Monday, May 31, 2010

AP Summer Assignments
This is a summary of some of the summer assignments I found online. Most are in pdf format, so if you like it, download, go to pdftoword.com, upload it and in about two hours, you will have it in doc format and then can make it your own.
  1. This one has vocab, geography skills, readings on pre-history and religion
  2. This one is similar to the one above, but less work for the students
  3. This one uses an embedded assignment (always like more helpful technology) and has the students fill out charts, maps and yes, vocab definitions of the early needs for world history
  4. This may be the best of the first four (and uses Stearns).
  5. Here is one for Guns, Germs and Steel and another and still another and one that talks about how to be a critical reader
  6. Here and here are one for one of my favorite books History of the World in Six Glasses
  7. This one allows you to choose from a list of books
Intro Video to AP World History
I found this video from a newer blogger out there who can be found AP World Guru on Twitter.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010


Why Geography Matters
This is a nice video put together by the Google Earth crew that shows the many things you can do with Google Earth in the classroom. I found it on FreeTech4Teachers. Go here to learn about how to use Google Earth.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Arial Radar Mapping of Mayan Cities
This is a very interesting article which details how two scientists mapped by aerial radar in two days what took other scientists two decades to do. The two used lasers to find the outlines of Mayan civilization. This certainly is an article I will use early next year in my classes.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Statistics on the World
This site has an a large number of statistics that you can show your students such as unemployment rate, agricultural land, children in school, epidemics rates and and a total of 430 different categories. You can also download the statistics and there is a page for teachers.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Video Chat with Author Pat Hughes


Today my 8th grade American history classes in Liberty, Missouri participated in a live video chat with Pat Hughes, author of Guerrilla Season. Guerrilla Season is a book with a focus on Clay County (the county in which we live) in the years just before the Civil War. We used G-mail video chat - free - to visit with Pat from her home in Philadelphia.

I also used a Flip cam to record the conversation for students who missed it and wanted to watch it. Pat spoke with us from her sun room and then took us upstairs to show us her office and shared some of the resources she uses to write books about Civil War era Missouri.

Pretty amazing that this all took place today with no technical glitches at all and we were able to have a great conversation with an author 1,200 miles away! Why aren't classrooms doing more of this?

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Podcast #210 - Update on 365 Photo Project


Hello. Today's podcast is an update on my 365 Photo Project for 2010. I am taking a picture each day this year and posting it on Flickr. You can check out my photos so far this year below on the slideshow.





Click to subscribe to the Speaking of History Podcast at i-Tunes here

Direct link to Podcast #210 - Update on 365 Photo Project

Press PLAY button below to listen to podcast on this page.




Tuesday, May 4, 2010


Computers for All Students
Certainly the aim of this blog is to get to have students using computers much more often in the classroom. If you think about it, the interconnectivity that computer bring, the ability to create and the chance to meet students in their own world (as opposed to the worksheet one) is a great reason to go online. Above is a nice video from PBS on a school in NY that was turned around with a visionary principal and the use of computers.
 
Copyright @ 2008-2010 History Articles | History Article | Powered by Blogger Theme by Donkrax