Dear World History Devotee!
A quick reminder, in case we're feeling a bit muddled from the break and all that good cheer and relaxing time, there is a reading check over chapter 11 of Strayer, first thing, first day! Please make sure you (or your student) is well prepared. As always, close reading, using the strategies we've discussed, is required in order to reasonably expect success.
Looking ahead to Spring semester, we'll wrap up the "3rd Wave Societies" unit with this chapter taking a good look at Islam, the pastoral moment in history (chap 12) and a snapshot of the "worlds" as they stood in the 15th century (chap 13) on the eve of the staggering changes that were soon to impact lives everywhere in the 16th century. Assessments for those will follow the familiar pastern of a reading check on Tues/Wed and an open ended assessment (sometimes essay) on Thursday/Friday.
Then, I'm going to present the next period, the "early modern" era differently. Together we will digest these three centuries (1450 - 1750) in two weeks, using a combination of shorter, more frequent reads followed by reading checks, lectures and in-class document studies. Much of this material is familiar (Exploration, Colombian Exchange, The Great Dying, Slave Trade, the spread of Christianity) so I expect to move quickly in order to buy us an additional week of review before the AP exam.
Then, back to that old familiar pattern, we'll tackle the complex "long nineteenth century" 1750 - 1900 in four weeks spanning four chapters from Strayer; which will bring us to Spring Break having read almost all of the most targeted and comprehensive book relative to the AP Exam!
I mention this not only to help you plan and prepare your time, but also because it connects to grades in a critical way. Looking at a semester holistically and it's the semester grade that ends up on a transcript, you should note that there are many more assessments - more rigorous assessments, in the weeks from returning in January to Spring Break than in the period after Spring Break to the end of the semester. (I have good reasons for this, but I won't bore you further.) The point is that performance in the next nine weeks will have a disproportionately larger impact on the semester grade than subsequent weeks. Please refer to the class calendar on the website to look ahead.
I'm looking forward to collaborating with my students as you all make quantum leaps forward in your content knowledge, historical thinking, and writing skills. I'm engaged, excited and ready, are you? Well, you have two more days to get there!
A quick reminder, in case we're feeling a bit muddled from the break and all that good cheer and relaxing time, there is a reading check over chapter 11 of Strayer, first thing, first day! Please make sure you (or your student) is well prepared. As always, close reading, using the strategies we've discussed, is required in order to reasonably expect success.
Looking ahead to Spring semester, we'll wrap up the "3rd Wave Societies" unit with this chapter taking a good look at Islam, the pastoral moment in history (chap 12) and a snapshot of the "worlds" as they stood in the 15th century (chap 13) on the eve of the staggering changes that were soon to impact lives everywhere in the 16th century. Assessments for those will follow the familiar pastern of a reading check on Tues/Wed and an open ended assessment (sometimes essay) on Thursday/Friday.
Then, I'm going to present the next period, the "early modern" era differently. Together we will digest these three centuries (1450 - 1750) in two weeks, using a combination of shorter, more frequent reads followed by reading checks, lectures and in-class document studies. Much of this material is familiar (Exploration, Colombian Exchange, The Great Dying, Slave Trade, the spread of Christianity) so I expect to move quickly in order to buy us an additional week of review before the AP exam.
Then, back to that old familiar pattern, we'll tackle the complex "long nineteenth century" 1750 - 1900 in four weeks spanning four chapters from Strayer; which will bring us to Spring Break having read almost all of the most targeted and comprehensive book relative to the AP Exam!
I mention this not only to help you plan and prepare your time, but also because it connects to grades in a critical way. Looking at a semester holistically and it's the semester grade that ends up on a transcript, you should note that there are many more assessments - more rigorous assessments, in the weeks from returning in January to Spring Break than in the period after Spring Break to the end of the semester. (I have good reasons for this, but I won't bore you further.) The point is that performance in the next nine weeks will have a disproportionately larger impact on the semester grade than subsequent weeks. Please refer to the class calendar on the website to look ahead.
I'm looking forward to collaborating with my students as you all make quantum leaps forward in your content knowledge, historical thinking, and writing skills. I'm engaged, excited and ready, are you? Well, you have two more days to get there!
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