five major religions, one fifty-point quiz

Monday's classes have come and gone, and everyone (except for three students) have taken the quiz on Five Major Religions. Results will be posted today, so you will know how you did pretty quickly. The only other grade that will be posted until December is this week's blog grades, so make sure you write those blogs! I will see two sections tomorrow, then it's time to take a brief break to spend time with our families. 

Thanksgiving break approaches!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner, meaning that Christmas can't be far behind. Today the SuperHumanGeo section took their 50-point Five Major Religions quiz. Next Monday both Honors sections will take theirs. See my blog of two days ago for more details on class activities heading into the break.

And enjoy your weekend!

the near future

Here is a more detailed look at the few days we have left before Thanksgiving break:


SUPERHUMANGEO

• WEDNESDAY: first part of World Religions SlideShow (World Religions I)
• THURSDAY: second part of World Religions SlideShow (World Religions II)
• FRIDAY: 50-point quiz on World Religions
• MONDAY: class does not meet
• TUESDAY: return World Religion quizzes and Population tests
• WEDNESDAY 11/27 to SUNDAY 12/1: THANKSGIVING BREAK

HONORS 101

• WEDNESDAY: World Religions I
• THURSDAY: class does not meet
• FRIDAY: World Religions II
• MONDAY: 50-point quiz on World Religions
• TUESDAY: return World Religion quizzes
• WEDNESDAY 11/27 to SUNDAY 12/1: THANKSGIVING BREAK

HONORS 102

• WEDNESDAY: class does not meet
• THURSDAY: World Religions I
• FRIDAY: World Religions II
• MONDAY: 50-point quiz on World Religions
• TUESDAY: class does not meet (quizzes returned after break)
• WEDNESDAY 11/27 to SUNDAY 12/1: THANKSGIVING BREAK

from Population to a look at some World Religions

Nice work on the Population test! Averages in the high eighties to low nineties, no failures - pretty impressive results overall!

Next up will be a look at five of the major religions in the world today. For those of you who would like to prepare yourselves both for the class lecture and for Friday's quiz, I have posted a helpful PowerPoint here and in the sidebar to the right of this post. The PowerPoint gives some helpful information about Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism.

Thanksgiving vacation is just around the corner, but we will cover this mini-unit before we go on break. Get fired up!

a suggestion for prepping for Monday's test

In addition to my GoogleSlides presentation on Population, I recommend you take another look at the TED-Ed video on Population Pyramids. When we first watched this in class a couple weeks ago,  I think a lot of you found it very dense and hard to follow. But I think if you watch it again, especially after the work you did on your projects, you might be surprised at how much sense it makes now - in other words, at how much you have learned in a short time.

In any case, have a good weekend and be ready for Monday!

nearing the end of our Population unit

The last few classes have seen some terrific presentations, as the Honors' The Solution Project and the Supers' So, What's the Problem? showed me that you can relate your studies to the real world.

It's time to wrap up the unit, as always, with a test, which will be given next Monday, November 18. The test will cover all the terms we have studied, as well as Population Pyramids. Feel free to check out the GoogleSlides on Population to review over the weekend.

And... it was nice to meet up with some of your parents tonight at school. Maybe I'm crazy, but I find Parent/Teacher conferences kind of fun, and I appreciate the opportunity to talk to your folks.

See you in school!

The SuperHumanGeo section will spend the next two class periods working on a group project called So, What's the Problem?

Four groups of students will study four nations that are each facing challenges. Two of the countries are developing countries (Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya) and two are post-industrial nations (Germany and Japan).

Working in groups, you will use the CIA World Factbook to research statistics that help describe the most pressing problems your nation faces. Each student is expected to spend two minutes presenting their findings to the class, and explaining the significance of their data. Organizing your presentation into a PowerPoint is a good idea, but not required.

Each group has a captain (whose name is in italics). Here is how the groups are assigned:

Congo:

• Lauren B, Ethan R, Cici Y, Brady K, Alex S, Ryleigh S

Kenya:

• Hannah S, Logan L, Chris B, Tom C, Banks C

Germany:

• Jay C, Victoria N, Rachel G, Naseem M, Logan M

Japan:

• Drew E, Meghan K, Jeannot B, Matt M, Frank A

Also, I found an interesting definition of "post-industrial" that I thought might be helpful to students in all three sections. Go to ThoughtCo if this interests you and you want to read more.


A post-industrial society is a stage in a society's evolution when the economy shifts from producing and providing goods and products to one that mainly offers services. A manufacturing society is comprised of people working in construction, textiles, mills and production workers whereas, in the service sector, people work as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and retail workers. In a post-industrial society, technology, information, and services are more important than manufacturing actual goods.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

The Solution Project

The Solution Project has begun for the Honors sections. Primarily using the CIA World Factbook, plus other sites of your choosing, students will research a developing nation and a post-industrial nation, each of which comes with their own unique challenges. The task is to come up with a working solution to each country's most pressing problem. Here are the assignments:

Section 102:

Puerto Rico & Italy

• Caroline, Emily, Lizzie, Ramona, Joi

Somalia & Japan

• Lily, Sean, David, Nick, Christo

Cuba & Russia

• Sierra, Chloe, Madison, Meghan, Kenzie

Afghanistan & US

• George, Nora, Austin, Bridget 

Section 101: 

Colombia & Germany

• Sam D, Andrew C, Karlee H, Clare H, Laura H, 

Tanzania & Italy

• Gabby A, Brenna B, Dan G, Giada S

Yemen & Canada

• Reagan M, Charlotte P, Maddie R, Alex R

Viet Nam & Japan

• Izzy C, Aeowynn A, Ashley E, Brant O, Griffin S

in-class Population assignment

SuperHumanGeo and Honors 101: I will not be with you in class today. Here is your 10-point, in-class assignment.

1) You will search the CIA World Factbook to find five pieces of information that reflect our studies in Population and Migration. Try to stay away from trivial, unimportant factoids, and search out items that are significant and impactful. For each of these facts you will write a brief paragraph describing why you found this fact interesting and how it relates to work we are doing in class. 

2) Then, under the People and Society tab, find the population pyramids for five different countries. Based on the shape of each pyramid, make a prediction about whether that country's population will rise rapidly, rise slowly, or decline. Finally, check your prediction for accuracy using PopulationPyramid.net, or the "Population growth rate" statistic in the CIA World Factbook.  

All work is to be posted to your blog, and if you don't finish the work in class, it becomes tonight's homework, due before midnight tonight. Be productive, be good to your sub, and I hope to see you soon.