Contemporary World Issues Syllabus s1

Contemporary World Issues Syllabus

Contemporary World Issues Mr. Borrison 11th Grade [email protected] 1st semester, Required 319-394-3101 ext. 101

Grading Scale (Based on %) 100-96 A 77-73 C 95-90 A- 72-70 C- 89.88 B+ 69-68 D+ 87.83 B 67-63 D 82.80 B- 62-60 D- 79.78 C+ Below 60

All notes and assignments will be posted on my webpage

 Units of Study (w/ approximate time)

o America’s---5 weeks

o Europe—3 Weeks

o Middle East and Russia—2 Weeks

o Far East, Australia, India—2 Weeks

o Africa—3 Weeks

 Each Unit Activities and Grading:

o Geography (Countries, Cities, Physical Features)

. Blank Map (Countries, Capitals, Geographical Features): 50 Points

. Geography Fact Sheet: 50 points

. Note: Geography Practice Quiz Site: Online.seterra.net

o History (People, Events, Themes)

. Topical Study Guides: 100 points

o Current Issues Discussions

. Creating and Answering 5 Discussion Questions per unit: 50 points

. Unit Discussions: 50 points

o Current Event Sharing (must be about the unit we are studying)

. 5 Shares per Quarter: 50 points o Unit Exams (Will include History, Geography, and Current Issues)

. 100 points per Unit

o Unit Projects

. Unit Project (see attachment): 100 points

. Snapshot Activity: 100 points

Main Discussion Themes per Area

o Americas

. US relationship with the world/area

. Immigration

. Poverty and Drugs

o Europe

. Different forms of governments

. European Conflicts

. Religious Changes

o Asia (Middle East, Russia)

. Religious Differences (Muslims vs. Jews/Christians)

. 20th Century Conflicts

. Rise and fall of Communism in Russia

o Asia (Far East/Australia)

. Religious Differences (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc)

. European Involvement . Problems: Population, Child Labor

o Africa

. Racism/Slavery

. European Involvement and Modern Day Conflict

. Problems: Health, Poverty

MISC ITEMS:

 You can earn extra credit for reading a book that relates to history and passing the quiz  The amount of extra credit points will be the same as the RAPP points after the quiz  I will need to approve the book before you start reading it.  You can read as many books as you like. Some books may require extra work to get the full amount of extra credit points.

Contemporary World Issue Unit Project Sheet

For each of the five units we cover, you will be doing a unit project. Each unit project will include the following: Snapshot Activity and your choice of an additional activity.

Presentation: You will present your information to the class. Some of the activities are individual projects while others are partner projects. If you work with a partner for the activities, you can work with them on the snapshots. The snapshot activity should relate to your additional activity. You can use any method to present your information!

Grading: Each Unit Project will be worth 200 points. (100 points for activity, 100 points for snapshot). This grade will include your presentation! Points can be taken off for unprepared presentations.

Options for Additional Activities  Historical Papers (Individual)

o Basics: Minimum 3 page paper based off of any topic relating to the history of the area

o Must include

. 5 paragraph form (intro, conclusion), In-text Citation, Thesis, Works Cited

 Tourism Sales Pitch (Partner or Individual)

o Basic Goal: Selling your specific country as the place that the class should visit or live. You can use any method you would like to effectively sell your country.

o Ideas: Brochure, Commercials, Movies, or anything else you can come with

 Movie Reviews (Individual)

o Basics: Watch a movie that relates to your area and create a review of the movie

o Options: Can do a minimum 3 page paper or a Presentation

o Things to include: Opinions of movie, storyline, characters, accuracy, etc

 Interviews (Individual)

o Basics: Create 15 interview questions and answers of a person who you would consider an expert on that area of the world.

o Options: Can either type the questions into a paper or create a Presentation

 Way of life comparisons (Partner or Individual)

o Basics: Create a presentation that compares different “ways of life” in your area

o Topics may include: Religion, Same Faith Denominations, Race, Gender, Social Class, etc

. Note: You will only examine 1 topic in your paper…if you pick gender, it’s all about gender

o Presentation: Minimum 3 page paper or Presentation

 Country Improvement plan (Partner or Individual)

o Basic Goal: Create a plan that examines specific ways to improve a country in the area of interest.

o Hint: It is important to be able to list 4-5 major problems along with your detailed plan to fix those problems.

o Presentation: Minimum 3 page paper or Presentation

 Hands on Creations (Partner or Individual)

o Construct, Paint, or Draw something that is important to the area.

o Each creation must have a 1-page paper describing the importance of your creation o Drawings Note: 2 small (8 x 11) drawings or 1 large drawing.

 Fictional Story/Movie (Partner or Individual)

o 10 minute movie/script or 3-4 page fictional story.

o The movie should be about a topic that is important to the area you are studying.

 Your Creation: Must be approved by teacher

Snapshot Activity (one country per unit)

Items to be included:

 Geography

o Major Cities

o Geographical Features (Mountains, Rivers, etc)

 History

o Major historical events

o Modernization/Independence

 Culture

o What are things that make your country unique

 Government

o Form (describe)

o Current Leaders

 Famous People

o Both Past and Present (Explain why)

 Current Events

o Problems and/or issues

o Notable Current Events

Any method is fine for presentation