Cold War America, Day 4 - Class Recap

We learned today that some government officials wanted to drop atomic bombs on China, because of their involvement with the Korean War and to fight Communism. Here's part of the Great Wall of China in January 2014.

Hi everyone,

I enjoyed today's class and I am looking forward to reading all of your feedback for me! I always try to do this for my classes, just to see how I am doing and what can improve about the class. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.09: I can identify how technological knowledge and innovation shapes a society, place, or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.23: I can describe the influences, impacts and resolutions of historical conflicts.

Soundtrack: “Somebody to Die For” by Hurts. Selected because a student in Period 1 requested it via an anonymous comment here on the blog. They wrote that it reminded them of the Cold War! I'm happy to look into any requests for soundtrack choices, as long as it can be related to what we are doing in class. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/30/14:
Extended News Brief
DBQ Grades
Class Feedback
Atomic Cafe

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Robin.

Extended News Brief: Hanalyn chose an article related to this story, which was great, because I wanted to talk about it anyway: FOXSports.com - Union: NBA players considered playoff boycott before Sterling ban. I wanted to talk about this for a number of reasons. First, we just did a lengthy unit on racism and Civil Rights in America. This is yet another case that shows we have not "solved" racism as a society. If an owner of an NBA franchise can be repeatedly accused for years of discrimination and not many people seem to take notice until an audio tape of racist comments is heard, that is a problem. It is a problem if we see society as totally equal now - that we have nothing to work on, when the evidence does not back that up.

Related to this, as some people try to argue that Donald Sterling has free speech rights, and thus can say whatever he wants and not face punishment: I wanted to make sure that we addressed the protesters outside Westview this week. I would feel irresponsible as a Social Studies teacher to not at least have the conversation about what the First Amendment to the United States Constitution is all about, given the very obvious example of it in practice outside of our school. I want to be clear again that it is not my role to take a position in class on the issue the protesters are concerned with. It IS my role to try and inform the class about why they are allowed to, and why counter-protests and demonstrations are also allowed, as long as both sides do not come into open conflict.

The Activist Project assignment was asking students to think of very similar types of actions to help further a cause you believed in. Just because someone may not like your cause, does not mean that you cannot protest or demonstrate. The example I always use is Nazi Germany. If there was freedom of speech in Nazi Germany, guaranteeing Jewish people the right to speak up about the way they were being treated, without fear of being thrown into jail for their beliefs, then it is possible the Holocaust could have been avoided. Freedom of speech is only valid as a core of our democracy when we are able to express our views, however radical they may be, without fear of the government throwing us in jail.

Again, what the First Amendment does NOT guarantee is the right to say whatever you want with no consequences. If Donald Sterling wants to say racist garbage, he is allowed to without going to jail. He can still face all sorts of other consequences in private affairs, like the NBA banning him for life, fining him $2.5 million dollars, and people around him never wanting to associate with him again. Words do have incredible power.

DBQ Grades: I passed back your DBQ grades for the Civil Rights unit. These were included in your progress report grades that went home, except if you did not finish (in which case I was nice and gave you a little more time to make them up before I give out 1 for the proficiency grade). Please come see me if this does not make sense! Yes, I have tried to structure my grade book to be on the side of the student, in that your highest score is the one that I am usually going to take - that said, I do retain the right to make adjustments in the future.

Class Feedback: As I wrote at the top of this blog post, I really value getting honest feedback from students, so I can know what is going well and what can improve, both for myself and for the class. Here were the questions I asked students to anonymously respond to:

1. What do you like about this class and what is this class good at?
2. What does the class need to improve on?
3. What do you like about Mr. Fritz as a teacher?
4. What can Mr. Fritz get better at?
5. How is Mr. Fritz doing at communicating and assessing learning targets for proficiency grading?

I will take all of these responses and combine them into a look at what is going on, using a PowerPoint presentation next class. Thank you for your honesty and willingness to work with me! I know I can always get better - this certainly helps!

Atomic Cafe: The last part of class was spent watching this documentary, which was made using actual clips from the Cold War era. If you missed class, this was the answer sheet that we worked on:

Google Drive - Atomic Cafe Questions

We went over the questions in class, because they covered the first 35 minutes of material (I stopped the video around then). If you missed class, or wanted to watch it again, or spoil yourself for finishing it next class, here it is:

See you next class! Thanks!

OAKS Test - Class Recap

Today, the class took the OAKS Reading Test in class. It is an acronym for Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, but I still think of trees. This was a tree outside my dorm room at Western Oregon University in 2006.

Dear class,

We had a break from the Cold War today, because it was our scheduled time to take the OAKS Reading test. A much shorter class recap:

Soundtrack: “Ready Steady Go” by Paul Oakenfold. Selected because of "Oak" in "Oakenfold." Get it? The very deep and insightful lyrics are here.

AGENDA 4/28/14:
Attendance
OAKS Test – S130

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Hanalyn.

OAKS Test - S130: I hope this went well for everyone! Next class, we will get back to learning about the Cold War.

Cold War America, Day 3 (The Korean War) - Class Recap

The "Bridge of No Return" between North and South Korea, in the De-Militarized Zone. Photo taken in January of 2014.

Dear class,

I barely get to see you this week, with the testing days and teacher work days! I hope we were able to pack a lot in to what we did in class today. Here's what happened:

Learning Targets:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.09: I can identify how technological knowledge and innovation shapes a society, place, or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.23: I can describe the influences, impacts and resolutions of historical conflicts.

Soundtrack: “Gone But Not Forgotten” by TQ. Selected because we talked about the "Forgotten War" in Korea today in class. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/22/14:
News Brief
Debrief Primary Sources
The Korean War
Unforgettable

Homework: Read the blog! Next class: OAKS reading test (no news brief).

News Brief: Nickolas chose this story to talk about as the news brief for today: CNN.com - Teen stowaway raises questions about airport security. What a super fascinating case. It is incredible that the young man survived the trip (just read the article to see how unlikely it is). It also might speak to our airport security again that this could apparently happen unnoticed.

Debrief Primary Sources: I gave the class a few more minutes to finish this up, then we started talking about the sources and what they meant for the start of the Cold War. The four sources and worksheets are here:

Stanford.edu - Cold War Primary Sources

Please keep this for future reference in class!

The Korean War: This was the first actual war of the "Cold War" period in America. Remember, the term "cold" is used to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, because we were never actually at war them directly, just in various wars with allies around the world. Here is the presentation I made, if you missed class, or I went too fast (as is definitely possible):

Google Drive: The Forgotten War PowerPoint

This was a fairly lengthy PowerPoint, I know. I tried to pack the entire history of the Korean War into one presentation. Students were asked to take notes of information that related to the learning targets of the unit (above). Most students did really well with this, it seemed! Thank you! All of the pictures in the PowerPoint are my own - most of them from my trip to Korea in January! I love it when I get to travel to places that I then teach about.

Here is the video that I tried to get working in class, about the geography of the war. It settled back almost exactly where it started, which is another reason people tend to forget about it.

This is the link I showed Period 1, which goes over six different stages of the war:

PBS.org - American Experience: The Korean War

Unforgettable: We either watched a few minutes of this (Period 1) or did not get the chance to at all (Period 3). I will probably return to this next class. If you are interested in getting ahead of the game, here it is to watch:

Again, I really appreciate your focus, effort, and participation today in class! Presentation days can be super boring, I know. Good questions and involvement make it more interesting for everyone. See you next week!

Cold War America, Day 2 - Class Recap

 Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan. Today, we talked about the United States dropping the atomic bomb. President Truman was insistent on not using it on Tokyo. Picture taken January 2014.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to your weekend! Only eight more weeks of school left in the year! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.09: I can identify how technological knowledge and innovation shapes a society, place, or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.23: I can describe the influences, impacts and resolutions of historical conflicts.

Soundtrack: “Bomb The World” by Michael Franti & Spearhead. Very applicable lyrics for our day of talking about the atomic bomb, including "We can bomb the world to pieces, But we can't bomb it into peace."

AGENDA 4/18/14:
News Brief /Blog Recap
Pro/Con: The Bomb
Cold War Primary Sources
Grade Conferences

Homework: Missing and/or late work to me by next Tuesday (only A day next week) for progress report grades. Read the blog! Next news brief: Nickolas.

News Brief: This is the story that Cocoro brought in today: KGW.com - Reservoir to be flushed because of urinating teen. As I said in class, animals deposit waste in the reservoirs all the time. It is a little strange to flush 38 million gallons away because one guy urinated in it, but I certainly understand the perception problem.

Pro/Con: The Bomb: This picked back up where we left off last class. If you missed class or wanted to see the document to debate from again, here it is:

wednet.edu - Was the Atomic Bomb Necessary to Win World War II?

The format I used was to pair everyone up and then have one person start on the YES side for about a minute and a half. Then the second person went for the same time, with no interruption. After that, I had each side choose their favorite point that they had heard from their partner, and begin a 30 second final round by arguing the opposite side that they started, using that point. Typing all that just now, I realize that sounds absurdly complicated in print, but it really was not. Thanks for your participation here! After the debating was done, we did a 5 minute free write on these questions:

What is your actual opinion on whether or not the United States should have used the atomic bomb on Japan? What is the single best reason to support your position?

It seemed like the class was about split down the middle on whether or not the atomic bomb should have been used.

Cold War Primary Sources: After the debate, I passed out a class set of copies regarding some beginning of the Cold War sources. I also gave every student a worksheet that had to do with reading and analyzing the sources. If you missed class, or wanted to check them out again, here are the materials that I used:

Stanford.edu - Cold War Primary Sources

Along with the timeline (that I read aloud), I showed part of this clip from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech, about the Soviet Union taking over Eastern Europe:

The other primary source that I used was this website containing President Truman's diary entries from the lead up to dropping the atomic bomb on Japan:

PBS.org - Entries from President Truman's Diary

In particular, the last one, about not dropping the bomb on Tokyo, and focusing on military targets is interesting. Of course the majority of the deaths from the bombs were civilians. 

Grade Conferences: As students were working on the Cold War primary sources packet, I called everyone up to go over grades. If you would like to improve your grade by the progress report, hopefully you know exactly what you need to do now. Remember that grades are always posted by student ID number in the classroom, as well. Keep working hard! I will try and see how many DBQs I can grade over the weekend!

Cold War America, Day 1 - Class Recap

My thoughts on the Berlin Wall, as aptly summed up by some graffiti there. That is how high the wall is, for anyone wondering. Photo taken in June 2013.

Hi everyone,

I am not sure about you, but I have a To Do list that is about a mile long at this point. I do like writing the blogs, though! It reminds me of everything we did today in class and makes me think of how it all went. In this case, I think it went well! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.09: I can identify how technological knowledge and innovation shapes a society, place, or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.23: I can describe the influences, impacts and resolutions of historical conflicts.

Soundtrack: “The Times They Are a-Changin’” by Bob Dylan. Selected because we are changing to a new unit and this is a very famous song about American society changing. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/16/14:
News Brief
Newsflash
Cold War America PowerPoint
Pro/Con: The Bomb

Homework: Missing and/or late work to me by next Wednesday for progress report grades. Read the blog! Next news brief: Cocoro.

News Brief: Nikhil had the news brief today and brought in this developing story: CNN.com - South Korean shipwreck survivors: Passengers told 'don't move' as ship sank. Of course, I asked how this was related to the United States and Nikhil had a great (and correct) reply that the U.S. military was helping with the search for survivors. Here's hoping that more of the missing will be found alive and well.

Newsflash: This is absolutely my favorite way to start a new unit. Good teachers always try and assess where students are at before they teach any specific content (otherwise, we would have no idea if you had actually learned anything or not). If you wanted to see the hilarious "Whose Line is it Anyway?" clip again, here it is:

So awesome. Next, I passed out the "pre-assessment" paper that was geared around going back in time to the Cold War. If you did not know what the Cold War was about, that was fine! Here's the pre-assessment:

Google Drive: The Cold War Pre-Assessment

I enjoyed all the made up news reports! Brr! Many of them seemed to be quite cold in nature!

Cold War America PowerPoint: Next, I started actually teaching the class about the Cold War. If you missed class, or wanted to see the PowerPoint again, here it is (the notes guide is in class - I do not have an electronic copy):

Google Drive: The Cold War and McCarthyism PowerPoint

As I said in class, I really like PowerPoints that are more visual and interactive, so I try to include personal pictures and stories to connect the material with real life. Thank you for all the questions! I am looking forward to diving into the material even more with you.

Pro/Con: The Bomb: One of the slides in the PowerPoint was about the Arms and Space Races between the United States and the Soviet Union. When I asked the class how many atomic weapons had exploded in the world, we had a range from 2 to 80 or so. Here was the video that I showed in class (well, not all of it, but enough to get the point), which gives a visual reference for how many nuclear bombs have been detonated in the world's history:

As anyone can clearly see, there have been quite a lot of nuclear bombs detonated - most of which happened during the "Cold" War as a form of intimidation and power.

To end class, I passed out this reading about the ethics of dropping nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to essentially end World War II. Next class, we will be debating both sides of this issue. Here is the sheet of possible reasons on either side. I would like everyone to come prepared with their top three reasons on either YES or NO, ready to debate next class.

wednet.edu - Was the Atomic Bomb Necessary to Win World War II?

Please be ready to talk about this! Thanks for an enjoyable class. See you next time! :-)

Civil Rights, Day 11 - Class Recap

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Photo taken in 2011.

Dear class,

I hope that you enjoyed your sunny weekend! I know I sure did, especially with being able to go through all of your activist projects! Today is really the last day of the Civil Rights unit. Here's what we did:

Learning Targets Addressed:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.

Soundtrack: “Pride (In the Name of Love)” by U2. Selected for today because the song is about Martin Luther King Jr., who was one of your options to write about in the in-class DBQ. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/14/14:
News Brief
Activist Project Grades
DBQ Write
Make Up Work Time

Homework: Turn in any late/missing work by next Wednesday for progress report grades. Read the blog! Next news brief: Nikhil.

News Brief: Gabby selected this story to talk about today in class: CNN.com - Obama strengthens equal pay protections. There are some pretty frightening statistics involved with equal pay (which is already the law of the land). On average, women make 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes for doing the same work (this has only gone up about 5 cents in 30 years). The President is trying to counter that. Thanks, Gabby!

Activist Project Grades: If you turned in the activist project last class, I graded it and got it back to you today in class. How is that for a quick turnaround? Here is how I broke down the grading rubric for the assignment:

RE.ALT.04: Use evidence

Present evidence = look of poster/brochure, amount of time and effort put into the design and writing sections, slogan

Synthesize specific information = overall message/point and how well it is conveyed

CO.ALT.01: Organize ideas

Transitions effectively/develop the topic thoroughly = spelling, grammar, amount of time and effort put into the writing

CR.ALT.04: Evaluate information 

Conclusion = strategies and recommendations for help section

Clearly analyze and explain strengths and weaknesses = opposition section

Please see me if you are at all confused about the grade you received. Thanks for your hard work on these!

DBQ Write: The rest of the class was for actually writing the five paragraph Document Based Question that we started brainstorming last week. The entire Civil Rights unit was fair game for writing about and using in your essay response to the prompt of: How did social hierarchies lead to the Civil Rights Movement and which method of activism was more efficient for promoting change?

The document packet (which you had to use two sources from) contained perspectives from Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X as to their methods of activism. There were also a lot of other in class materials that you could use to get to your four total sources needed. Thank you for your hard work on this in class! I know this was not the most fun day for many of you. The ability to write a basic essay is so important for your academic success, though!

Make Up Work Time: If you were able to finish the DBQ early, the rest of the time in class was for making up missing and/or late work for me. Please be checking your grade print outs (by student ID) in the room, to stay updated about your current grade as progress reports and the end of the year approaches!

Civil Rights, Day 10 - Class Recap

A few students had projects relating to animal abuse or the environment, which made me think about this picture I took in New Zealand in February. Herding sheep off the road in my rental car was pretty fun!

Dear class,

Thank you so much for your work with the activism project! From what I saw, students really seemed to know their stuff about their topic. Please remember to email me at luke_fritz@beaverton.k12.or.us if you need to turn in your works cited page!

Learning Targets Addressed:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.

Soundtrack: “Applause” by Lady Gaga. Selected for today because I was applauding your effort with the projects! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/10/14:
News Brief
Showcase Showdown
Activist Debrief
DBQ Introduction

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Gabby.

News Brief: Brandon had the news brief today and chose this article to talk about: LATimes.com - Pennsylvania school stabbing: Authorities try to pin down a motive. A frightening story, to say the least. We related it in class to the possibility that bullying may have played a role. Be good to each other and yourselves, in every aspect of your lives, please.

Showcase Showdown: Finally, it was time to talk a little about your project with other students in the class! I handed out a paper that had a table with columns for names, activism topics, why it is important, and if you agreed. One side of the class went over to the other side to interview them, then the second side reversed it. I hope that you enjoyed learning about what everyone was interested in and their projects were interesting! I am excited to look more in depth at them.

Activist Debrief: After the sharing was done, I asked a few questions from the back of the interview sheet about the projects:

1) Which project do you think had the most powerful message? Why?
2) Which project do you think could be the most effective at eliciting change? Why?
3) Which project had the best presentation? Why?

DBQ Introduction: We are at the close of the Civil Rights unit, as of next class. For the final, you will be writing an in-class essay about social hierarchies and the best way to change in regards to equal rights. Today was a brainstorming day in class. If you missed class, then please bring everything from the Civil Rights unit (basically, anything since the Historical Investigation) to class, as it will help you. Basically, you are using 4 documents from the unit (there are 4 in the packet that I gave you as options in class). Those four documents (two have to be from the packet) should be used to construct a five paragraph essay, including a thesis statement in the introduction, three body paragraphs with topic sentences, and a conclusion that has the thesis statement restated again. This assignment will hit four different learning targets! Be prepared to write next class!

Have a great weekend!

Civil Rights, Day 9 - Class Recap

The view over Queenstown, New Zealand. This place was stunningly beautiful and reminded me of the good life that we have when we learn about the world! Photo taken on February 3, 2014.

Hello everyone,

I think we probably could have finished the activism project with one less day of work in class, but at least this way, your projects should be fantastic for Thursday! Here's what we did today.

Learning Targets Addressed:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.

Soundtrack: "Good Life" by OneRepublic. Selected because we are hoping to promote good lives for everyone through this project. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/8/14:
News Brief
Library Time
Finish Activism Projects

Homework: Have the activism project done and ready to show next class. Read the blog! Next news brief: Brandon/Gabby.

News Brief: Jacob was not in class today, so we did not have a news brief before going to the library. I did mention UConn winning the national championship in men's basketball last night, and that the UConn women have a chance to do so as well, tonight!

Library Time: This was the last time in class available to work on the activism project. We used the computers in the library to try and find sources of information for it (remember that you need three total, cited in MLA format on a separate sheet of paper). Hopefully, everyone is feeling good about working on the elements of the project. There is poster paper and printer paper in the room, as well. Please come prepared for next class! You will be expected to share with others, no matter what state your poster or brochure is in.

Finish Activism Projects: I saw some really great examples during class today. I think this could be pretty great, if everyone keeps working hard on finishing it! Let me know if you need help!

See everyone on Thursday, with your finished projects, please!

Civil Rights, Day 8 - Class Recap

This is the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, which is not too far outside of Los Angeles. One of the topics that students have chosen to do an activist project on is climate change. Photo taken in 2008.

Dear students,

Welcome to your weekend! The first week back after Spring Break went by fairly fast, I would have to say. Still so much to do, though! Here's the recap for today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.

Soundtrack: "More Than A Feeling" by Boston. Selected because you should have more than just a feeling about your activist project - you should want to act and do something! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/4/14:
News Brief
Library Research

Homework: Have elements 5+6 done for activism project (everything should be finished for putting together in a brochure or poster next class - the project is due on Thursday). Read the blog! Next news brief: Jacob.

News Brief: Abbey selected this story as the news brief today: CNN.com - Strong storms advance on South, Midwest. A few students are doing activist projects related to the environment and/or climate change, so this might relate!

Library Research: We used the computers in the library to try and find sources of information for the project (remember that you need three total, cited in MLA format on a separate sheet of paper). Hopefully, everyone is feeling good about working on the elements of the project. There is poster paper and printer paper in the room, as well.

Please be sure to work on the activist project over the weekend and come back ready to try and finish it in class on Tuesday. Let me know if you need any help with this at all. Again, this is due in class next Thursday. Thank you! Have a great weekend!

Civil Rights, Day 7 - Class Recap

Something I am passionate about (relating the activist project) is promoting women's soccer, ever since one of my friends in high school played at the University of Portland. This is a photo of the season opening "tifo" display in the crowd last season for the Portland Thorns professional soccer team.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to another class recap! Back in the full swing of things after the break. Here's what we did today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.

Soundtrack: “Comin’ From Where I’m From” by Anthony Hamilton. Selected because your activist project should explain why you are passionate about changing something - coming from where you're from. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 4/2/14:
News Brief
Finish The Differences Between Us
Library Research

Homework: Have elements 3 + 4 (along with 1 + 2) done for your activism project. Read the blog! Next news brief: Abbey.

News Brief: Miles had the news brief today and selected this article: Today.com - More than 20 cases of measles in California due to 'unvaccinated children'. I talked about the supposed link between vaccines and autism, which has been thoroughly debunked, as far as I can tell. Please, get your shots and encourage others to do so! It is awful that children are getting unnecessarily sick and/or dying because of preventable illness.

After the news brief section, I passed back a proficiency grade from the Early Struggles readings. Those are in the gradebook now. Please ask if you are at all confused by what you got and why! I would love to explain in person.

Finish The Differences Between Us: If you missed class, here is the link to watch the part of the Race: The Power of Illusion documentary, titled "The Difference Between Us." MSU.edu - Race: Power of an Illusion.

The film guide that went along with this is here (keep for future reference): Google Drive - The Differences Between Us Film Questions.

I enjoyed our talk after the documentary about it. Like I said, I think it is a pretty powerful way to think about the concept of race - in that biologically, it does not exist, but socially, it has a huge impact on our day to day experience.

Library Research: The rest of the class was devoted to library research on the activism project. I tried to get around to every student to check in about where everyone was at. There were some really great ideas! Remember that you need to have three sources, cited in MLA format. I also want you to propose (you do not actually have to do it) a plan of action of how you might actually be able to help further your cause.

Please let me know if I can help with this process! See you next class!