Thursday, January 31, 2019

The American Dream: Revisited, Day 2 - Class Recap


We talked today about wealth inequality in the United States. This is a photo from high up in the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo taken in 2014.

Dear class,

I enjoyed today's quick (due to the Assembly Schedule) day with you all, as we continued to revisit the idea of the American Dream and whether or not it is an attainable reality for everyone. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "Just a Dream" by Nelly. Selected for today because of our continued conversation about the American Dream. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/31/19:
News Brief - Loyle
Wealth Inequality
The American Dream
Prep Time

Homework: Read the blog! Be prepared for Socratic Seminar discussion next class! Next news brief: Jaycee.

News Brief: Loyle had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: FoxNews.com - Polar vortex victims include University of Iowa student, ex-city councilman, police officer and wife. After discussing the story, we also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Jaycee was assigned to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Wealth Inequality: To continue our look at the American Dream: I had students break into small groups and walked everyone through this lesson on guessing what wealth inequality looks like in the United States: MorningsideCenter.org - Wealth Inequality in America. I used different colors of paper and paper clips, but otherwise, the lesson is pretty much the same as what we did in class.

Basically, I wanted to see what students thought wealth distribution looks like in the United States, before I showed this video to the class as to the differences between typical perceptions and reality:



After the video, we had a discussion about what we noticed and reasons for why this wealth distribution pattern might have an impact on our society. My guess is that these numbers were surprising to you - why do you think that was?

American Dream: Next class, we will have a Socratic Seminar discussion on the question: "Is the American Dream attainable by everyone?"

Here is the packet that I passed out last class with readings with opinions about the status of the American Dream:


This packet will be turned in and assessed for a Critical Thinking grade, in combination with the Communication grade from the Seminar. The video notes on the last page are on the above video.

Prep Time: The rest of class was spent preparing for the Socratic Seminar next class. As a reminder, this is a student led discussion, based on the question: Do you think everyone can attain the American Dream? Why or why not?

Come prepared to next class with your answers and higher level questions about the American Dream! See you on Monday, barring a snow day! ;-)
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Tuesday, January 29, 2019

The American Dream: Revisited, Day 1 - Class Recap


Your anonymous feedback for what you like about this class! :-) 

Hello everyone,

Welcome to a new semester! We began by getting organized and reviewing feedback from last semester, then moving on to prepare for a Socratic Seminar discussion on the American Dream! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "Brand New Day" by Sting. Selected for today because it is a brand new semester and a chance to start again! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/29/19:
News Brief - Jessica
Organization
Review Class Feedback
The American Dream

Homework: Read the blog and post a comment again! Finish the reading questions if you did not in class. Next news brief: Loyle.

News Brief: Jessica had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: NBCNews.com - Venezuela's Maduro cuts off U.S. relations after Trump backs opposition leader Juan Guaidó. We talked about this story for a bit, before moving on.

Loyle was selected to do the next news brief.

As usual, we checked in about what students were up to outside of class (I hope finals went well!).

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Organization: Next, I offered students time to clear out their binder of work from last semester for my class, and to get organized and ready for the next semester. Let's all try to work on this for the rest of the year! :-)

Review Class Feedback: We looked at the anonymous feedback that students gave me after the semester final about how the class was going, and how I am doing as a teacher. Here it is again if you want to check it out:


Some observations:
1) It looks like students really love what we learn about in class, which is awesome to see!
2) The class knows it could get better at not talking when others are, listening, and focusing.
3) The class likes that I am positive, helpful, enthusiastic, and that I explain/teach concepts well.
4) However, some students feel like I could do a better job with being stricter and with distractions in class (if anything at all).

As I also noted in the last slide, we have lots of work to do in the second semester, which will probably be more challenging for most students than the first semester. Thank you for your feedback, everyone!

The American Dream: To start this semester, I wanted to remind students of last semester, when we talked about the concept of the "American Dream" and students made posters with slogans. Next week, we will have a Socratic Seminar discussion on the question: "Is the American Dream attainable by everyone?"

Here is the packet that I passed out today with readings with opinions about the status of the American Dream:


In class, I had students read the first article in the packet and underline words or phrases that they did not understand, to ask a partner for help. We then went through them as a class.

We will continue working on this packet and preparation next class (which is a bit shorter, due to an assembly schedule). My plan is to then have the Socratic Seminar in class next Monday. Thanks for your hard work today - here we go again!
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Friday, January 25, 2019

Semester 1 Finals - Class Recap


The sun has set on Semester 1 of the 2018-19 school year! Photo taken in Hawaii in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today was immigrant group presentation day for almost everyone in class, so I hope that you feel as if they went well and were worth the time! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Behavior LT 3: I can work effectively within a team or group.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.

Soundtrack: "The Final Countdown" by Europe. Selected for today because of it being finals for our class! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/25/19:
News Brief – Yohan
Presentations
Citizen USA
Class Feedback

Homework: Read the blog. Next news brief: Jessica.

News Brief: Yohan had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: NYTimes.com - Indicting Roger Stone, Mueller Shows Link Between Trump Campaign and WikiLeaks. After discussing the story, we also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Jessica was assigned to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Presentations: During this part of class, students presented on the immigrant groups they selected. I first asked for volunteers, then drew randomly. Here's the assignment again:


Here is the list of groups that presented:


Finally, here is the sheet for notes that I passed out to the class:


Citizen USA: This was a short documentary (available streaming on HBO GO - if you do not have it, do not worry, as I will not ask students who missed this to make it up). Here are the questions I had students answer as we watched the documentary (which we might have already finished last class):


Here is a list of dates for citizenship/naturalization ceremonies in Portland, if you are interested in attending one, after having seen them in the documentary! I attended one in August 2018 to see what it was like, which must have been the first one I have attended since

USCourts.gov - Oregon Naturalization Ceremonies

At the end of the documentary, we talked about the questions and anyone's experience with the citizenship process as an immigrant. Thank you for this conversation! We have such an interesting group of people in our class and school!

Class Feedback: If we had time, the last part of class was given to answering questions about how class is going for everyone so far. The questions are:

1) What do you like about this class? What is this class good at?

2) What does the class need to get better at/improve at doing?

3) What do you like about Mr. Fritz as a teacher?

4) What can Mr. Fritz improve at doing as a teacher?

Hopefully, students had substantive feedback to give for each part! This was anonymous, to allow for students to write freely. I will analyze these results and get back to everyone at the start of next semester! Have a great rest of the week!
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