you as quickly as possible.

Tonight, I need you to do a few things for me.  First, sit down with your parents or guardians and go over the AP World History Class Handbook which you received today in class.  We went over some of it in class, but you should really take a moment to look through the whole thing– and make sure you show it to your parents, as well.  (If they’d like their own copy, by the way, they can download a .pdf of the handbook here: APWHHandbook.)  Once you’ve read over the handbook, please sign the acknowledgment sheet at the back of the handbook, remove it, and put it in your folder to return to me.

After looking over the handbook, please take a few minutes and complete the student information survey embedded below.  Please provide the most accurate information you can so that I can have a better picture of who you are and how I can best help you be successful in the course.  You will need your handbook with you as you fill out the survey, as there are several questions which ask you to review information from the class handbook and website.

After completing your student information survey, you’ll need to get to work on your first homework assignment of the semester: establishing a baseline understanding of the geographic regions addressed in this class.

While this course is (clearly) not a geography class, it certainly helps to be able to recognize regions and have a basic geographic knowledge of the world.  After all, you certainly don’t want to mess up and write an essay on China when you were meant to write about South Asia.  To that end, tonight you will need to read the short article I handed out in class today– “The Myth of Continents” by Peter Morris.

After reading the article, please examine the associated map of the College Board’s division of the world’s regions, and answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. After considering Morris’ points, how many continents do you think there are?  Why?  Is Europe a continent in your scheme?  Why or why not?

2. Looking at the two maps of AP World History regions, do you agree with how the College Board has divided the world?  Does it make sense to you? If you were going to make your own map of the world, how would you divide up the world’s regions?  Why?

Please make sure your answers are thoughtful, legible, and complete, and be ready to turn them in first thing on Wednesday.

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Some upcoming due dates to help you get off on the right foot:

• Student information form due tomorrow, Wednesday, January 5th
• Student/Parent handbook acknowledgement form due by Thursday, January 7th
• Reading quiz over Guns, Germs, and Steel (chpts. 1-14) on Friday, January 8th
• Summer reading journal due on Friday, January 8th 
• Unit One vocabulary due on Monday, January 11th
• Unit One Test on Thursday, January 14th

Remember, any handouts or readings from class for Unit One will be located on the Unit One Materials page of this website.  That includes copies of the handbook, unit one vocabulary assignments, and the unit one study guide.

If you didn’t get a chance today in class, remember to register for the APWH Fall Semester Remind announcement list by texting @apwhempire to 81010.  This will allow you to receive notifications about class assignments and other events.

See you all tomorrow!

Homework: Final Paper Topic Selection!

As we discussed in class today, we’re going to begin working on a final research project which will require you to do a significant about of work with primary sources in order to get a better feel for the historical position of someone involved in a significant event or moment of human history.  You received the handout describing the process we’ll be going through for the rest of the semester, and you should read it carefully.  If you’ve misplaced yours, you can download a new copy here (Final Research Project: Topics and Instructions).  You can also find a full description of the project on the Talking About History: Final Research Project page on this website.

(In order to get to the Talking About History page, look at the drop-down menu at the top of this page.  Hover over “AP World History WebQuests and Projects” and you’ll see the page and all of it’s related materials at the bottom of the drop-down menu.  It wouldn’t be a bad idea to peruse all of the pages associated with the assignment in order to get a feel for how this project will progress.)

For homework this weekend you will choose topics you would be interested in selecting for your research project.  I suggest you review the available topics on the instruction sheet and do some quick Googling to see what your options and preferences might be.  You will make your selections via a Google form which you can access on the Topic Selection page.

The Topic Selection form will go live at 12:00 PM EST (noon) on Saturday, October 10th.  You MUST have completed your selections by 8:00 AM EST on Monday, October 8th.

Remember, topics will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.  I want you all doing unique projects, so if you really have your heart set on a particular topic, make sure you fill out the form early!  If you fail to complete the form, I will assign you whatever topics are left.

Unit One Test Tomorrow!

Your first unit test will be tomorrow.  This should not come as a surprise.  Remember, you are responsible for:

• Anything we discussed in class
• Anything in the assigned unit reading
• Anything from the summer reading

So!  Go over your notes, review your reading, and work on the study guide. Remember that you’re not at your best for tests if you don’t get a good night’s sleep, so put down your study materials at a decent hour and go to bed.

Relax.  You’re going to do just fine.

Homework: Mandate of Heaven!

Reminder: There will be a study session for the Unit One Test held after school tomorrow (Wednesday, August 12th) in Ms. Galloway’s room from 3:40 until 4:40 PM.

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Today we finished up our discussion of the Indus River Valley, and began our discussion on the early Chinese dynasties.  (First period, being terribly efficient, is already finished with China.  Nice job, first period.)  We won’t have time to watch it in class right now, but there is a good Crash Course on the process of dynastic rule and the Mandate of Heaven in China– just ignore ALL of his pronunciation.  It’s horrific:

You DO have homework tonight: please read the Mandate of Heaven document you received in class today, and complete the seven associated questions on a separate sheet of paper.  This will be due at the start of class tomorrow.

Egypt and the Indus River Valley!

No homework tonight, guys!  (Well.  There’s always the unit reading.  And quiz corrections.  And you could probably stand to start reviewing for the Unit One test on Thursday.  But there’s no assigned homework, so that’s something at least.)

Today we finished up talking about ancient Egypt through the Old Kingdom.  If we didn’t get to it in class, you might like to watch the Crash Course episode on this subject as a means of review:

We also began working on identifying the major political, economic, religious, social, intellectual, and artistic accomplishments of the Indus River Valley civilization by comparing what various AP World History textbooks have to say on the subject.  We’ll be finishing this up tomorrow, and then moving on to China.

Remember, if you were absent for the reading quiz on Friday, you need to schedule a make-up with me as quickly as possible.  Everyone else: you have until Monday, August 17th at 4:30 PM to get your quiz corrections completed.

Happy studying, guys!

Homework: Bronze Age Zaption!

Congratulations on making it through your first week of AP World History!  I hope you’re feeling more comfortable with the class– if you’re not, I strongly suggest that you make some time to either come and talk to me in person, or send me an email.  The sooner we address any concerns or anxieties you have about the course, the better.

Now, as to your homework this weekend: don’t worry, it’s not too much at all.  You have your Unit One Vocabulary assignment which is due on Monday, so don’t forget to finish that if you haven’t already, and you’re going to complete the Zaption video assignment linked below.

Basically, I’ve taken an online streaming video– a Crash Course video on the Bronze Age collapse, in this case– and added my own material and questions to it.  You’ll need to enter your full name before you watch the video– otherwise I won’t be able to give you credit!

Once you’ve entered your name, you can start the video.  You’ll need to answer the various questions as they appear in the video in order to get credit for the assignment.

Here’s the link, since I can’t embed this one:

Crash Course: Bronze Age Collapse Questions

Have a marvelous weekend!

Information about Tomorrow’s Reading Quiz

(Just a note: if you’re looking for the post on the homework for Hammurabi’s judgments, please scroll down one entry!)

I totally forgot to remind first period, but we’ll be taking our reading quiz for Unit One over the first fourteen chapters of Guns, Germs, and Steel tomorrow.  Additionally, your summer reading journal is going to be due at the start of class, so don’t forget to bring it with you!

In terms of things you need to consider in preparation of the reading quiz:

• Consider the historical example Diamond uses in the chapter “Collision at Cajamarca”– what sort of advantages did the Spanish have?  What disadvantages did the Incas have?  Why did the conquest occur?
• Consider the reasons why food production developed in some parts of the world, and why it failed to develop in others.
• What makes an animal domesticable?  Why and how were animals domesticated?  Why do some places not have domesticated animals?
• How did plant domestication occur?  Be able to describe the process.
• Why did Diamond decide to write Guns, Germs, and Steel?  What is his point of view (remember, POV is different from argument!), and how does that point of view influence what he’s writing?

Remember that this is only a STARTING point for the quiz, so it’s a good idea to review your whole summer reading journal for this.  Happy studying!

Homework: The Judgments of Hammurabi

Tonight, you’re going to work on your first analysis of a primary source document for this class– an excerpt from the judgments of Hammurabi, a Babylonian king from the 18th century BCE.  After carefully reading through the text provided for you in class (Judgments of Hammurabi), please respond to the prompt at the bottom of this entry in the form of a comment on this blog post.  You’ll find the “Leave a Comment” link right under the title of this entry, next to the date.  Your comment should be thoughtful and refer to at least two specific examples in the text.

In order to encourage you to use this blog as a venue for discussion, here’s how grading for this assignment will work: a response which appropriately answers the discussion question will receive a maximum grade of 95%.  To earn that final 5% of the grade, you must respond (thoughtfully!) to one of the comments left by your classmates.

A few reminders about appropriate online interactions: as this is an academic assignment, I expect your responses to reflect all standard grammatical and mechanical practices.  Remember that tone is sometimes difficult to discern in online communication, so be sure that you express yourself clearly.  If you’re uncomfortable using your full name to post a comment, please just post using your first name and last initial– I’ll know who you are.

Comments are moderated on this blog, which means that I have to approve your first comment before you’ll see it appear.  It’s a quick process– I just have to hit something on my phone, honestly– but if you wait to post your comment until late tonight, I might not moderate it until tomorrow morning.

Here’s your discussion prompt:

Consider Hammurabi’s judgments.  Do you think they would have been effective as a law code?  Who were the judgments meant to protect or benefit?  What sort of social distinctions can we see in Hammurabi’s law code?  Did any of the laws or their implications surprise you?  If so, why?

Remember to include at least two specific examples from the text in your response!

Homework: Thoughts on Civilization

Tomorrow we’ll be doing some discussion-driven work on a pretty contentious issue in world history– trying to define and understand the term “civilization.”  Therefore, your homework tonight with be oriented around trying to give you some background ideas on civilization.  You should have picked up the handout today in class, but if you’ve lost it, you’ll need to download a copy of Thoughts on Civilization and follow the directions on the sheet.

Your general tasks are as follow:

1. Read over the various definitions and quotations regarding the idea of civilization.
2. Generate at least one good comment or response to the definitions you’ve read, and at least one good question you might be interested in discussing on the subject tomorrow.
3. Watch the Crash Course: World History video embedded below.  (If you can’t see it, the raw URL is provided on your handout.)
4. Answer the associated questions regarding the video on your handout.

In order for our conversation tomorrow to be valuable, it’s extremely important that you prepare effectively by completing this work.

Also, remember that if you haven’t completed the student information survey, I need that information ASAP.  Additionally, your Handbook Acknowledgment form is due tomorrow, so please remember to bring it with you.

See you tomorrow!