WWI and WWII

Yesterday I asked my students if they had heard of World War I before.  Almost universally, students told me that they had.

I asked them to tell me about it.  Anything.  Who was it fought between, why it was fought, when, major battles, sides, places... anything.

I think 2 students out of 150 or so could list a single accurate aspect of this, The "Great" War.

So, here's what happened:

I asked students if they knew the term, "I got your back" means.  Yes, of course they did.  They even taught me some new, hip ways of saying it.  I won't repeat them here, because I prefer to use terms like, "hip."

They went around the classroom building alliances:

Then I offered something small: a candy bar.  I offered it to a petite lady in the class.  It was hers, but if somebody could beat her in arm-wrestling, they could have it.

I then chose the strongest looking guy with his hand up.

Obviously, that wasn't fair - so she called up member of her alliance.  Maybe all of them.

Then, the guy didn't think that was fair, so he called up all the members of HIS alliance.

Then alliance members called other people they were allied with, until the whole classroom was up at the front fighting over something very few actually cared about, or were invested in.

We discussed how the catalyst for WWI was something relatively small - Gavrilo Princip assassinating Franz Ferdinand.  (Of course, assassinations are a big deal, but ultimately millions and millions of people ended up dying in WWI.)  Then, the system of alliances took off - and that's where we got the war.

Today, we've already moved into WWII.  You can check out things I've posted about it HERE, or HERE.

If you want extra credit for reading and discussing the blog, write two paragraphs about the discussion you had.  Have the adult you read with sign the paper.  Turn it in tomorrow.  (Make sure your name is on it.)

ALIENS!!! (and colonization, Japanese Imperialism, and possibly some elephants...)

Today students walked in and completed a couple maps on Japanese Imperialism.  For some reason, American culture is so hung up on Germany, and Hitler's invasion of Poland in World War II, that we skimp over the ambitions of the Japanese.  Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931.  Germany invaded Poland in 1939...  Wouldn't that make 1931 the true start of WWII?

So, Japan invaded Manchuria for it's land and natural resources.  (These are pretty much the same reasons all empires are built.  There are others as well, but lets roll with that for now.)

We graded the maps, and watched this video:

It got me thinking though, (and it's true I've thought of this before...) isn't this the theme of every alien invasion movie ever?  I mean, H.G. Wells was British.  In my mind, much like Orwell, he wasn't thrilled about British Imperialism.  His book, War of the Worlds, written in 1898 is often cited as being a story about British colonization.  

So, we watched this trailer:

Right around 1:05, we hear the speaker say, "When you invade a place for its resources, you wipe out its indigenous population.  Right now we are being colonized."

To get the extra credit today, you should read and discuss the blog with an adult.  Instead of writing me a note to prove that you were here, I'm asking you to post a link to a different alien movie where the aliens are invading to take over our land and our natural resources.  (Preferably one that includes aliens with superior technology...  ...Has Hollywood put out a movie where the aliens have inferior technology?)

Post the link in the comments section of the blog.  You only have to post once.  Also, write a sentence or two explaining how it ties in with what we're studying in class.  If it doesn't show up, it's because I moderate the comments on the blog, and I have to preview it first.  Make sure you identify yourself somehow.  Either put your first name and hour, or your initials... Something.

Parents/adults: you can help them think of movies if they can't think of any on their own.

Good luck.

Stay warm.

Hand of God and Shooting an Elephant

I nearly didn't post the extra credit today, because of lack of time... but here's a short post anyway...

If you weren't in class today, I asked students to write me a one-page summary of Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant."  After they did that, they were to tell me the main point of the story.  If you did not do this, do it now.

Turn it in whenever you get back.

Here are two hints:  "One day something happened which in a roundabout way was enlightening.  It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism - the real motives for which despotic governments act."

The second hint:  "I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant, it is his own freedom he destroys."

Several classes also got to watch the "Hand of God" goal, scored by Diego Maradona in 1986.  Keeping in mind that "Shooting an Elephant" was written in 1936, read the following lines, "When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter.  This happened more than once."

Now, if you haven't seen it before, watch the goal:

A couple things to consider:

• This game was played in 1986.
• It was played between Argentina and England
• The Falklands War was in 1982
• The British won the war against Argentina, maintaining control of the islands
• The 1986 World Cup was played in Mexico
• If you missed it, Maradona scored that goal with his hand, and didn't get called for it

My hat's off to those of you who can put the pieces of this puzzle together.  Spoiler alert: the feelings toward British Imperialism started well before Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant," and lasted well after its publication.

In order to get the extra credit for reading and discussing the blog with an adult today, write two sentences from your discussion.  Have the adult you read it with sign on the paper you wrote your sentences.

As always, thanks for reading.

Carrying On

Well, here in class we're on to World War II.  We're focusing on Japanese Imperialism, but the Queen's poster showed up during the Crash Course video:

I can't imagine how difficult it was for the British, but I'm glad they didn't panic.

We spent quite a bit of time working on the bellwork.  You can get a copy of it HERE.  It's called Japan Invades Manchuria.

As a class, we didn't go into great detail about the horrors of the Japanese invasion - and it was horrific.  I did point out that the stemmed from a demand of natural resources.

If you weren't here today, you should probably watch these two videos:






and this one - your favorite.






If you want the extra credit, read and discuss the blog.  If you weren't here today and you want the extra credit, you need to do the bellwork.  If you were here, you should discuss today's entry with an adult.  If you've done that, write two sentences from the discussion.

Either way, when you're finished turn the paper in tomorrow.  Put it in the extra credit tray.

DON'T FORGET!  WE HAVE A MAJOR TEST COMING UP ON WEDNESDAY!