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.

I Am Become Death

I thought we'd go over a quick bellwork and then finish up learning about Japan in WWII, but then... some classes really struggled with charts and graphs.  I feel hesitant to just plow through the material when students don't understand, but I'm also being pulled to move on because there's so much to teach...

I'm not going to discuss the charts on here though.  Students, you can show them to your parents if they want to see them.  (Unless you threw them away...)

Here's one of the enduring questions of U.S. History: Should The United States have dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of/ to end World War II?

Most classes watched these three short videos, some only saw one or two.  Here they are:

The test/ I am become death:






Truman warns the Japanese that they need to surrender:

America drops Little Boy on Hiroshima.

There's a lot to talk about when dealing with these actions.  They were brought up in the 40s, and they're still being brought up today.  Pearl Harbor was a naval base, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were cities containing many civilians.  Dropping the atomic bomb brought a swift conclusion to the war.  We haven't had to use atomic bombs in wars since, so that seems like shady justification to use them in World War II.  The Japanese would have kept fighting if we didn't drop them: they continued fighting after Hiroshima.

Again, the arguments are far too complicated to go into detail in a 7th grade classroom, but we can hit the basics.

In order to get credit for reading and discussing the blog, write a couple sentences about the discussion.  Do you think America was justified in dropping atomic bombs on Japan?  Why or why not?  What do your parents think?

Turn it in on Monday.

-Also, the library has a fantastic book on this topic.  A couple students have read it.  You can check out my review HERE.

Hey, if you happen to check this for extra credit, do you mind reminding your friends that they can get extra credit too?  Seriously, your friends are so forgetful.  All of them.  And yes, I'm talking to you.  Post it to facebook, or something.  Check it out, there are no ads on this site.  I'm getting no ad revenue from you.  I'm just doing this because I want you to learn more.  Geez...

Charts, Maps, and the Mother Lode

We reviewed the difference between population and population density today.  QUICK!!!  If you're reading this with an adult for extra credit, turn to them and tell them what the difference is.  Right now.  Seriously.  GO!

Hopefully you said something like, population is the total number of people, whereas population density is how tightly they're packed together.

We also spent some time looking at a map of the United States, and and the percent of people over 25 who have completed high school.  The map is interesting, because it only gives numbers for the graduation rates, but doesn't detail how many people are in each state.  The percent for Alaska given on the map is 88.9-91.1.  I had a very astute student 1st hour who said, of course Alaska has a high percentage.  There are only 4 people living up there.  4 out of 4.  It should be 100%.  
The last question read, "There is not enough information to answer the question, 'which state graduates more people, New York or Montana?'  What information would you need to answer that question?
The student mentioned above got it right.


That was the bellwork, and that was all fine and all, but what I REALLY want to write about is the mother lode.  British Pathé just uploaded 85,000 newsreels to youtube.  85,000.  (Mrs. Buchanan pointed out that I had initially misspelled mother lode, by the way.  I had spelled it "motherload" not knowing it was incorrect.  Good catch.  She came back, though and said that since this was an "upload" to youtube, perhaps now would  be the perfect time to misspell it.)

There are so many videos in there that I could use to review as well as teach new content.  For instance, we used this one today, tying it in to Gandhi and civil disobedience:





We're finishing up Japan during WWII, so these videos were also fitting:










I imagine it will be a treasure trove of primary sources for my class.  If I search Gandhi, here's what I get: CHECK IT OUT.  WWII.  Suez.  I can't type any more, because each time I do, I get sidetracked watching the videos.

If you want the extra credit for reading and discussing the blog with an adult, read it and discuss it.  Tell me what you thought about the videos.  Did you watch any other ones?  The homepage IS HERE.

After you answer the question, have the adult you read it with sign the paper.  Turn it in tomorrow.

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!

Map of Japan

You have homework tonight.  Make sure you get it done.

If you weren't at school today, or you lost your map of Japan, you may download it HERE.

I put a map of Japan on the board today while the students were working since Hiroshima can't be found on any of the maps in the book.  Here it is:

Photo credit: GoJapanGo

Don't forget that you have a test coming up as well.  It would probably be a good idea to study for that as well, but I know you have a lot going on.  If you want the extra credit for checking the blog tonight, you don't have to discuss anything.  Just have the adult you read the blog with sign your completed map - that will prove to me that you were here.