Monday, Monday

Today in class we took the current events quiz. If you were not in class today, be sure to make it up tomorrow during activity period.

We also wrote the key terms from Chapter 18 Section 2 ("Industrialized Democracies After WWII") in our notebooks and took the Ch18Sec2 (10-pt) quiz-- but it was open book. See me if you need to make this up, and I will let you sign out a book and take a copy of the quiz.

Tomorrow begins Chapter 18 Section 3. We're trying something a little different tomorrow: instead of having you write down ALL of the notes, I've made copies of the entire Power Point slide show for everyone with blanks to fill in here and there. I'm hoping this will alleviate some of the frantic note-taking and allow you to really listen to my lecture and provide some input during class discussion. I don't know how often I will be able to make so many copies, though, so eventually this might be a "print-it-at-home" assignment to bring in to class with you. For now, though, enjoy.

Finally, please don't forget that your 10 point "protest posters" were due today. I will still accept them tomorrow, but at a 10% decrease in points.

See you tomorrow!

Are you enjoying your weekend?

Good! Let's take a look at some of the events of the past week...

• President Obama and other world leaders have warned the leader of Iran to "come clean" about a recently discovered nuclear site.
  

• Ousted president Zelaya is still hiding out in the Brazilian embassy after returning to his home country.

• The total arrested in Pittsburgh during the G20 protests can be found here.

• Two recipients of this type of transplant show off how successful the operations were.

• Floods in this country left 106 people dead or missing.

• A couple makes a tough decision after learning that the baby the mother was carrying in her womb was not their biological child.
  

This week...

Is a very busy week! We'll be taking a lot of notes, listening to a lot of lectures, and having a lot of discussions!

• Monday was the current events quiz, as usual. If you weren't here, make sure you see me to make it up before the end of the week! After we discussed the week's events, I passed back the 32-point Cold War Mid-Unit Quiz and met with students individually about their grades.
• On Tuesday, there were notes and lecture on Chapter 18, Section 1. You can view the PowerPoint presentation here: The Cold War Unfolds.
  
• Wednesday is the day for our 10-point matching/multiple choice quiz on Ch18Sec1. Afterwards, we started the next section, Ch18Sec2 with a focus on the prosperity of America post-WWII.
• On Thursday we will finish the PowerPoint that we started yesterday, which can be found here: The Industrialized Democracies Post-WWII.
• Of course, no Modern World course could go the whole week without learning about the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, so that's exactly what we'll be doing today. What's all the hoopla about, anyway?

Go, Steelers!

Might as well get this done before everyone is wrapped up in the Big Game, huh?

• "Peace Without Borders" concert in Havana, Cuba has resulted in death threats being sent via Twitter to this Cuban singer.

• Two big holidays for other cultures this weekend: Rosh Hashana, or Jewish New Year, and this Muslim holiday which is the "breaking of the fast" at the end of month-long Ramadan.

• A boy threw bombs and attacked classmates and a teacher with an axe in this country.

• Obama's plan to scrap a missile defense shield in Russia is receiving some criticism.

• In the news of the weird, an endoscope showed the foreign object that had been lodged in this man's lung, causing vomiting, coughing, and pain for two years.

• A Pittsburgh man who had gone missing showed up, and it was determined that he died from this cause.
  

That's it!

Just another manic Monday...

• Today in class we finished Thirteen Days and wrapped up the questions. I will collect them tomorrow for 15 points-- pay special attention to #26. The questions can be found here:
  

• On Tuesday, we will review Traditional - Command - Market economic systems and there will be notes/lecture on the three types of "mixed" systems-- Communism, Capitalism, and Socialism. The chart we will use can be printed here:

• We will read about the Bay of Pigs invasion on Wednesday, and answer some questions in groups and then as a class.

• Thursday is National Constitution Day, so we will deviate from our Cold War unit long enough to talk about a Constitution-specific lesson plan.

• On Friday you will have your first test. It's the Cold War "mid-unit" test to try and help you prepare for the 60-point one that is coming up in a few weeks. This one (on Friday) will be worth approximately 30 points and will cover everything we've learned so far about the Cold War, including information on Thirteen Days. More details will follow...
  

Good for you-- you checked the blog!

You get a gold star for the day. Actually, your reward will be even greater, as you'll probably score 100% on the quiz tomorrow.

So, what happened this week?

• Remember that local project we talked about? Looks like it's $28 million closer to becoming a reality.
  

• If you've been paying attention to Thirteen Days, then you might be a bit worried by the claims Hugo Chavez is making.

• In sad news, four U.S. service members were killed on Saturday.

• Over 640 people were arrested in riots that took place in this African nation.

• A mystery is unfolding at this Ivy League school regarding a coed who went missing on her wedding day.

• In a rare move, Cuba moves a wee bit further towards capitalism by granting these licenses for the first time in over a decade.
  

Labor Day Week...

Monday we didn't have school (obviously!)

On Tuesday, we took our first "real" current events quiz. I also checked homework for completion (questions that went along with "Lies, Spies, and the Berlin Wall".

On Wednesday, there was a class lecture about the differences between traditional, command, and market economic systems. For practice, in pairs, we completed the handout Classifying Types of Economic Activity. Please mark each statement with T, C, or M.

Thursday and Friday, we will watch the movie Thirteen Days, about the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Be sure to rent the movie if you miss class, because there will be questions on the first exam (not "quiz") that have to do with the way the crisis was portrayed in the film.

This is the real deal.

• Apple is hosting an invitation-only meeting on Wednesday to unveil a new product. One of the rumors circulating is that people will now be able to buy these on iTunes.

• The U.S. military denies having barged through this structure while searching for an insurgent in Afghanistan.

• Amidst controversy surrounding President Obama's plan to address school students on Tuesday, this person defended the idea.

• A Regent Square (Pittsburgh) man is heading to court this week to convince a federal jury that his right to free speech was violated.

• 2,000 troops from this group may be added to the 4,000 officers who are already scheduled to be at the G-20 Summit at the end of the month.

• Super Ferry 9 capsized with almost 1,000 people on board. Where did it happen?

Back in the swing of things...

Welcome back, Hempfield Students!

We're off to a good start in our Modern World classes. If you haven't already, please bookmark this site and refer to it often, especially:

• If you miss a day of school, so you can see what you missed in class
• The evening before a current events class, like this upcoming Monday (Labor Day).

This past week, we studied Chapter 17, Section 5, which had to do with The End of WWII. Below you will find the course syllabus as well as the first PowerPoint presentation, which will help you study for Friday's quiz on Ch17Sec5.

Modern World Syllabus