8th+Grade+Plans

= =

= = toc **__8th Grade Plans - World Geography, Comparative Politics, and Current Events__**

To Do:

 * 1) Select guiding question and map PBL for each unit (Africa and Middle East have PBL written, the other three do not)
 * 2) Distinguish OL from Adv
 * 3) Add to skills, define, refine
 * 4) Indicate what technology fits in which unit
 * 5) Reconsider the order of the units. They are currently in the order that I taught them this year, but they can change.
 * 6) Consider overlap with T's class from last year and edit accordingly
 * 7) Figure out website

Advanced:
>> Africa
 * Issues to cover in five units:
 * United States and the West
 * What are the basic values and ideas of Western civilization?
 * What is America's role in driving Westernization?
 * What about the West is, should be, and can be universalized?
 * What issues face Africa today, and are they fixable?
 * Is the African Union a viable political entity?
 * Can and will Africa democratize?
 * Latin America
 * How has Latin America embraced and/resisted Westernization?
 * What does Latin America indicate about the possibility of democratization?
 * To what do we attribute Latin America's left-leaning politics?
 * Does Brazil or Venezuela represent the model of Latin America's future?
 * Is Latin America's economic growth sustainable
 * Asia
 * Is China going to surpass the United States?
 * Is China on a path toward democratization?
 * What is India's future on the international stage?
 * What does Japan reveal about the relationship between culture and democracy?
 * What is the solution to the problem of North Korea?
 * Middle East
 * What is the future for democracy in the Middle East?
 * What conflicts - armed, political, or social - exist today? What is their history? Their future?


 * Maybe a better order would be:
 * 1) West
 * 2) Africa
 * 3) Middle East
 * 4) Asia
 * 5) Latin America


 * And respective order of themes would be:
 * 1) Politics and culture
 * 2) Culture and history
 * 3) History and culture and politics
 * 4) Politics and economy
 * 5) Economy

8th Grade Advanced Plans
Year long driving questions: What is the best political system? What will the world look like when you grow up? What is the relationship among economics, politics, and culture in a society?

//**Semester One **//

 Aug 25 - Sep 6
 * American Immigration Unit **

Small PBL introduce political issues, cultural issues, get them reading the news, comfortable with current events

Driving Question:

Are we still a nation of immigrants?

Sep 6 - Oct 19
 * The West **

1. capitalism and democracy -Constitutional law and debates  Use cases

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. EU and globalization <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> -EU - commerce <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NATO - military <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">UN - human rights

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Driving question options:


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Is globalization inevitable?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What is the future of governance?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> borders, currency, supra-national governance, sovereignty, Greece
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What model of supranational governance would best encourage world peace?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What does the West look like a century from now?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">End Product:

__


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Third Unit - Africa - Oct 26 - early December **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Driving Question(s): <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What are the solutions to social, political, and economic issues facing African countries? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Similar project as last year

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">End Product: Design for NGO that will help fix a problem

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Final - Will Africa Westernize


 * ==Skills==
 * Research
 * Evaluating sources for reliability
 * MLA citations
 * Notes
 * Distinguishing among primary, secondary, and tertiary sources
 * Thesis-driven essay
 * Argumentation
 * Discussions
 * Nuanced and informed defenses of opinions
 * Thesis essays
 * Op-eds
 * Media
 * Identifying bias
 * Consumption of tv, internet, and print media


 * ==Knowledge==
 * Globalization
 * Westernization
 * Cultural diversity
 * Basic economics
 * Types of government
 * Map of regions we cover
 * How to pursue current event interests through internet media
 * How to be a discerning consumer of media generally
 * Internet and computer skills

On Level:
<span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** ﻿5/2/11 CMB ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** -OL kids will need a thorough discussion about democracy and will need a lot more background information. OL should be a little slower paced, but with the same information covered and with a little more teacher involvement ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** -Maybe the order of the units should go form West to East? That way we can build with a strong foundation of the western world. A starting question could be... Does the West know best? Then you could get to the real question - Is democracy for everyone? ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** _ ** __ US and the West __ __<span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** -How does the world see democracy? How does the world see the US? How do we see the rest of the world? ** __ Latin America <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** -Email/Video Chat assignment with schools in a Latin American country? Skype? ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** How can we keep our kids interested in this topic? The subject of Latin America is not as eye catching as our other units. ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** _ ** __ Asia __ __<span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - Discussion of Imperial China/Japan and the role it still plays in modern culture. In other words, what values/codes/traditions still have roots to Imperial China/Japan. Do these values/codes/traditions hold the country back any any way? Can democracy work in places where morals/values/codes/traditions are drastically different? ** __ Africa <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** -I think it would be interesting to draw links between the Holocaust and genocide in Africa. ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** -Can __Africa__ solve Africa's problems? ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - Is the concept of world peace even possible? ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** _ ** __ Middle East __ __<span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - The "Old Middle East" v. "The New Middle East".... compare contrast ** __ __<span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - What can we learn from them? ** __ __<span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - Could you live in the "New Middle East"? ** __ __<span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - Does the religion (majority) of a country play into their national identity? ** __ Knowledge/Skills <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - Since a huge part of what we are trying to teach this year is application of knowledge to real time issues, maybe we can develop a way for kids to create their own driving questions and lead a discussion on a current event of their choice? ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - We also need to emphasize the importance of getting comfortable with public speaking. ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - Another important skill for the kids to practice/learn is how to re-evaluate the direction they take to get to an answer. If it's not working, when is the time to turn back and try a different route, and when is too late? ** <span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** - How to successfully/respectfully defend their thoughts.... How to successfully/respectfully disagree... How to collaborate efficiently/successfully **
 * _**
 * _**
 * _**

<span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** Sorry if these ideas/notes seem disorganized. I did my best to keep some order. **

Themes:

 * Relationship of the West to the rest of the world
 * The role of culture and history in politics
 * Different regime types and their advantages and disadvantages
 * Awareness of current world politics