Under The Bean

 Matthew from 6th period sent this photo to me today from under The Bean in Chicago. I hear that the orchestra played amazingly well. Way to go! Have a safe trip home. 

The sculpture is actually entitled, "Cloud Gate." It is the centerpiece of Millennium Park in Chicago. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It is 33 by 66 by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons.

Said to have been inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture's surface reflects and distorts the city's skyline. Visitors are able to walk around and under Cloud Gate's 12-foot (3.7 m) high arch. On the underside is the "omphalos" (Greek for "navel"), a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections. The sculpture builds upon many of Kapoor's artistic themes, and is popular with tourists as a photo-taking opportunity for its unique reflective properties.

The sculpture was selected during a design competition. After Kapoor's design was chosen, numerous technological concerns regarding the design's construction and assembly arose, in addition to concerns regarding the sculpture's upkeep and maintenance. Various experts were consulted, some of whom believed the design could not be implemented. Eventually, a feasible method was found, but the sculpture's construction fell behind schedule. It was unveiled in an incomplete form during the Millennium Park grand opening celebration in 2004, before being concealed again while it was completed. Cloud Gate was formally dedicated on May 15, 2006, and has since gained considerable popularity, both domestically and internationally.

Maya - Saturno: Adding Time to the Maya Clock Video

Fascinating! Saturno: Adding Time to the Maya Clock. Proof the world will continue & that the Maya were amazing! 

William "Bill" Andrew Saturno is an American archaeologist and Mayanist scholar who has made significant contributions toward the study of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. As of 2008 Saturno holds a position as assistant professor in Archaeology at Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). Prior to his position at BU, Saturno was a lecturer at the University of New Hampshire. Saturno is credited with the discovery in 2001 of one of the oldest extant murals yet discovered in the Maya region, at the site of San Bartolo in northeastern Guatemala. In 2010, Saturno and Franco Rossi discovered what they believe to be a workroom of a Xultún record keeper. The Mayan hieroglyphics at the site included representations of dates roughly 7000 years in the future, casting doubt on the speculation that the conclusion of the Long Count calendar would result in a 2012 doomsday scenario. (From Wikipedia)

Agenda: Week of FINALS 1st Semester 2012 - December 17-21

Advanced Placement World History

Fall Final Review & Fall Final Test Week

Week at a Glance:
MON - Fall AP Test Review
TUE - Fall AP Test Review

Final Exams & Fall Final Summative Tests

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19, 2012

                                      7:25 - 8:39                       1st Period Exam

                                      8:46 - 10:02                     5th Period Exam

                                    10:09 - 11:25                     7th Period Exam

THURSDAY, DEC. 20, 2012

                                      7:25 - 8:31                       Advisory

                                      8:38 - 9:58                       2nd Period Exam

                                    10:05 - 11:25                     3rd Period Exam

 FRIDAY, DEC. 21, 2012

                                    7:25 - 8:31                         Advisory

                                    8:38 - 9:58                        4^th Period Exam

                                    10:05 - 11:25                    6 ^th Period Exam

Learning Targets for the week:
Targets from The College Board AP World History Course Description
Period 1: Technological and Environmental Transformations, to c. 600 B.C.E.
Period 2: Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies, c. 600 B.C.E. to c. 600 C.E.
Period 3: Regional & Trans-regional Interactions 600 to 1450

Essential Questions/Themes for the week:
Themes from The College Board AP World History Course Description
Theme 1: Interaction Between Humans and the Environment
• Demography and disease
• Migration
• Patterns of settlement
• Technology
Theme 2: Development and Interaction of Cultures
• Religions
• Belief systems, philosophies, and ideologies
• Science and technology
• The arts and architecture
Theme 3: State-Building, Expansion, and Conflict
• Political structures and forms of governance
• Empires
• Nations and nationalism
• Revolts and revolutions
• Regional, trans-regional, and global structures and organizations
Theme 4: Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems
• Agricultural and pastoral production
• Trade and commerce
• Labor systems
• Industrialization
• Capitalism and socialism
Theme 5: Development and Transformation of Social Structures
• Gender roles and relations
• Family and kinship
• Racial and ethnic constructions
• Social and economic classes
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Monday, December 17, 2012
Quote of the Day: "What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.” - Steve Jobs

Agenda:
1. DO NOW QUESTION: Which questions on the MOCK AP Test were most difficult - or do you still not understand?
2. Review the MOCK AP Test and discuss each question in terms of the Period & Theme.
3. Competitive Review in Teams.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Quote of the Day: "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we have done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” - Steve Jobs

Agenda:
1. DO NOW QUESTION: Which questions on the MOCK AP Test were most difficult - or do you still not understand?
2. Review the MOCK AP Test and discuss each question in terms of the Period & Theme.
3. Competitive Review in Teams.

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Wed-Fri, December 19-21, 2012
Quote of the Day:  "And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." -Dr. Seuss

Agenda:
FINAL TEST OF THE SEMESTER.

Over the holiday break, think about a theme for WHAP T-Shirts. We will need to create it soon and order it in Feb-March for it to be ready for the test.

We will begin Chapter 14 when we return from the break with the 2nd half of the video - America Before Columbus. It will look at the impact of Columbian Exchange on the world.

DBQ Week - Black Death

Click to load the notes for ...
History of The Black Death
How to WHAP the DBQ
Understanding P.O.V. - Point of View

Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Triumph of Death, 1652.

Agenda: Week of Dec. 10 - 14, 2012

World History Advanced Placement

DBQ and Fall Final Review Week

Week at a Glance:
MON: Black Death History; Whap the DBQ
TUE: Finish Black Death History; Analysis of Documents using Point of View
WED/THU:  Analysis of Documents; Cooperative Poster Creation; Gallery Walk
FRI: Thesis Writing; Gallery Walk; 2nd 9 week awards
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Monday, December 10, 2012
Quote of the Day: “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” ― Vince Lombardi Jr.

Learning Targets & Essential Questions:
* Compare the views from European world and Islamic world in response to the Black Death.
* How does one "WHAP" the DBQ?
* Use Point of View when analyzing documents.
* Categorize documents according to analysis to answer prompt with a clear, yet thorough thesis.

Agenda:
1. DO NOW: Pick up Black Death DBQ Handout - Pages 1 and 2. Read the historical background on the Black Death and answer the questions. Be prepared to discuss the topic in a few minutes. (10 min)
2. Cooperative Discussion - The Black Death DBQ Handout - work in groups of 4 to discuss the Black Death and the discussion question that is on the page. (10 min)
3. Notes, Questions, Quick Video - The Black Death - Historical Background. (10 min)
4. How to WHAP the DBQ - finish presentation on what the DBQ is and how it is answered. (10 min)

Go Texans!

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Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Quote of the Day: "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." - Abraham Maslow

Learning Targets & Essential Questions:
* Compare the views from European world and Islamic world in response to the Black Death.
* How does one "WHAP" the DBQ?
* Use Point of View when analyzing documents.
* Categorize documents according to analysis to answer prompt with a clear, yet thorough thesis.


Agenda:
1. DO NOW: Pick up the rest of the pages of the DBQ on The Black Death. Read the first three documents and analyze them using MAP Main Point, Analysis, Point of View. (10 min)
2. Cooperative Discussion - The Black Death DBQ Handout - work in groups of 4 to discuss the Black Death and the documents. (10 min)
3. Understanding Point of View - We will analyze photos and images to determine point of view. (15 min)

He's making a list..

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Wednesday, December 12, 2012 & Thursday, December 13, 2012
Quote of the Day: "You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." - Steve Jobs

Learning Targets & Essential Questions:
* Compare the views from European world and Islamic world in response to the Black Death.
* How does one "WHAP" the DBQ?
* Use Point of View when analyzing documents.
* Categorize documents according to analysis to answer prompt with a clear, yet thorough thesis.

Agenda:
1. POV slideshow as students enter. 
2. DO NOW: Finish the rest of the pages of the DBQ on The Black Death. Read the documents and analyze them using MAP Main Point, Analysis, Point of View. (10 min)
3. Cooperative group analysis of documents, grouping them, thesis discussion. 
4. Groups will create a DBQ Poster. Each poster will have the question listed at the top, the documents will be cut out and pasted on the poster in groups, analysis of the group of documents will be written below each, & a thesis written at the bottom of the poster.
Posters collected at the end. We'll Gallery Walk them on Friday.

Steve Jobs, February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011, co-Founder Apple Computer.

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Friday, December 14, 2012
Quote of the Day: "A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother." - Author Unknown

Learning Targets & Essential Questions:
* Compare the views from European world and Islamic world in response to the Black Death.
* How does one "WHAP" the DBQ?
* Use Point of View when analyzing documents.
* Categorize documents according to analysis to answer prompt with a clear, yet thorough thesis.


Agenda:
Corrections due for Mock AP Test.
Extra Credit (Review &/or Graphic Org.) due.
1. DO NOW: Finish posters in groups, prepare to present/gallery walk/discuss analysis & thesis.
2. 2nd Nine Week Eagle & Pigeon Awards.

Prep for Fall Mock AP Test

Notes: WHAP-AP-Test-Review-Themes-Regions-People-Periods

Great videos to help your study and review of the semester:
Andrew Marr's A History of the World, Episode 1
Andrew Marr's A History of the World, Episode 2
Andrew Marr's A History of the World, Episode 3

Student videos to help your review:
WHAP Survival Guide: Studying
WHAP Survival Guide: The Test
World History AP in 20 minutes