The purpose of this activity is to see if students can identify if their peers are using the correct cues when dribbling a basketball.
Students will echo clap rhythm patterns including quarter notes, quarter rests and paired eighth notes. Students will compose four-beat rhythm patterns and perform them for the class. Demonstration videos are provided.
Students will echo clap four-beat rhythm patterns including quarter notes, quarter rest, and paired eighth notes. Students will sit in four chairs to create four-beat patterns. Video demonstrations are provided.
John Green introduces you to quite a lot of Chinese history by discussing the complicated relationship between the Confucian scholars who wrote Chinese history and the emperors (and empress) who made it. Included is a brief introduction to all the dynasties in Chinese history and an introduction to Confucius and the Confucian emphasis on filial piety, the role the mandate of heaven played in organizing China, and how China became the first modern state.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
John Green introduces the life and accomplishments of Alexander the Great, his empire, his horse Bucephalus, the empires that came after him, and the idea of Greatness. Is greatness a question of accomplishment, of impact, or are people great because the rest of us decide they're great?
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
John Green teaches you about the so-called Silk Road, a network of trade routes where goods such as ivory, silver, iron, wine, and yes, silk were exchanged across the ancient world, from China to the West. Along with all these consumer goods, things like disease and ideas made the trip as well. As is his custom, John ties the Silk Road to modern life and the ways that we get our stuff today.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
John Green explores exactly when Rome went from being the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. Here's a hint: it had something to do with Julius Caesar, but maybe less than you think. Find out how Caesar came to rule the empire, what led to him getting stabbed 23 times on the floor of the senate, and what happened in the scramble for power after his assassination. John covers Rome's transition from city-state to dominant force in the Mediterranean. While Rome's expansion took hundreds of years, he explains it in just under 12 minutes. The senate, the people, Rome, the caesarian section, the Julian calendar, and our old friend Pompey all make appearances, but NOT the Caesar Salad, as Julius had nothing to do with it.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
John Green teaches you the history of Christianity, from the beginnings of Judaism and the development of monotheism, right up to Paul and how Christianity stormed the Roman Empire in just a few hundred years. Along the way, John will cover Abram/Abraham, the Covenant, the Roman Occupation of Judea, and the birth, life, death, and legacy of Jesus of Nazareth. No flame wars! Let's keep the commentary civil.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
This dance unit includes rich opportunities for learning as it explores strategies for provoking new ideas about dance while making connections to literature and visual arts. The theme explores dealing with the social/emotional challenges of being in middle school, including experiences with individuality, tolerance, and acceptance.
John Green teaches you about the fall of the Roman Empire, which happened considerably later than you may have been told. While the Western Roman Empire fell to barbarians in 476 CE, the Byzantines in Constantinople continued the Eastern Empire nicely, calling themselves Romans for a further 1000 years. Find out what Justinian and the rest of the Byzantine emperors were up to over there, and how the Roman Empire dragged out its famous Decline well into medieval times. In addition to all this, you'll learn about ancient sports riots and hipster barbarians, too.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
This lesson will introduce students to an important scientific principle that affects movement. Class discussion followed by teacher designed learning stations will allow students the opportunity to identify and use Newton’s Laws of Motion in physical activities. Through question/answer sessions, the teacher will help students make purposeful connections between science and human movement. After each station, students will complete a worksheet by answering basic recall questions in addition to higher-order thinking questions. The teacher will also check for understanding by asking questions during station participation and posing questions at the conclusion of the lesson.
John Green teaches you the history of Islam, including the revelation of the Qu'ran to Muhammad, the five pillars of Islam, how the Islamic empire got its start, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and more. Learn about hadiths, Abu Bakr, and whether the Ummah has anything to do with Uma Thurman (spoiler alert: it doesn't). Also, learn a little about the split between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and how to tell if this year's Ramadan is going to be difficult for your Muslim friends. Let's try to keep the flame wars out of this reasoned discussion.
John Green teaches you about the Crusades embarked upon by European Christians in the 12th and 13th centuries. Our traditional perception of the Crusades as European Colonization thinly veiled in religion isn't quite right. John covers the First through the Fourth Crusades, telling you which were successful, which were well-intentioned yet ultimately destructive, and which were just plain crazy. Before you ask, no, he doesn't cover the Children's Crusade, in which children were provoked to gather for a Crusade, and then promptly sold into slavery by the organizers of said Crusade. While this story is charming, it turns out to be complete and utter hooey.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
John Green teaches you about Sub-Saharan Africa! So, what exactly was going on there? It turns out, it was a lot of trade, converting to Islam, visits from Ibn Battuta, trade, beautiful women, trade, some impressive architecture, and several empires. John not only covers the West African Malian Empire, which is the one Mansa Musa ruled, but he discusses the Ghana Empire and even gets over to East Africa as well to discuss the trade-based city-states of Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Zanzibar. In addition to all this, John considers emigrating to Canada.
John Green teaches you, at long last, about the most exceptional bunch of empire-building nomads in the history of the world, the Mongols! How did the Mongols go from being a relatively small band of herders who occasionally engaged in some light hunting-gathering to being one of the most formidable fighting forces in the world? It turns out Genghis Khan was a pretty big part of it, but you probably already knew that. The more interesting questions might be, what kind of rulers were they, and what effect did their empire have on the world we know today? Find out, as John FINALLY teaches you about the Mongols.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
John Green teaches you the history of the Indian Ocean Trade. John weaves a tale of swashbuckling adventure, complete with trade in books, ivory, and timber. Along the way, John manages to cover advances in seafaring technology, just how the monsoons work, and there's even a disembowelment for you Fangoria fans.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
Students will trace a melodic contour with their finger as they sing the high and low sounds. Students will create their own melodic shape using yarn and perform the composition for the class. A video demonstration is provided.
Students will improvise melodic patterns using scat, or nonsense, syllables. Video demonstrations are provided.
Students will discuss expressive qualities in music. Students will arrange a familiar song and use expressive qualities while performing.
John Green teaches you about the European Renaissance. European learning changed the world in the 15th and 16th centuries, but was it a cultural revolution, or an evolution? We'd argue that any cultural shift that occurs over a couple of hundred years isn't too overwhelming to the people who live through it. In retrospect though, the cultural bloom in Europe during this time was pretty impressive. In addition to investigating what caused the Renaissance and who benefitted from the changes that occurred, John will tell you just how the Ninja Turtles got mixed up in all this.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
John Green teaches you about the changes wrought by contact between the Old World and the New. John does this by exploring the totally awesome history book The Columbian Exchange by Alfred Crosby, Jr. After Columbus "discovered" the Americas, European conquerors, traders, and settlers brought all manner of changes to the formerly isolated continents. Disease and invasive plant and animal species remade the New World, usually in negative ways. While native people, plants, and animals were being displaced in the Americas, the rest of the world was benefitting from American imports, especially foods like maize, tomatoes, potatoes, pineapple, blueberries, sweet potatoes, and manioc. Was the Columbian Exchange a net positive? It's debatable. So debate.
This resource contains footage of an individual taking "the Cinnamon Challenge" a previously viral internet food challenge that has been deemed unsafe by medical professionals. Please discourage students from mimicking this practice.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
John Green teaches you about one of the least funny subjects in history: slavery. John investigates when and where slavery originated, how it changed over the centuries, and how Europeans and colonists in the Americas arrived at the idea that people could own other people based on skin color.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
John Green examines the French Revolution and gets into how and why it differed from the American Revolution. Was it the serial authoritarian regimes? The guillotine? The Reign of Terror? All of this and more contributed to the French Revolution not being quite as revolutionary as it could have been. France endured multiple constitutions, the heads of state literally rolled, and then they ended up with a megalomaniacal little emperor by the name of Napoleon. But how did all of this change the world, and how did it lead to other, more successful revolutions around the world? Watch this video and find out. Spoiler alert: Marie Antoinette never said, "Let them eat cake." Sorry.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
This intermediate-low to intermediate-high Spanish activity examines audio and written examples of autobiographies, a concept also covered in other disciplines. Students will interpret auditory and written resources as they listen to the song ¨Autobiografía¨ by Luis Enrique on YouTube and read a written autobiography about his life. This lesson relies heavily on past tenses as students examine Luis Enrique's life and compare the two resources before preparing their own autobiography. By introducing students to authentic musical resources, students are encouraged to continue exploring the artist outside the classroom. All printed resources required for this activity are included on the link.
This advanced-level Spanish project-based learning (PBL) unit challenges students to work in groups as they examine a problem, investigate the situation, and propose a solution. The unit includes a calendar pacing out each of the 8 class days required for the PBL. At the end of each class period students are provided a self-evaluation to reflect on tasks accomplished and plan for their next steps. All necessary resources regarding the presented problem as well as investigative resources are included. (Click on the Lecturas iniciales link within the resource to access a Google folder with printable resources). At the end of the lesson, students present their findings orally and in writing following the provided guidelines and rubrics. A bibliography is provided to assist students in researching the problem. This PBL specifically focuses on views toward Catalan succession in Spain.
This advanced-level Spanish project-based learning (PBL) unit challenges students to work in groups as they examine a problem, investigate the situation, and propose a solution. The unit includes a calendar pacing out each of the 8 class days required for the PBL. At the end of each class period students are provided a self-evaluation to reflect on tasks accomplished and plan for their next steps. All necessary resources regarding the presented problem as well as investigative resources are included. (Click on the Lecturas iniciales link to access a google folder with printable resources). At the end of the lesson, students present their findings orally and in writing following the provided guidelines and rubrics. A bibliography is provided to assist students in researching the problem. This PBL specifically focuses on the controversy surrounding bullfighting in Spain.
This advanced-level Spanish project-based learning (PBL) unit challenges students to work in groups as they examine a problem, investigate the situation, and propose a solution. The unit includes a calendar pacing out each of the 8 class days required for the PBL. At the end of each class period students are provided a self-evaluation to reflect on tasks accomplished and plan for their next steps. All necessary resources regarding the presented problem as well as investigative resources are included. (Click on the Lecturas Inciales link to access a google folder with printable resources). At the end of the lesson, students present their findings orally and in writing following the provided guidelines and rubrics. A bibliography is provided to assist students in researching the problem. The problem presented in this PBL focuses on the Great Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba.
This advanced-level Spanish project-based learning (PBL) unit challenges students to work in groups as they examine a problem, investigate the situation, and propose a solution. The unit includes a calendar pacing out each of the 8 class days required for the PBL. At the end of each class period students are provided a self-evaluation to reflect on tasks accomplished and plan for their next steps. All necessary resources regarding the presented problem as well as investigative resources are included. (Click on the Lecturas Iniciales link to access a google folder with printable resources). At the end of the lesson, students present their findings orally and in writing following the provided guidelines and rubrics. A bibliography is provided to assist students in researching the problem. The problem presented in this PBL focuses on discrimination toward street vendors in Spain.
This novice high to intermediate low Spanish listening activity requires students to listen to a heritage speaker from El Salvador as she describes her childhood. Students interpret the information provided, specifically paying attention to the authentic use of the Spanish past tenses. Students are asked to watch the video three times. The first time, they are encouraged to identify key vocabulary. The second time, they are to discuss a summary of the video with partners and after the third, they are to ask each other questions.
This novice-high to intermediate-low Spanish activity focuses on the correct uses of ser and estar. The provided lesson activity includes 4 heritage speakers describing their past. As students listen they are asked to complete a cloze activity that requires them to specifically listen for examples of how the speakers are using ser and estar. Students then discuss the uses of ser and estar that were observed in the video samples. Finally, students are asked to create their own dialogues showing that they can correctly use these two verbs in the preterit and imperfect tenses.
This intermediate-mid to advanced-low Spanish lesson offers an opportunity for students to listen to heritage speakers as they describe their families. Students are able to rely on family vocabulary and knowledge of a variety of tenses to gather information about each speaker. The activities in this lesson are specifically created for students who are considering a career in medicine. This allows students who may be participating in a high school health academy course to connect their language skills with their professional goals. By referring to the video speakers as 'patients' students practice asking questions about family history, listening for health-related facts, and gathering information on simulated patient history forms. While the content covered in this lesson (health vocabulary, family vocabulary, past tenses) is crucial to most Spanish programs, this unique twist allows students interested in the health field to see how these topics can impact their future profession and goals.
This intermediate-mid to intermediate-high Spanish activity allows students to listen to the imperfect subjunctive tense in context. A heritage speaker from Central Texas describes the importance Spanish would have on her future children. A worksheet is provided to guide students through the conversation as they use interpretive listening skills to gather the required information. Students are then guided through a review of the imperfect subjunctive and its' conjugations. Finally, students are asked to interview classmates following the outline of the original interview. A provided PowerPoint presentation (linked in the comments below) allows the teacher to easily guide students through this activity.
This Spanish resource is a collection of 19 audio activities on a variety of intermediate-low, intermediate-mid, and intermediate-high topics. Each audio clip provides an interview with a native or heritage speaker, a theme, objectives, before viewing question with keywords, during the video activity, after the video questions, and personal reflection questions. Vocabulary topics covered include family, food, celebrations, school, clothing, shopping, identity, language, hobbies, and weather. Grammar topics covered include ser and estar, present tense, present progressive, preterit, imperfect, and future tenses.
This Canvas-based site offers a series of short, interpretive listening assessments in Spanish. There are 3 novice level, 8 intermediate level, and 2 advanced level video clips. Each activity should last no longer than 5 minutes making it a perfect start of a class activity or end-of-class comprehension check. Students listen to heritage or native speakers and then answer 5 multiple-choice questions to assess their comprehension. The activities can be integrated into an existing Canvas course or used as a stand-alone activity.
This resource provides 14 separate video clips of French speakers, each of which illustrates the task of speaking about past actions. Students use interpretive listening skills to identify main ideas and examine how the imperfect, simple past, and compound past tenses are formed and used through these authentic resources. The videos were prepared for intermediate and advanced level learners but could be used with novice learners as a way to introduce them to authentic language. Each video clip provides a French-language transcript and links to grammar reviews and activities for the concepts that are heard in the clip. The concepts covered include: imparfait; passé composé, and passé composé vs imparfait.
