4º British: American Revolution on Twitter

You are about to start the 8th edition of your favourite historical activity... twitter in class! This year it will be all about the American Revolution, a topic that we have never performanced before.

The Revolutionary War, otherwise known as the American Revolution, was a battle for independence fought between the United States (then the Continental Colonies) and Great Britain that spanned the years of 1775 to 1783. The conflict was the result of mounting tension between the colonists and the colonial government, which was an extension of the British crown’s authority. Throughout the war, a number of individuals played essential roles for their respective parties...

 

How does it work? You must create a special twitter account as you were one American character, that can be a famous or an anonymous one (choose your character from this document). With this “historical account” you become follower of @auladeadriana.

 

The application period will start THIS WEDNESDAY (25th November), at 15:00. Just send me an email with your chosen character (even better, send me the list of your three favourite characters) and I will answer you back with the confirmation. Once that you have the confirmation (but not before), you can start making your character back to life :) You will have some time for creating the twitter account; the more “realistic” that you do it (portrait, biographic info, etc.), the better for your final mark.

The debate will start Friday 27^th November and finish Friday 4th, December.  You have to create a minimum of 20 tweets (12 of them base on real primary sources: texts, photos...) in the name of your chosen character. Try not to be independent, but “talk” with the others. I will help you with some clues for the timeline (eg. this "major battles" web), so you will not be lost in the process.

 

I would also recommend you to use the hastag #HistoryatVasco in your tweets, to facilitate its reading.

 

The previous years, this experiment was a total success and your partners really did good performances, so you will have to work hard for leading them...

This work is individual and mandatory and will be part of the score at the end of the term. If you fail to finish it, do it out of date, or just copy&paste from a webpage, the mark will be a 0 for this work.

 

Be creative and enjoy it! 

1ºBritish: Videos about Code of Hammurabi and Isthar Gate

As required in class, here you have the links to the Khan Academy videos in case you need to revise them for the monthly work or the exam...

1. Code of Hammurabi (3 minutes)

2. Gate of Isthar (6 minutes)

Have a nice weekend!

3º British: What is a megacity?

Most part of the world’s population live in urban areas. We have studied their characteris but, what happened when the city is constantly increasing its size and population? Find it out!

You (by your own or in pairs) will have to do an online research for answering the questions below, in the visual format you prefer: infography, Prezi, power point, etc. When finish, send it as attached file in PDF format to blogeducativo08@gmail.com (last day, Tuesday 10 November)

This work is mandatory and you will receive a mark. If you fail to do it, do it out of time or just copy&paste from a website, the mark will be 0.

Questions:

1. Definition: what is a Megacity?
2. Name, at least, 3 characteristics of a megacity.
3. What are the main challenges of living in megacities?
4. How can be those challenges solved or, at least, reduced?
5. Where are most megacities located? Why?
6. What cities around the world are considered nowadays megacities? List AND place them on a map.
7. Investigate ONE of them and prepare a complete and detailed research about it. You should include photos and official data.
8. Which other cities around the world are growing the fastest and would probably become megacities? Why?
9. Other cities are experimenting problems linked to the urban sprawl… What is urban sprawl? Why does it happen?
10. Opinion: What do you think it would be the future of urban settlement in Europe? Give rational arguments to support your point of view (about 15-20 lines). 

Useful links for starting:

• LatitudeGeography
• Century Foundation
• Megacities Project
• Megacities: challenges and solutions
• Infography from The Guardian
• Urban dynamics (36 pages...)

Are you ready? 3, 2,1... Go!

3º British: The EU and the refugee crisis

This is a short and mandatory activity for homework. As we are studying migration at class, it seems to be a good moment for debating about the so-called "Syrian refugee crisis"... and it is a doble task:

1. Read the following 4-pages document from the European Commission official website and then write an abstract about it (15-20 lines).

2. Write your opinion about the topic, giving always reasons for supporting your point of view. Do you agree or desagree with the EU policy on this topic? Why? (other 15-20 lines).

The following infography can also offer some extra help (click on it to enlarge its size):

When finish, send the document (pdf format) as attached file to blogeducativo08@gmail.com (last day: Friday, 9 October). 

1º British: Infographic about vikings

During the following days your INDIVIDUAL new task is to create an infographic about the Vikings. But, first of all, what is an infographic?

Infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly. They can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends. For example: 

There are a wide variety of tools available that allow you to create your own infographic. These free infographic creator tools will allow you to generate an infographic very quickly, without the need for a professional designer, and often in very high quality formats but if you prefer something more familiar to you for starting, you can download this archive with free power point templates.

However, infographics are about more than looking good and attracting lots of views and links. If your infographic does not present data in an engaging way – or your data is not worth learning – you may find that your work/effort is unsuccessful. So before you start designing, do some research.

In your case, each team will create an infographic about vikings!. Besides being visually attractive, your infographic should be informative and complete from an educational point of view. You can start by reading my theoretical notes for class and by visiting the BBC for kids web and the AcademiaPlay video.

When finish, sent the work as an attached file to acarriles@educa.jcyl.es.  The LAST DAY: Sunday 4, October). As usual, this work is mandatory and will be part of the score at the end of the term. If you fail to finish it, do it out of date or just copy&paste from internet, the mark will be a 0 for this work.

Keep calm and good luck! :)

3º British: The World Factbook

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of USA publishes an online “Annual book” with a multitude of data of all the countries around the world: The World Factbook. The information is compiled from different sources, both public and private, and it is useful for learning about the political, economic or social features of the countries.

Using this web is very easy: once you have choosen the country, you will see a map with its location, flag, etc. And below the map, you can find its information organized by topic. By clicking on each of them, it will display the information boxes. 

In today's activity (maximun: 4 students per group), we will work with the The World Factbook‘s web. It's a triple task!:

Task 1. You must download and FILL IN THIS DOCUMENT with the details requested in the list below, about 4 different states: Spain, another European state, a MEDC from outside Europe, and a LEDC.  Besides the information, in your document, you MUST include a map and a at least 2 graphs of each country (eg. economical sectors, unemployment levels or population structure): 

• Name of the country and capital city
• Location (continent, geographical coordinates, borders)
• Population (As this will be the main part, please insert as much data as possible: age structure, population pyramid, dependency ratios, birth/death/migration rates, maternal and infant mortalilty rates and life expenctancy)
• Official Language (if more that one, list them)
• Type of government
• International organizations to which it belongs
• GDP (Gross Domestic Product per capita)
• GDP composition by sectors 
• Military Expenditures
• Educational expenditures
• School life expectancy
• Health issues (see "population" tag)
• Youth unemployment
• Transnational issues (For example, border disputes, nationalism' conflicts, refugees, etc.).

Task 2. Then you must compare the data of those countries and enter your opinion, as complete as possible (Times new roman, 12, simple line)

• Was it easy to find all the information requested? Why?
• Is the data updated? If not, why?
• Compare population rates and health issues.  What do you think about those numbers? Why? What could they represent for their future? 
• Compare militar and educational expenditures. What do you think about those numbers? Why?
• Is there any other data that surprises you? Which one? Why?
• What is the situation of Spain compare to the other states analyzed? Why? Write a fully developed essay (minimum 15 lines)

When finish, send both documents in PDF format as attached file to  acarriles@educa.jcyl.es. 

Task 3. Oral presentation at class (aprox. 15 minutes). The talk should be focussed not on Spain, but on the comparaison between the chosen countries and your conclussions. As usual, all members of the team must speak. Collaboration and coordination between them will be taken into consideration.

This is a mandatory activity. If you do not do it, or do it out of time, your mark here will be 0.

Ready? 3, 2, 1... GO!

4ºBritish: how to comment an historical source

 

In the following document you can learn how to comment and historical source. The example included is about the English Parliamentarism. It would be a good idea to download and print it, to have a look every time you need it...

In the image, the Death warrant for the execution of King Charles X of England.

British: Academic Information 2020-2021

We are back! How are you? Did you miss school?...

Due to the Covid-situation, you will find some changes next week, both the new disposition of classrooms and the teaching/learning process. Even if (hopefully) we can develop school-life as usual, TIC and corporative email will be more important this year. For example, you will have to send your monthly works always by email in pdf format.

In the following links you can read the academic information for this year: 

1º E.S.O. British

2º E.S.O. British

3º E.S.O. British

4º E.S.O. British

You can also read the Assesment Criteria (Criterios de Evaluación y Calificación). Please notice that these criteria are now quite similar to previous academic years but could be modified, if the sanitary situation requires a new confinament, according to potencial new official guidelines. 

And, as usual, you can donwload the "text book" and the monthly works for homework in the tab "APUNTES". 

Are you ready? 3... 2... 1... Let's go! :)

Books against racism

Here you have 7 books recommended by The New York Times to learn and fight racism:

“White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo

“How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi

“Between the World and me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (a letter to his 15-year-old son)

“They Can’t Kill Us All: A New Era In America’s Racial Justice Movement”, by Wesley Lowery (Lowery was a journalist of The Washington Post who witnessed the racial riots during Obama’s mandate, so it is a totally up-to-date reading).

“Freedom is a constant struggle” by Angela Davis

“Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge

“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo

4º British: World War II overview

To sum up all the work of this term, here you have the links to the World War II stages we have studied: 

Stage 1: Road to war

Stage 2: Meanwhile in Germany...

Stage 3: Transition (1941-42)

Stage 4: Victories of the Allies (First part: from 1943 to 1944)

Stage 5: Victories of the Allies (Second part: Berlin and Hiroshima)

Mini-survey: feedback for online classes

Hello everybody!

To help me design the online classes for the next academic year, please answer this survey: only 4 questions! (the last one is an open question where you can freely write your comments or suggestions). It is anonymous and will not have repercussion on your mark.

It will be available during this June.

Thank you! :)

2º British: Global Warming

Good news! This is the very last activity of this academic year! I promise :) Today we have talked about hazards and the Global Warming.

Global warming could do more than just melt polar ice. It could change our maps, and displace thousands of people from cities and tropical islands, creating migration and political crisis.

As complements, you can watch the following video by Dr.Binoocs (6 minutes) and a video by NationalGeographic (only 2 minutes!). 

Now let's check what you have learned! Answer the following questions as complete as possible. As usual, send your answers to blogeducativo08@gmail.com (last day: Monday, 8 June). 

• What is global warming ? Explain it in your own words.
• What are the causes of global warming?
• Does everybody agree with the theory of global warming or is there some kind of controversy? If yes, why?
• In science, what is the difference in meaning between "theory" and "hypothesis"?
• What is "Carboon footprint"?
• What is the Kyoto Protocol?
• Make a list of 10 things YOU can do to help reduce pollution. Try to include as many tips as possible (about transport, clothes, plastic bags, food, heating / air conditioning...)
• What is "circular economy"? 

And... that's all!

4º British: Online World War II lesson. Stage 6: the consequences of the war

This is the last chapter of the war: click on the linkto pdf to see the presentation.

New research speculates that the global death toll may have reached as high as 100 million people, nearly five percent of all humans on Earth at the time.

The war also affected the international relationships. The Anticolonialism spread over the world; most part of the colonies and protectorades started independence movements. Even more, local ethnical groups gained the respect of Europeans thanks to their brave participation on the Allied side, such as the Maori people of New Zealand.

The decolonization process was not always simple and peaceful. The creation of Israel, for example, after the British left the area, created a coexistence conflict that lasts to now a days because... nationalism, mainly. Watch this video by John Green - Crash Course and probably you will understand it a bit better (12 minutes).

There were many other major events as a result of the war. For example, the Nüremberg trials. This animated video by History scope is long (17 minutes, in English) but very well documented and explained. Please, watch it carefully.

The Nüremberg trials showed the importance of international cooperation for the common benefit and peace. United Nations was created October 1945 (trying to fix the mistakes of the previous League of Nations). If you click on the link above, you will visit the official UN website and learn about its history, members and duties. The photo below shows the first meeting of the United Nations Security Council in Palais de Chaillot, 16 September 1948 Paris:

Final questions (as usual, send your answers to blogeducativo08@gmail.com before the next Tuesday):

1. How did the Cold War affect the functioning and purpose of the United Nations?

2. How did the UN evolve over the course of the twentieth century?

3º & 4º British: your exam!

Hello everybody!

As previously explained, this term you will have an alternative to exam. To get the 60% of the mark this term you will write a special essay (that is, your opinion) about a specifical topic. And today is the day!

Read carefully the following newspaper article: Geopolitics after covid-19 (in Spanish). Yes, it is long (7 pages) but after all this activity is replacing an exam so it should be a bit demanding, don’t you think so?

You have to write an essay with your personal opinion about it. Do you agree or desagree with the article? Why? What is the sentence o fragment that shock you the most and why? As is “opinion”, all answers will be valid BUT remember that you must write fully developed and well argumented explanations, ok?

Specifical requirements:

The essay must contain minimun 40 lines (times new roman 12 – simple line spacing, as in the article) and must be sent in pdf format.

You must also include comments to the following sentences:

• “La última fase de la globalización comenzó en 1989 y quizás termine hoy, con el coronavirus”. (Page 1 - line nº 24) Do you think that the economy will change after this situation? Why?

• “Las plagas afectan con distinta intensidad a diferentes clases socioeconómicas” (Page 3 - line nº 2) Do you agree or disagree? Why? If yes, how?

• “Quedan claras las prioridades del globalismo: por encima de la propia vida humana está el dinero”. (Page 3 - line nº 37) Do you agree or disagree? Why?

• “El espacio hispano-americano como el espacio euro-mediterráneo, que deberían unirse en defensa de la idea de solidaridad, comunidad y pacto inter-generacional”. (Page 6 - line nº 6) Do you agree or disagree? Why? Do you think that those institutions would work better than the European Union? Why?

• To sum up your essay, answer the article’s final question: ¿La sociedad al servicio de la economía, o la economía al servicio de la sociedad? (Page 7 - line nº 7)

When finish, send it as attached file to blogeducativo08@gmail.com. LAST DAY: FRIDAY, 29 MAY.

Ready? Steady?... go! Good luck!

4º British: Online World War II lesson. Stage 5: Victories of the Allies (Second part: Berlin and Hiroshima)

The following link will revise the last year of the war: the surrender of Berlin and the Atomic Bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In Europe, the allies start competing to conquer Berlin, for showing their political and military superiority, besides the enormous symbolism of such a victory. The Battle of Berlin took place in April 1945. As mentioned in my class, a very interesting and educative visit is the “Berlin underground”.

On April 30th 1945, when Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin two days before the Soviet took the city. Below, the iconic photo taken by the Russian photographer Yevgueni Jaldéi after the fall of Berlin:

  

Meanwhile, in the Pacific Front, it was necessary to fight every single island. Some episodes were sadly famous, such as the defense that Colonel Kuribayashi prepared in Iwo Jima (see the photo colecction in National Geographic). As told you in the online class last Monday, there are two movies about it, from the two different perspectives; you can watch the official trailers in the following links:

• Flags of our fathers (USA soldiers)
• Letters from Iwo Jima (Japan soldiers)

After years of research, called “The Manhattan project”, a big group of scientist created a powerfull weapon: the atomic bomb.

Above: photo of Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer. Einstein warned that the Germans were researching an atomic bomb and suggested that the United States do the same. Oppenheimer was the leading scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Finally, on the 6^th August 1945 President Harry Truman ordered to drop off the first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. It killed 100,000 people; many more suffered injuries and illnesses for the rest of their lifes. You can watch a BBC-simulation video here (4 minutes). On the 9^th August, he ordered to drop a second bomb over Nagasaki, with similar dramatic results. Japan surrendered several days after that. But, was REALLY necessary to use such a destructive weapon? Even nowadays is still a controversial topic, although it seems to have more political that militar motivations (John Green video: 1’40 minutes only)

The Second World War officially ended on 2nd September, 1945

That’s all. As you attended my class on Teams last Monday, there are not “control questions” about this part :)

1º British: Alternative to an exam - online research about the climates of Spain

Spain is a privileged country, enjoying a wide variety of climates, and precisely this variety makes possible amazing contrasts between the different landscapes. Look at the following map (click on the image to enlarge its size):

This is a very important activity because you will receive a mark equivalent to an exam! Yes! So please take it seriously and do your best!

It can be done individually or in pairs. And because it is so important, you will have two weeks to do it.

You must do a presentation (in power point or prezi) with a complete research about the 6 Spanish climates: continental, oceanic, mediterranean, semi-arid, high- mountain and subtropical.  Each climate have to include the following items:

• location (name the provinces with that particular climate)
• characteristics (average temperature, precipitation through the year…)
• An example of a typical climate graph of that area (Choose one real city of that area and search its name of this climate website to get the climate graph! So easy!)
• Typical landscape of that climate. Here you have to add several photos of both vegetation and some animals. For example, in the oceanic climate you should include photos of oaks (robles) and beechs (hayas) forests, and some brown bears.
• Agricultural activities in that climate. For example, in the oceanic climate is typical the bovine livestock, specially for milk products, meanwhile in the continental climate is typical olive trees and porcine livestock.

To start your research, you can check the following links: Spanish landscapes and Iberian wildlife tour.

When finished, make sure you have signed the document (with all your names in case you have done it in pairs) and send it to blogeducativo08@gmail.com as usual BEFORE MONDAY 1, JUNE.

Of course, remember that you have the opportunity to join my Tuesday classes on Teams, in case you need extra explanations or need to ask any doubt. Actually, in this link you can re-watch the video with my explanation (you will be asked to enter into your educa.jcyl account)

Are you ready? 3, 2, 1... go!

Criterios de evaluación y calificación para el fin de curso 2019-2020

¡Buenos días! Ya ha sido aprobada la propuesta de modificación de los criterios de evaluación y calificación para este fin de curso tan peculiar. 

Teniendo en cuenta los acontecimientos excepcionales que se están viviendo en la actualidad con la epidemia del Covid-19 y la situación de confinamiento, la calificación final de Junio se obtiene de la media de las notas obtenidas en la 1ª y 2ª evaluaciones. Sobre esa nota media se podrá sumar hasta un punto en base al trabajo realizado durante las excepcionales circunstancias de la tercera evaluación. 

Es decir, si en la tercera evaluación...

... tienes un 10, se sumará 1 punto

... tienes un 9'5, se sumará 0'95 puntos

... tienes un 9, se sumará 0'90 puntos

... etc.

En el caso específico de 3º y 4º British, aquell@s estudiantes que realizaron el monthly work extra y voluntario sumarán otro punto más. 

Como siempre, para considerar aprobado el curso la nota final de Junio (teniendo en cuenta todo lo anterior) debe ser igual o superior a 5.

En el hipotético caso que algún estudiante en Junio obtenga más de un 10 (algo que, obviamente, no podrá reflejarse en el boletín de notas), se llevará un pequeño premio de chocolate la próxima vez que volvamos a las aulas :)

4º British: BBC History Reporters

As promised, today we have a new task: turn yourselves into BBC-History channel reporters! :)  Besides funny, it could be a great educational activity, don’t you think so?

You have to choose ONE of the following (and already mentioned) topics:

• Irish War of Independence (1919-21) (NAM, Irish History Web & Irish War Web) and Irish Civil War (1922-23) (National Museum of Ireland, Irish War Web & BBC)
• Spaniards prisioners in Mauthaussen (trailer & newspaper article)
• Garbo, the spy (last week trailer, MI5 info & History channel)
• La Nueve and the battle of Paris (last week video & newspaper article)

Of course, you will need to do some previous research to prepare the script and the images you will use (photos or videos). It can be done individually or in groups (maximum 4 people).

These are the basic requirements:

• You should open your "TV news/reporter" with a definition of the chosen topic, explaining it as completely as possible. It is mandatory that the explanation provided includes, at least, 2 original images (eg. portraits, maps, etc.), 1 written primary source (eg. excerpt from a legal text, a speech, etc.) and 1 exterior scene. 
• It woould be also highly valorated if you also include an "interview with an historical character". Would you dare to performance one of the participants of your chosen topic? 
• The final product should last between 6 and 10 minutes
• After those minutes, you should include the author’s credits and webgraphy (sources of information you used)
• The video must be in .avi or .mp4 format 

When finish, send the file via wetransfer.com to acarriles@educa.jcyl.es. As usual, this activity is mandatory; if you don’t do it, or you do it out of time, the mark for this activity will be 0.

Be creative and enjoy the activity. Good luck!