mrjwhs - Recently Updated Pages

Assignment Calendar

Mr.J — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:24:05 CST

Note: The calendar below is a continual work in progress. It is not set in stone. Some classes may be a day ahead or behind. However it should give a good idea of where we are and what we are doing.

Note: The calendar below is a continual work in progress. It is not set in stone. Some classes may be a day ahead or behind. However it should give a good idea of where we are and what we are doing.

NOVEMBER 2009

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SAT	SUN
						1
2 HW: Begin Board Games	3 No School	4 Rescheduled Reformation Quiz The Age of Exploration begins and here are the notes for it.	5 Explorers Worksheets - Finish for HW.	6 Review Explorers. Work on Board Games	7	8
9 Finish Explorers - Read 357-361. Write a one paragraph essay. Explain: How did Spain effect the Americas? Continue to work on board games	10 Exploration Simulation HW: Read p366-369. One Paragraph Essay: How did new economic thought help spread the age of exploration?	11 QUIZ - Explorers Cover Joint Stock Companies, Insurance, Mercantilism's effects	12 Redo homework - Remember, when writing an essay question you must make sure you actually answer the question.	13 Work on Board games.	14	15
16 Play Board Games!!	17 Unit Test: Renaissance, Reformation, Exploration.	18 Chapter 17 Sec 1 HW Questions. Read Chap 17 Sec 1 and answer the questions on this sheet. Scientific Revolution study guide - if this helps (Yes, more people to remember. I warned you about this part) Here are Mr. J's notes for the Scientific Revolution.	19 Review HW worksheets. HW - read the section from chap 16 assigned to your group and be prepared to discuss it in class on Friday	20 Quick quiz - scientists and their discoveries. Begin Age of Absolute Monarchs. HW: Fill in the Absolute Monarchs Organizer for the monarch assigned to your group.	21	22
23 Graphic organizers are due. Each group will present their monarch and explain the organizer to the class.	24 Half Day: Mr. J will try to fill in any gaps left by the Graphic organizer groups.	25 Half Day Same as Tuesday.	26 No School - Thanksgiving!	27 No School	28	29
30 Absolute Monarchs Simulation - if possible. Begin Wiki assignment

DECEMBER 2009

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SAT	SUN
	1 Continue Absolute Monarchs Sim Continue Wiki Assignment	2 Continue Absolute Monarchs Sim Continue Wiki Assignment	3 Finish Absolute Monarchs Sim Finish Wiki Assignments	4 The English Civil War	5	6
7 The Enlightenment	8 Test - Absolute Monarchs. Includes the following: Philip II, Louis XIV, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Maria Theresa	9 The Enlightenment	10 Enlightenment impact on America and Europe Enlightenment Quiz	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18 Term Paper Thesis Due	19	20
21	22	23	24 NO SCHOOL	25 NO SCHOOL	26	27
28 NO SCHOOL	29 NO SCHOOL	30 NO SCHOOL	31 NO SCHOOL

Student Wiki Pages

Mr.J — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:51:15 CST

Below are links to the Wiki pages created by each class as part of our Age of Absolute Monarch's unit. Hopefully, we will be able to add to these wikis later in the year as we cover new units. Please use these links to get to your page so you can complete the assignment.

2nd Period Wiki Page	3rd Period Wiki Page	5th Period Wiki Page	10th Period Wiki Page

2nd Period Wiki Page

3rd Period Wiki Page

5th Period Wiki Page

10th Period Wiki Page

Middle Ages Project

Mr.J — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:33:27 CST

Well, it is that time of the year again. Time to begin the first Social Studies research paper of your high school career. For this one, we will be dealing with what life was like in medieval Europe.

Each student has been given five topics from which to chose. No matter which topic is chosen, the process is still the same, a three to five page paper on the topic followed by a creative part that illustrates the topic. The directions for each are found below. Just click on the link for the topic you picked.

Note: This is a change from what we went over on Friday - since, as some of the students pointed out, it seemed like those who picked "Castle Construction" seemed to have an advantage. I must agree. I have thus changed the aspect of the creative part to give everyone more options and a more equitable opportunity.

Here are the links to the directions:

Castle Construction	Life of a knight / noble	Life of a commoner	Life in a monastery / abbey	Medieval battles and sieges

Castle Construction

Life of a knight / noble

Life of a commoner

Life in a monastery / abbey

Medieval battles
and sieges

Old Notes from Mr. J

Mr.J — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:41:04 CST

Here are links to notes we have taken in class in the past. These are all stored on "Slideshare" from which you can download them. I hope this helps.
Mr. J

Western Civilizations

Mr.J — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:28:42 CST

And so the journey continues....

Hi folks! Well, we have now finished the first quarter of your freshman year. Congratulations! By now you have figured out how to navigate the school, figured out how to use the library, found your favorite table in the cafeteria and come to understand just what is expected of you both in and out of the classroom.

During the course of the next couple of months we will be taking a look at the rise of absolute monarch's in Europe. We will see how they rose, and how they ruled. We will get to see "Mr. J's Rule of Thumb Number One" in action - you know, the one about "Poverty and Inequality Will Always Lead to Revolution." We will see Louis XIV, Peter the Great, Queen Elizabeth I, Philip II of Spain and take a look at an upstart group of colonists in the New World who wish to see something different in their land. Towards the end of the marking period, we will learn about Napoleon, emperor of France.

Later in the year, we will take a look at the Industrial Revolution and how it led to the Age of Imperialism, when European empires spread around the entire planet. We will see how European rivalries for empires led to the first great conflict of the 20th century - World War I. Finally, we will see how that conflict led directly to World War II, and the Cold War that came about at its end.

It is a great deal to cover, but do not worry. Many have come before you - and if they can do it, so can you! The key to doing well in High School is to make sure you are keeping up with the assignments, doing your homework, reading the materials and reviewing a bit each night.

Keep your head in the game and remember:
1) Pay attention to detail
2) Follow all directions
3) Do your homework

And now for the standard boilerplate.

Welcome to Mr. J's Western Civ. Class Webpage. On the left, you will find links to classwork / homework, notes, handouts, examples of student work, pictures and whatever else we decide to put on here. The Assignment calendar has all of your the class assignments for the next couple of weeks as well as links to handouts and other useful items. Go ahead, surf around and check it out. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

OK, with that out of the way, lets make sure you put your tray tables up, bring your seats to the upright position and let us begin this journey through history and enjoy a facinating study of Western Civilization!

Thanks,
Mr. J

End of Semester Project

Mr.J — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:02:18 CST

Thanks to Bill Watterson for his wonderful cartoon, "Calvin and Hobbes"

List of Topic Ideas - Trying to think of an idea for a general topic for your Fall Semester Term Paper? Check out this list of ideas compiled by former students. You might find something you like. If you have any other ideas let me know. I will add them to the list.

Fall Research Paper 2009 - Here are the directions for the term paper.

Fall Research Paper Rubric 09 - Here is a link to the rubric we will be using to grade the term papers.

Below are links to the worksheets we will be using to complete each step of the Term Paper.

What is a Thesis? This is a presentation that we used in class to explain what a thesis statement is and, just as importantly, what it is NOT. This presentation may be refined in the future.

Facts and Sources Worksheet: Fill in this sheet with your topic, thesis, three main supporting arguments and ten facts to help you prove your supporting arguments. Make sure to include the sources from which you found those facts / quotes. Remember, you need at least FIVE separate sources for this paper.

Research Paper Outline Template: Download this page. Use it as a template to do your outline. Do it electronically and then print it when done.

Easybib.com - A great site to help you put together your Works Cited page. As long as you have all of the required information, this site will help to put it into the correct format. Please Use It!. Make your life easy.

A Sample Term Paper: This is a copy of a term paper that was turned in a couple of years ago. It is not perfect, but it is "pretty doggone good." It can give you a good idea of how an "A" paper should look and read.

Oral Presentation Directions: I will post this as soon as I edit it.

Oral Presentation Rubric: This is the standard WHS Social Studies Department Oral Presentation Rubric. I will use it to grade the oral presentations in January. I will get you more information on this part of the project as we go.

Mr. J's "How to Write" Page: This is a link to take you to the How to Write page on the left side of your screen.

How to Cite Sources - this link will take you to a page explaining how to do in text citations. CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE WEBSITE. It will walk you through everything from how to conduct research, how to do in text citations, when to cite things, how to do a Works Cited page and many other invaluable lessons. USE THIS SITE WHEN WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS.

War and Peace Calendar

Mr.J — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:37:38 CDT

September 2009

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
31 Aug1 st Day of School Intro to course. Expectations Hand out Sun Tzu books	1 Discussion: War - what is it good for? Justifications of war - group work	2 Debate and discuss Justifications for War Begin personal belief statements on war Link to Homework Assignment #1	3 Discuss HW reading - Agree with Sun Tzu? Lessons Learned? Continue Personal Belief Statements on War, in class.	4 Current Events Day - find a current event dealing with international conflict ( military or political). Summarize, Discuss.	5	6
7 No School	8 Present Justification for War projects HW: Read Chap 1 (p63-71) Rewrite the 5 fundamental factors. Do you agree that all war is based on deception? Explain. Due Thurs.	9 Finish Presenting Personal Belief Statements.	10 Discus US Army's Nine Principles of War HW: Read Chapter 2 (Waging War) and Answer Questions on handout. (Due Friday)	11 Discuss Sun Tzu Chap 2	12	13
14 Begin Principles of War Turn in Chap 2 Homework	15 Principles of War	16 Finish Principles of War Begin Battle Plan #1	17 Finish Battle Plan #1	18 HW: Present napoleon Battle Plans #1 Read Chap 3 and answer questions on handout. Due Monday	19	20
21 Discuss Chap 3. Watch clips from Waterloo HW: Read Chap 4	22 Watch and Discuss Waterloo: How do the principles of war apply? HW: Finish Chap 4	23 Discuss Chap 4 from Art of War Work on Talavara Battle Plan	24 Pick Your Commander. Back to School Night	25 Organize your army.	26	27
28 No School	29 Introduction to the map, rules etc.	30 Deploy your army. Discuss Sun Tzu

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
			1 First day of battle Video of The Art of War.	2 Second day of battle. Read and answer questions on Sun Tzu chap 6.	3	4
5 Third day of battle. Discuss Chapter 6.	6	7	8	9 No School - Teacher In-Service Day	10	11
12	13 Types of Modern Day Units	14 Types of Modern Day Units	15 Types of Modern Day Units	16 AAR of the Battle.	17	18
19 Introduction to the Culmination Modern Day Planning Project HW: Read Sun Tzu Chap 7.	20	21	22	23	24	25
26 Work on Era's Research	27 Era's Research	28 Era's Research	29 TBA	30 Eras Presentations	31

January 2009

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
			1 No School	2 No School	3	4
5 AQOtWF: Finish Movie and chap 12. HW: Finishing touches on Costs fo War Wiki	6 In Class: Write the last chapter to All Quiet. Discuss All Quiet endings.	7 Geneva Conventions HW: Research info for Gaza Conflict	8 Geneva Conventions Notes HW: Prep for Gaza Conflict Debate	9 Gaza Conflict Debate	10	11
12 Guantanamo Debate	13 Treaties and Treaty Negotiations	14 Treaty Negotiation Simulation	15 Treaty Negotiation Simulation	16 No School	17	18
19 No School	20 Inauguration Day Review for final	21 War and Peace Final Exam ( in class exam)	22 Mid Terms	23 Mid Terms	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

NOVEMBER 2008
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

Napoleonic Battle Simulation

Mr.J — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:57:46 CDT

Below is a look at our recently completed Napoleonic Simulation. So, when all is said and done, who do YOU think won?

Invasion Planning Project

Mr.J — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:50:49 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Links

Mr.J — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:37:41 CDT

If you see a really cool link, or something that you think may help others in the class, by all means, send it in. I will be happy to post it.

Wissahickon High School Homepage: The homepage to our wonderful school. Parents can keep track of their child's grades by signing up for the Sapphire Parent Portal by clicking on the Parent Portal link.

Wissahickon High School Virtual Library: Search the library's collections, see the MLA style guide, see helpful links compiled by the library staff and gain access to thousands of online magazines and journals!

EBSCOhost Library Magazine / Journal Database: You might need a password to use this at home. See the librarians to get a brochure with a password.

Geography Links	Middle Ages Links	Renaissance Links	Age of Exploration Links	Absolute Monarchs Links	French Revolution Links
Napoleon Links	Unification Movements Links	Industrial Revolution Links	Imperialism Links	World War I Links	World War II Links
Cold War Links

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mox Nix Stuff (meaning essentially, " I do not know where to put this."
Old Magazine and Newspaper Articles: Cool site to find articles from magazines from 30, 40, 50, even 100 years ago!

The Avalon Project - Documents in History, Law and Diplomacy, collected by Yale University.

Germany GenWeb Project Map page - Maps, maps and more maps of Germany throughout the ages

Podcast by Jeff Shaara about his book, "To The Last Man."

Here is a nice little article about how to succeed at school. Oh, how true it is.

Illingworth Exhibition - Political Cartoons from the 1940s, 50s and 60s

Eurodocs - A collection of historical (and not so historical) documents, facsimiles, transcripts and other items collected by the good folks at BYU.

Online Textbook Site - OK, this is not our textbook that we use in class. However, it is a very nice online textbook that covers all of the same stuff and has other cool things like flashcards, crossword puzzles etc.

Geography Links

Mr.J — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:44:25 CDT

European Geography Map Games - This is a great site to practice / test your knowledge of European countries, rivers regions etc - and have fun doing it!

Euroquiz - test your knowledge of European political geography with this fun interactive online quiz game.

Maps.com Online Map Games - Try the Europe Map Game. It's fun!

Geonet Games - There are a few fun Jeopardy type of geography games here. Check it out and test your skills.

Middle Ages Links

Mr.J — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:40:55 CDT

Links to Castles
Castles on the Web

Castles of the World Database

Castles of Britain

Medieval Life and the Hundred Years War

A HUGE page of links to pretty much everything you ever wanted to know

Primary Source material about life in a monastery - along with links to many other primary sources.

Castle Siegecraft

Castles of Wales Page - well done

An AWESOME page about castles! Thanks Channel 4.

A whole page of knights, knights and more knights! If you want to know about knights - go here.

Home

Mr.J — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:33:09 CDT

Welcome to Mr. J's Classroom Homepage.

Allow me to be the first to welcome all of you back for another exciting school year. For those returning to WHS, you may now consider yourself veterans of the high school experience. You have learned how to navigate the infamous "Knuckle." You have learned that five to seven page papers are really not that hard to do. You have discovered that the shortest distance to any point in WHS is not necessarily a straight line; and you have discovered the value of getting your library books turned in on time, (among other things). :-)

For those entering WHS for the first time, you will find that there is much to be discovered. Mysteries await for you to solve. Victories (and yes, defeats) stand ready for the taking. Excitement and awe may often be found where you least expect. I hope the next four years hold a wealth of fascination for you.

For those new to this site, the intention of this page is to help keep all of the students and parents informed as to what is going on in Mr. J's classes. Within these pages you will find links to all of Mr. J's courses. Just look over on the left and find your course. There, you will discover a calendar containing the lessons we will cover in class as well as the homework assignments.
The calendar contains links to handouts and notes so you can always download a new copy, in case you lose yours (not that I expect that will happen of course), or if you miss a day of school.

You will also find links to pages and documents which may help with your reading and writing skills - both of which are VERY important in Social Studies. There are also links to some classroom pictures, examples of previous student work, as well as some other odds and ends. Please take advantage of this site. Former students of Mr. J's reported that regular use of this page helped them out quite a bit.

For parents: I hope this page will help you out as well. Teenagers being teenagers, sometimes they do not like to communicate with mom and dad as much as they once did. With this site, you too can keep track of what your son or daughter should be doing in class. I have found that this greatly helps parents in their ability to "nudge" their kids to keep on top of their homework. :-)

Additionally, the new "Sapphire" online grading system is now available. You can sign up for it by visiting the WHS homepage and clicking on the Parent Portal link. It is a good system and will help keep you better informed as to how your kids are doing. PLEASE take advantage of this. It is well worth the ten minutes it takes to sign up.

So, if you want to get started just click on one of the blue links on the left and we will begin.

See you in the classroom,
Mr. J

mrjwhs

Photos

Mr.J — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:30:47 CDT

Heraldry Shields 09	Photos of Previous S tudent Work	Student City-States 09	World War I and WWII - Trench Poetry, Road to War Timelines and Blitzkrieg Plans
Previous Castle Projects from previous years

What You Must Know for Map Quiz

Mr.J — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:09:25 CDT

For our first Map Quiz, you do not necessarily have to know every country, mountain and river in Europe, but you should at least know the following.

UK	France	Germany	Poland	Russia	Spain	Switzerland	Italy	Turkey	Norway
Sweden	Finland	Denmark	Rome	Paris	London	Berlin	Moscow	Istanbul (Constantinople)	The Alps
The Pyrenees	The Urals	The Carpathians	Belgium	The Netherlands	Portugal	Mediterranean Sea	Black Sea	Greece	Gibraltar
The Bosporus

Western Civ p12-15

Mr.J — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:44:46 CDT

Homework for 09 Sep 2009: Read pages 12-15 and answer the following questions. Remember, use those rules of writing I gave you! This work will be collected on 10 September

1. What does "Polytheistic" mean?

2. Why did all early civilizations tend to start near rivers?

3. What kind of people tended to lead the governments of these new civilizations?

4. What is another word for "barter?"

5. What was the importance of a scribe?

6. What does the word "culture" mean?

War and Peace: Day 2 Homework

Mr.J — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:44:52 CDT

Hwk due for day 2:
Read Sun Tzu pages 56-59.
1) What do you think about Sun Tzu and his methods?
2) What are two lessons you got out of the reading?
Rubric for grade

This is an essay. It should written in paragraph format. It should be detailed and thoughtful. I want to see how well you write. Use this as practice for your PSSAs.

War and Peace Day 3 Personal Statement Assignment

Mr.J — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:13:10 CDT

Discuss Sun Tzu's methods and your feelings about those methods. Discuss the nature of military vs civilian life. Can they coexist?

Activity: Personal belief statements on war.
Students may choose to do any of the following:

Students will express their opinions on war in general. Opinions may be pro or con but must be backed up by well thought out reasoning. Students will create a belief statement using any of the methods below. Grade will be based on the rubric provided for each. Each student or pair of students will present their belief statements to the class and explain their position.

Belief Statement- 1-2 page essay. 1 student.
Poem/Song- 16-24 lines w/rhyme scheme. 1-2 students
Cartoon- must use humor or sarcasm. 1-2 students.
Artwork-judged on artistic/emotional impact. 1-2 students.

Students will have two class days to work on the project.

Homework Questions

Mr.J — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:33:21 CDT

HW - Five Fundamental Factors

Mr.J — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:26:37 CDT

Hwk due for day 5:
Read Sun Tzu pages 63-71.
1) Re-write the five fundamental factors in your own words.
2) Do you agree that all warfare is based on deception? Explain why or why not
(This is an essay. I wan to see how you write. Give me your best work. Mr.J)