American Government 1/29

In Class - Turn in reaction to President Obama's inauguration speech. Class discussion: Explain what the following quote means and how it relates to government: "In order to be free, one must be chained." Discuss this quote in pairs and discuss in class. Also, discuss what is the purpose of government. Thoughts and ideas from the discussion will be turned in before you leave.

Homework - Signed syllabus due tomorrow at the beginning of class. Also, bring in some topics for discussion.

World History 1/29

In Class - Group work - Discuss and analyze Rudyard Kipling's 1899 poem "White Man's Burden" Questions to answer while analyzing poem:
1) Explain Social Darwinism and give specific examples from the poem that display evidence of racial superiority.
2) In your opinion, was Kipling for or against imperialism? Provide specific examples to defend your argument.

Homework - None

American Government 1/28

In Class - Discuss syllabus and classroom expectations. This is due signed by Friday, January 30. Watch President Barack Obama's inauguration and speech.

Homework - Write a one page reaction to Obama's speech. Focus on the history of the event, the crowd, his plans and hopes, and most importantly your thoughts. This is due at the beginning of class tomorrow. In case you were absent, this is a link to his speech.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/obama_inauguration/7840646.stm

World History 1/28

In Class - Short Quiz over Chapter 9, Section 1. Discuss answers.
Discuss Primary Sources (homework from yesterday). Turn in.

Homework - Read chapter 9, section 2. Answer the standard check questions (4) from this section. This is due at the beginning of class tomorrow.

American Government 1/27

In Class - Textbook checkout. Class discussion: Political cartoons and topics pertaining to American Government.

Homework - None

World History 1/27

In Class - Lecture: Introduction to Imperialism. Discuss definition of imperialism, reasons for imperialism, scramble for Africa. Discuss workbook page 72 (for those that did not complete this, here is your chance!)

Homework - Handout Primary Sources: "The Gentlemen of the Jungle" by Jomo Kenyatta and "Two Views of Imperialism in Africa": David Livingstone and Basil Davidson. Read and complete the questions for each primary source. This is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.

American Government 1/26

Welcome to the class. I am excited for the second semester. Start strong and graduation will be here before you know it!

In Class - Introductions. Fill out student questionnaire.

Homework - Watch the news and bring in a topic of discussion for tomorrow.

World History 1/26

The Start of the Second Semster! Everyone has a clean slate and a fresh start. Start strong and finish strong. The end of the year will be here before you know it.

In Class - Work Day: Start reading chapter 9, Section 1. Cornell notes over the section. Copy and complete page 72 in the notebook.

All extra credit due by today for first semester!

Homework - Finish notes and workbook page.

American Government 1/21 and 1/22

In Class - Class and teacher evaluation. Turn in final copies with envelopes of your letters. If for some reason you did not turn in your letter, you have until Friday, January 23 to get this to me. I will be mailing these out on Friday.

THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL SEMESTER. I HOPE THAT ALL OF YOU WILL COME BY AND SEE ME. GOOD LUCK WITH ECONOMICS, AND KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE: GRADUATION, CLASS OF 2009!

World History 1/21 and 1/22

In Class - Work day: either work on your essay (due by Friday) or study for another final exam.

Homework - Completed and typed essay due no later than Friday, January 23.

Extra Credit still available! See 1/20 posting.

American Government 1/20

In Class - Rough drafts of letters to senators, representatives, or Obama himself concerning Darfur. Discuss the significance of Obama's inauguration.

Homework - Final copy of letter (typed in proper format) due on the day of the final exam. You must also include an envelope and a stamp.

World History 1/20

In Class - Today is a day that you will never forget! Discuss President Obama's inauguration. Also, discuss how to generate a thesis statement.

Homework - Final Exam (Essay) due no later than Friday, January 23. I will be on campus all day Friday until 6:30 or so. If I am not in my classroom, just slide it under my door. If you are emailing your essay to me, here are my email addresses: michael.palo@alvord.k12.ca.us or thepalos@hotmail.com. I suggest sending your essay to both email accounts because the district does have a sensitive spam filter. Final essays not received via email by 11:59 Friday night or brought to me before I leave on Friday from school will not be accepted, and you will receive a zero. If you have questions, see me ASAP!

Extra Credit - Posting from 11/24-11/28. I will accept this through Monday, January 26. Also, tutoring extra credit available every morning this week from 6:15-7:15. Soccer games: Wednesday and Friday @3:15 (Just show up!)

American Government 1/16

In Class - Class presentations over Darfur. Your group will visit an outside class and give a short presentation about the issue to raise awareness. Each one of you is required to speak (I will ask on Tuesday for a group member evaluation). After completing the presentation, you are to write a reaction (no requirement of length). Who did you present to? Did you get your message across? Was the audience engaged in your presentation? Is this something that you would like to continue to pursue on campus?

Homework - Rough draft of letter to Congressman/woman. Visit the website www.darfurscores.org to help you out in this assignment. If you want to write directly to the President (Obama by January 20), feel free. Your rough draft is due on Tuesday. We will work on this in class.

World History 1/16

In Class - Turn in summaries of three articles concerning the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in Gaza.

Discuss final exam: Your final exam will be a Five Paragraph Essay. This essay is worth 200 points (approximately 10% of your grade) and will be due no later than Thursday, January 22.

The topic: What has history taught us in terms of how the world is the way it is today?

Ideas: Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, Democracy, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, the Enlightenment and Enlightenment philosophes, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, Modern Day Slavery, Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Election 2008, Iran, Russia and Georgia, Guantanamo Bay, Torture, the Economy, Education, Poverty, Darfur, Social Structure...

Your goal is to write an essay using some of the ideas we have covered over the first semester. Using these ideas, you will construct a five paragraph essay that answers the topic question. Your essay must include a specific thesis, contain an introduction, three body paragraphs with supporting details, and a conclusion.

Requirements: This essay must be typed, double spaced, 12 point font, and include a title page. Each paragraph must be at least 6-8 sentences in length.

Check out the following links to help you construct your essay:
http://corptrain.phoenix.edu/thesis_generator/thesis_generator.html - help generate your thesis statement by inputting your ideas. Good starting point!
http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/thesis.html - What is a thesis?
http://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/thesisstmt.html

Homework - Have something on paper on Tuesday for class. We will work on these in class all day Tuesday. Furthermore, if you have questions or comments about this assignment, I am available for tutoring on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday before school from 6:15-7:15. If you have questions, see me ASAP!

EXTRA CREDIT STILL AVAILABLE!!!!!!!

American Government 1/15

In Class - Continue with documentary "King." Write a one page reaction to the documentary. This is due on Friday, January 16.

Homework - Page reaction to documentary. Presentations tomorrow during class. Come prepared!

World History 1/15

In Class - Work Day: Hand out last article "Protestors Across Europe Call For End to Gaza Conflict." Work on the summaries of this article and the previous two that were handed out yesterday in class. All three summaries are due on Friday, January 16.

Homework - Three article summaries due on Friday, January 16.

American Government 1/14

In Class - Continue group work for presentations on Friday. If complete, begin the documentary "King" detailing the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life.

Homework - Continue to prepare for presentations on Friday.

World History 1/14

In Class - Continue and complete documentary "Diameter of the Bomb." After finishing the documentary, write a 1/2 page reaction to what you saw, learned, opinions, or ideas. Handout articles "Commentary: Both Sides Wrong in Gaza" and "Report: U.S. Rejected Israeli Plea to Attack Iran." These articles need to be summarized, and they are due on Friday.

Homework - Article summaries due on Friday, January 16.

American Government 1/13

In Class - Start by reading the first 15 pages of Not On Our Watch by Don Cheadle and Jon Prendergast. After reading the prologue to this book, keep in mind what our motivation is for raising awareness for this situation. You may want to use some of this information in your presentations on Friday.

Work in small groups (your presentation groups) to discuss your presentation. Who is going to do what? Before you leave, make sure you turn in a sheet with your group members' names on it.

Homework - Presentation on Friday.

World History 1/13

In Class - Documentary "Diameter of the Bomb" - This documentary discusses the 2002 bus bombing in Jerusalem. It continues our study on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. After viewing the first part of the documentary, write a 1/2 page reaction about what you learned, what you saw, your opinions, thoughts, or ideas. This is due before you leave.

Homework - None

American Government 1/12

In Class - Class Discussion: Darfur - Why are we as a class trying to raise awareness about this subject? Discuss class presentations - these will be on Friday, January 16. You will be assigned a class on Friday.

Letter writing campaign - You are to visit the website www.darfurscores.org. Take a look at the state representatives and legislators. Your objective is to write a letter to one of these Congressman/woman in order to applaud their efforts in stopping the genocide in Darfur or ask them why they have not done more. A rough draft of your letter is due on Tuesday, January 20.

Homework - Presentations Friday and letter Tuesday, January 20.

World History 1/12

In Class - Discuss Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
Turn in Current Event Assignment - Two current events about the conflict along with the issues handout.
Discuss final exam.

Homework - None

Extra Credit - See posting from 11/24-11/28. This is available and due by Thursday, January 22.

American Government 1/9

In Class - Share and turn in informative speeches. If you have not turned this in, then shame on you! We will start presenting next week to outside classes.

I will give you time on Monday and Tuesday to work in your small groups to polish your presentation. You might want to start thinking about some visuals to use for your presentation.

Homework - Start preparing for your class presentations next week.

World History 1/9

In Class - New Year's Resolution Assignment due
Continue and complete documentary "Occupation 101"

Turn in observation notes and reaction

Hand back current events to those that turned them in. Discuss, what is a current event?
Hand out homework - Issues discussion; using the current events that you turned in regarding the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, complete the handout.

Homework - Issues discussion handout. Complete and turn in on Monday, January 12 with your two current events.

In case you missed the documentary in class, here is the link:
http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/occupation_101.php

American Government 1/8

In Class - Work Day - Informative Speech on Darfur

Homework - Informative Speech due at the beginning of class on Friday.

NOTE - If you ordered a T-Shirt, your money is due by Friday, January 9! If you ordered, then pay up!

World History 1/8

In Class - Turn in Current Events. Continue with documentary "Occupation 101."

Homework - Complete New Year's Resolution Assignment. Due Friday at the beginning of class. This assignment is all or nothing!

American Government 1/7

In Class - Hang up the Darfur posters on campus.

Homework - Continue to research for your informative speech due on Friday.

World History 1/7

In Class - Notebook due today. Notebooks received on Thursday are considered late and will be penalized two letter grades.

Begin the documentary "Occupation 101" - Study of the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
Observation Notes on the video - write down anything you see or hear that is interesting to you. Focus on the emotional aspects of the documentary. How do the Palestinians' live? How does the media in the United States portray Israel? Why do you think this is the case?

Homework - Bring two (2) current events about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. New Year's Resolution Assignment due on Friday.

American Government 1/6

In Class - Informative Speech -

Each one of you will write a 2-3 minute short informative speech about the situation in Darfur. We will start presenting these in small groups to outside classes next week. The informative speech must be at least a page in length. Focus on addressing the key points and important information about Darfur. Use statistics, pictures, or even testimonials to get your points across. You are informing these classes and raising awareness about this issue.

Homework - Start researching and bring your research to class to work on this.

Websites to take a look at:
http://www.savedarfur.org/content?splash=yes
http://darfur.3cdn.net/46c257b8e3959746d5_ttm6bnau2.pdf -great resource paper!
http://www.sudanreeves.org/ - wide range of articles to take a look at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/dec/18/darfur-genocide-omar-al-bashir
http://www.sudanreeves.org/Article229.html

World History 1/6

In Class - Organize and work on notebook. If you are finished with the notebook, then start working on Chapter 7, Section 1 and 2 Handouts (Quizzes and Guided Notes).

Homework - Notebook due tomorrow by the end of the day (605 Points).

American Government 1/5

In Class - 2008 Year in Review Discussion
Discussion of Darfur Political Cartoons

It's almost the end of the semester, finish strong.

World History 1/5

In Class - In Class Discussion - Year in Review 2008
New Year's Resolution Assignment - You are to create 9 SMART Goals: 3 for Mr. Palo's class, 3 for school in general, and 3 for life. Each of the goals need to be specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and have a timetable (SMART). Put some thought into this assignment. You must sign this along with a signature from your parent/guardian. Assignment is due on Friday, January 9.

Homework - Resolution assignment due Friday, January 9. Notebook due Wednesday, January 7.

Extra Credit - Tutoring available every morning at 6:15-7:15. Also, as we talked in class, find pictures of Abraham Lincoln (from 1861 and 1865) and George W. Bush (2001 and 2008). Take a look at the physical stress and how much these presidents have aged in a short time. Furthermore, the extra credit from the posting 11/24-11/28 is still available until the end of the semester.

American Government 12/19

In Class - Finish Posters (due today)

Over the Break - Begin thinking and perhaps researching a 2-3 minute short presentation to outside classes about raising awareness about the issue in Darfur. You might want to research about the role the United Nations and the United Nations Security Council has in this affair.

HAVE A SAFE, ENJOYABLE, AND RELAXING BREAK! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

World History 12/19

In Class - Fiesta

Homework over the break - Notebook (605 points) due Wednesday, January 7. Extra Credit still available (See posting 11/24-11/28).

HAVE A SAFE, ENJOYABLE, AND RELAXING BREAK! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!