April 3

Social 30-1

A lot of yesterday's class was spent re-teaching how to write a three source analysis assignment (WRA I). I will be sending you a handout on how to write a WRA I as well today, so check your e-mail.

We did a quick review of the economic-political grid today. We continued looking at non-democratic systems today. We look at characteristics of non-democratic systems (handout) and types of dictatorships (handout). We also watched the A & E Biography called "The Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler". Please remember that you have your Economic Systems Exam tomorrow. You can find the study guide for this exam here. Your Economic Planning in the USSR booklet is due tomorrow.

Social 20-1

I distributed a handout to you yesterday called "The Way of Subjects". The analysis questions are due tomorrow. We looked at the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor yesterday, and the motivations for the attack. We watched a short excerpt from the film "Pearl Harbor" as well yesterday.

Today, we looked at the results of the attack on Pearl Harbor, namely the internment of Japanese-Canadians. I sent you a PowerPoint on this topic yesterday. Today, we completed a film study of the documentary "Tides of War" which looked at the internment. Your Chapter 5-6 Test is on Monday, April 8th, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).

IB 30/35

Yesterday we started our examination of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. I started a PowerPoint lecture on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, which is already posted on the wiki. I also gave you a Social 30-1 U.S. Civil Rights Movement assignment. This assignment is due on Tuesday, April 9th.

We watched Episode 1 of "Eyes on the Prize" today. You were given a question sheet to go along with this episode, the questions from this worksheet are due tomorrow (April 4th). Episode 1 of "Eyes on the Prize" focused in on the murder of Emmett Till and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On the timeline that is on the video study guide for this episode it also mentions the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, however, the makers of Eyes on the Prize focus in on Emmett Till's murder, and the short public trial of his murderers. You can see Till's murder as a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement, and the open casket funeral of Emmett Till and the publication of the photos as a catalyst for change in America's attitudes. Mississippi, where Till's murder took place gained national notoriety as a hotbed for white supremacy as well. If you are interested in the Till case you might want to do a little investigation of your own into the impact that the murder had on popular culture. Numerous songs, plays, poems, novels, TV shows and movies have drawn inspiration from the murder of Emmett Till and the court case. You may see parallels between the Till case and Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird (one of my personal favorites) to the TV show In the Heat of the Night (it was previously a movie too), to the Bob Dylan song "The Death of Emmett Till". With the Montgomery Bus Boycott segment of the episode you saw the emergence of Martin Luther King on the national stage. We'll be exploring his role and leadership in the movement in the days to come.

I also finished off the U.S. Civil Rights Movement PowerPoint lecture today. This presentation is on the IB 30/35 wiki already. It is strongly recommended that you print this presentation off and study from it as well.