Extra Credit opportunity

 Here's an extra credit opportunity.

Create a poster for one of the following topics: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, the Byzantine Empire, or Hispanic Heritage (since we're in Hispanic Heritage Month). Your poster should be educational and visually interesting. Just like with the projects, you'll probably do better work if you focus on a more narrow topic. So, rather than trying to make a post on the whole Renaissance, focus on a particular person, particular invention, or particular artwork, etc

You can earn up to 25 points for the educational/informative portion of the poster, and another 25 points for the artistic/visual portion of the poster. So, it's possible to earn up to 50 points. But, 50 points are not guaranteed simply for turning in a poster. The actual points will depend on the quality of your poster.

The poster can be on any size paper or poster board. But, I imagine it would be difficult to do a good job on something as small as 8.5"x11" (regular paper size).

The best posters will be displayed in class.

Posters are due Oct 11th.

Judaism Project 2

 Here is a link to the presentation rubric.

Judaism presentations will be on Tuesday, Sept 7, and Wednesday, Sept 8. 

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SLIDESHOW INSTRUCTIONS: 
If you want to use a PowerPoint, Google Slides, or PDF during your presentation, you can do that. 

• The file must be titled with the last names of group members and the class period. So, if John Doe and Jane Smith in 3rd period have a PowerPoint, the file name should be "Doe and Smith 3rd period.ppt"
• When you send me your slideshow, the the actual file (not just a link to the file) should be emailed to bruce.sabin@gmail.com before school starts on the due date, Tuesday, Sept 8.
• Remember, I do not use this Gmail address for anything other than slideshow submissions, so don't email questions or anything else to that email address. I do not check it regularly. For everything else, use the Polk-FL.net email address. 
• If you don't submit your file before the due date and time, it may not be available for your presentation, and you will still be responsible for presenting. 
• For this project, slideshows must be emailed to me before 7am on Tuesday, Sept 7. If you do not have it submitted by then, it may not be available for your presentation, but you will still be responsible for presenting your information. 
• If you have questions about naming or submitting slideshows, talk to me in class.

If you are using a slideshow of some type (PowerPoint, Google Slides, PDF, etc) your slideshow can have no more than 40 words per slide and no more than 10 slides with substantial text.

The 10 slide limit does not include a title slide or any slides that are primarily one or more pictures that may include a brief title for the picture(s). If you do include pictures, be sure they are helpful and relevant; they should not be used just to take up time or for any other frivolous purpose.  

You should be using the entire class time to work on your projects. If you are in a group and you are not working during class time, then I may:
a) remove you from your group and assign you to work on an individual project, and
b) assign you a new project topic of my choosing.

If you want to be able to work in groups, then your entire group needs to be working and contributing to the project.

So, here are step by step directions to help make all this clear:
1) Create your Google Slides, PowerPoint, or PDF.

2) Give the file the proper file name, with the last names of group members and the class period. 
3) Follow the steps to share the file ("send a copy") to my Gmail, bruce.sabin@gmail.com. If you send it to the Polk Schools address, you will not get an automatic reply. Sometimes the PowerPoint or Google Slides app defaults to sending the file as a PDF. That is fine, but you can choose to send it as a PowerPoint instead. If you need help with this, talk to me during class, or search Google for instructions on sharing a slideshow. 

4) Send your email.
5) Receive an automatic reply email. Keep this email as your proof that an email was sent and received. 
6) Check your sent emails and double-check that the email you sent included an attachment. 

You are NOT required to have a slideshow. If you do not want to use a slideshow, you may use index cards to have brief notes and help you keep on track. I can provide index cards if you're not going to use a slideshow.

 

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Here's an example for how I might tackle this project if I were a student.

• If I was assigned the Babylonian Captivity, I would start googling the Babylonian Captivity.
• I might then find information about when it happened, why it happened, where it happened, who was involved, culture of the Babylonians, biblical stories of the Captivity, archaeological records, etc.
• And maybe then I’d decide to focus on the Cyrus Cylinder, an archaeological record related to the release of the captives.
• Once you’ve got a more precise topic, research that topic, as much as you can.
• Learn as much as you can about the topic.
• Organize the information into logical categories (how it was discovered, what it says, what we can learn about the Persians from it, etc).
• Figure out how you can present the historical information. Develop logical, flowing and focused organization. You might need to narrow down the topic even more.
• Determine why anyone else should care about this topic; explain the historical significance of this issue. Make it interesting.
• Over-prepare for your presentation. Know who is going to speak, and in what order. Practice with a timer.
• Make sure you actually understand what you are saying, and you’re not just copying words from a source. I’ll ask you questions if I think you don’t actually know something. Also, check on pronunciations.

My expectations will vary accordingly with your group size. Consider the concept of “man-hours” when it comes to work.

And remember the Success Criteria checklist:

• We’ve clearly and deeply analyzed and explained historical significance of the topic (why it matters today, especially for people not highly interested).
• We have anticipated questions and are prepared to answer them.
• We understand key vocabulary, can use it properly, and answer questions about it
• We have talked about our presentation with one or more teachers from relevant classes.
• We have used a wide variety of high-quality sources and intentionally looked for divergent viewpoints.
• We have considered what can be generalized and what is specific to a context (time, place, demographic, etc).
• We have practiced the presentation to make sure we’re prepared.  

Groups will have time in class to work on this.

One final point:

Keep in mind that 8-10 minutes isn't actually all that much time if you know your information and have something to say, especially if you're also going to explain the cause and effect relationship (the historical significance) of that information to our present world. Here is a 4-minute video about one particular painting, and here is an almost 6-minute video about the dome on a particular church. Both of those videos are very basic and introductory; there's so much more that could be said of those topics. Crash Course videos are usually 10-15 minutes, and John Green talks too fast. Here's a 15-minute video just on the evolution of black beauty standards. If you can't speak for 8 minutes about a topic, you simply don't know much about that topic. The much more difficult task, when you have a good education on a topic, is distilling down to the most important information and keeping the talk to no more than 10 minutes.

Judaism projects

 Here is a link to the presentation rubric.

Judaism presentations will be on Monday, Aug 30 and Tues, Aug 31. Once you pick a topic, I highly recommend that you talk to me about the topic. I can help you make sure it's a good topic for this presentation. 

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SLIDESHOW INSTRUCTIONS: 
If you want to use a PowerPoint, Google Slides, or PDF during your presentation, the actual file (not just a link to the file) should be emailed to bruce.sabin@gmail.com before school starts on the due date for your class. That means you need to download the actual file to your phone or computer and then attach that file to the email. Put your class period and the last names of group members in your email subject line. Send the email and you will receive an automatic reply. That reply is your receipt. If your file is not emailed before school starts on the due date, it may not be available for your presentation, and you will still be responsible for presenting. For this project, slideshows must be emailed to me before 7am on Monday, Aug 30. If you do not have it submitted by then, it may not be available for your presentation, but you will still be responsible for presenting your information. Also, when you email the slideshow, put the names of your group members and your class period in the subject line. That will ensure it gets saved properly.

If you are using a slideshow of some type (PowerPoint, Google Slides, PDF, etc) your slideshow can have no more than 40 words per slide and no more than 10 slides with substantial text.

The 10 slide limit does not include a title slide or any slides that are primarily one or more pictures that may include a brief title for the picture(s). If you do include pictures, be sure they are helpful and relevant; they should not be used just to take up time or for any other frivolous purpose.  

You should be using the entire class time to work on your projects. If you are in a group and you are not working during class time, then I may:
a) remove you from your group and assign you to work on an individual project, and
b) assign you a new project topic of my choosing.

If you want to be able to work in groups, then your entire group needs to be working and contributing to the project.

So, here are step by step directions to help make all this clear:
1) Create your Google Slides, PowerPoint, or PDF.
2) Download the file to your device
3) Create an email to bruce.sabin@gmail.com. Be sure to use that Gmail address and not the Polk Schools email address. If you send it to the Polk Schools address, you will not get an automatic reply.
4) Put your class period and the last name of group members in the email subject line. If you do not do this, the file will probably not get saved into the right place and it may not be available for you in class. 
5) Attach your file to your email. Attaching a file is better than including a link because the link may or may not work. It is your responsibility to get the file to me.

6) Put the names of your group members and your class period in the subject line. That will ensure it gets saved properly on my computer.
7) Send your email.
8) Receive an automatic reply email. Keep this email as your proof that an email was sent and received. 
9) Check your sent emails and double-check that the email you sent included an attachment. 

You are NOT required to have a slideshow. If you do not want to use a slideshow, you may use index cards to have brief notes and help you keep on track. I can provide index cards if you're not going to use a slideshow.

 
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Your project will combine our current topic of Judaism, as part of our world religions unit, and one of the academy or elective groups.

The academy and elective groups are:

• JROTC (Military Science)
• Agriculture and Animal Science
• Medical and Veterinary
• Law, Business, and Trade
• Technology
• Engineering and Architecture
• Culinary
• Humanities

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Remember my example for how I would tackle this project if I were a student.

• If I was assigned the medical/veterinary group during the time of Ancient Egypt, I would start googling medicine or veterinary care in ancient Egypt.
• I might then find information about endemic diseases, medical treatments, burial rituals, domesticated livestock and pets, etc.
• And maybe then I’d decide to focus on the role of cats in ancient Egypt (it’s big and important).
• Once you’ve got a more precise topic, research that topic, as much as you can.
• Learn as much as you can about the topic.
• Organize the information into logical categories (how cats came to be domesticated in Egypt, what cats were used for, religious significance of cats, etc).
• Figure out how you can present the historical information. Develop logical, flowing and focused organization. You might need to narrow down the topic even more.
• Determine why anyone else should care about this topic; explain the historical significance of this issue. Make it interesting.
• Over-prepare for your presentation. Know who is going to speak, and in what order. Practice with a timer.
• Make sure you actually understand what you are saying, and you’re not just copying words from a source. I’ll ask you questions if I think you don’t actually know something. Also, check on pronunciations.

My expectations will vary accordingly with your group size. Consider the concept of “man-hours” when it comes to work.

And remember the Success Criteria checklist:

• We’ve clearly and deeply analyzed and explained historical significance of the topic (why it matters today, especially for people not highly interested).
• We have anticipated questions and are prepared to answer them.
• We understand key vocabulary, can use it properly, and answer questions about it
• We have talked about our presentation with one or more teachers from relevant classes.
• We have used a wide variety of high-quality sources and intentionally looked for divergent viewpoints.
• We have considered what can be generalized and what is specific to a context (time, place, demographic, etc).
• We have practiced the presentation to make sure we’re prepared.  

Groups will have time in class to work on this.

One final point:

Keep in mind that 8-10 minutes isn't actually all that much time if you know your information and have something to say, especially if you're also going to explain the cause and effect relationship (the historical significance) of that information to our present world. Here is a 4-minute video about one particular painting, and here is an almost 6-minute video about the dome on a particular church. Both of those videos are very basic and introductory; there's so much more that could be said of those topics. Crash Course videos are usually 10-15 minutes, and John Green talks too fast. Here's a 15-minute video just on the evolution of black beauty standards. If you can't speak for 8 minutes about a topic, you simply don't know much about that topic. The much more difficult task, when you have a good education on a topic, is distilling down to the most important information and keeping the talk to no more than 10 minutes.