San Diego Jewish Academy 10th Grade Humanities Connecting with Past Learnings: The Rise of Democratic Ideas

Project Rationale:

We need to know the source of the ideas by which we judge ourselves as a political system and a society. Close attention will be paid to the evolution of democratic principles. We will see that political ideals such as equality, justice under law, and freedom, which we now take for granted, were achieved at a high price, remain vulnerable in the West, and are still not practiced in many parts of the world. Although democratic ideals first emerged in the West, almost every nation pays them at least rhetorical homage. In the present world even tyrants feel it necessary to clothe their regimes in the language of democratic ideas. The broad contemporary appeal of these ideas can be found by examining the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

- excerpted from History Social Science Framework, California Department of Education, 1988.

Abstract:

title (the power of naming things)

clear explanation of how your topic shows the evolution of democratic ideas; include

• historical background of your topic
• key figures and events
• resultant effects

direct quotes from primary source documents

21 copies of your handout for classmates and your most loved favorite teachers of all time and all time to come during presentation.

Works Cited and Writing Standards

MLA Citation Examples by HCC Library
The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style is widely used for identifying research sources.

Group Techniques - shows how to identify skills and roles

How to conduct web research systematically and develop a well supported paper.

Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication (LA L&S 1.3-1.9)

• Choose logical patterns of organization (e.g., chronological, topical, cause and effect) to inform and to persuade, by soliciting agreement or action, or to unite audiences behind a common belief or cause. (1.3)
• Choose appropriate techniques for developing the introduction and conclusion (e.g., by using literary quotations, anecdotes, references to authoritative sources). (1.4)
• Recognize and use elements of classical speech forms (e.g., introduction, first and second transitions, body, conclusion) in formulating rational arguments and applying the art of persuasion and debate. (1.5)
• Present and advance a clear thesis statement and choose appropriate types of proof (e.g., statistics, testimony, specific instances) that meet standard tests for evidence, including credibility, validity, and relevance. (1.6)
• Use props, visual aids, graphs, and electronic media to enhance the appeal and accuracy of presentations. (1.7)
• Produce concise notes for extemporaneous delivery. (1.8)
• Analyze the occasion and the interests of the audience and choose effective verbal and nonverbal techniques (e.g., voice, gestures, eye contact) for presentations. (1.9)

Deliver expository presentations (LA SA 2.2a-f)

• Marshal evidence in support of a thesis and related claims, including information on all relevant perspectives. (2.2a)
• Convey information and ideas from primary and secondary sources accurately and coherently. (2.2b)
• Make distinctions between the relative value and significance of specific data, facts, and ideas. (2.2c)
• Include visual aids by employing appropriate technology to organize and display information on charts, maps, and graphs. (2.2d)
• Anticipate and address the listener's potential misunderstandings, biases, and expectations. 2.2e)
• Use technical terms and notations accurately. (2.3f)

Well-rehearsed and organized

Planned to meet time limit of 20 minutes

PowerPoint/Presentation Tips - http://www.tokitty.com/ppttips.htm - focuses on the creation of the PowerPoint slides.

10 Little-Known, Rarely Discussed, Highly Effective Presentation Techniques by Marjorie Brody at: http://www.powerpointers.com/showarticle.asp?articleid=25

21 Tips For Spellbinding Speeches by Eileen Kugler at: http://www.powerpointers.com/showarticle.asp?articleid=82

PowerPoint Tips - by Doug and some help from assorted friends at: http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/powerpointips

Matan and Neuriel - Ethical Principles of Judaism and Christianity. that have profoundly influenced Western democratic thought, including belief in the dignity and equality of all; the search for social systems that ensure the freedom to make individual moral choice; and the duty of each to work for morally just communities. You may want to consider Genesis Chapters 2-3, Matthew Chapter 5, Saint Ambrose's "The Duties of the Clergy," and St. Benedict's Rules for democracy within a community.

• Adam Institute - http://www.adaminstitute.org.il/programs.htm - good because it talks about democracy and different subjects concerning democracy. - Matan & Neuriel
• Christianity and Democracy - http://www.geocities.com/philip_massey2000/democracy.htm - it discusses in depth what makes democracy possible and the history of it in America. - Matan & Neuriel

Josh and Ben - Significance of the Greek belief in democratic ideas. You may want to consider selections from Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics , selections concerning political life in the city-state of Athens and the influence of Solons, Pericles, and Cleisthenes.

• SparkNotes.com - http://www.sparknotes.com/ - gives basic summaries of books. I typed in Plato's Republic and was able to skim through and found Plato's opinion in about ten minutes, which saved me lots of time. - Josh

Sarah, Ariel, and Aaron - British Influence including Magna Carta, common law, the Parliament, and the English Bill of Rights of 1689. You may also want to consider Oliver Cromwell's influence.

• Oliver Cromwell--An Outline for Term Papers - http://rvl4.ecn.purdue.edu/~cromwell/oliver.html - This site didn't talk too much about Oliver Cromwell's life but did give us information on how he influenced democracy and that was just what we needed. - Ariel
• 1689: The English Bill of Rights - http://www.wwlia.org/uk-billr.htm - Here is another website on the English Bill of Rights of 1689.I found it to have a lot of good information to tell help us. - Sarah, Ariel, and Aaron

Evie and Ilan - Enlightenment Thinkers such as Locke and Rousseau and other Philosophes and their effect on democratic revolutions in England, the United States, France, and Latin America.

• The European Enlightenment - The Philosophes - http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/PHIL.HTM - The European Enlightenment developed in part due to an energetic group of French thinkers who thrived in the middle of the eighteenth century: the philosophes.
• Eighteenth Century Society - The Enlightenment - http://history1700s.about.com/homework/history1700s/library/weekly/aa052897.htm - The website contains a multitude of information covering various topic areas. When reading about the Enlightenment, I was not only provided with many facts about the event, but I was provided with the effects of the Enlightenment as well. Aside from getting information from the specific site, I was directed to other sources regarding the same topic. - Evie

Jacob and Mike - American Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Please consider Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

• USA: Biography of Thomas Jefferson - http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/about/jeffersonxx.htm - I really like this site because, it not only gives you information on Thomas Jefferson, it offers you links to things like: Ben Franklin, John Adams, the founding fathers, etc... Hope you like it. - Jacob

Alyssa and Jordan - American Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Please consider Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

• As I was doing research for the essay I came across this website. I found it so interesting I thought you might enjoy it. PBS: Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony - http://www.pbs.org/stantonanthony/movement/index.html. It gave me great information. even after I got the information I needed I wanted to see the rest of it. Enjoy! Alyssa
• U.S. Constitutionbottom - http://www.unitedstates-on-line.com/constitutionfacts.htm - Jordan

Scott and Lauren - United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• UN CyberSchoolBus Ruman Rights module - http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/humanrights/index.html - this site was especially helpful because it had stories of kids and teachers of their human rights being violated and questions and answers that helped to explain the details of the un declaration of human rights. - Scott

Hirsch and David - New Democratic Upheavals and the influence of American democratic ideals on other nations. Solidarity in Poland (Walesa), USSR break-up (Gorbchev and Yeltsin), the Berlin Wall (Kohl), and South Africa (Mandela)

• Germany since reunification - http://www.intellectbooks.com/europa/number3/blacksel.htm - this is a good site for backround info on our topic, it helped us understand German reunification. - Hirsch and David

Ronn and Andreas - New Democratic Upheavals and the influence of American democratic ideals on other nations. Solidarity in Poland (Walesa), USSR break-up (Gorbchev and Yeltsin), the Berlin Wall (Kohl), and South Africa (Mandela)

• Encyclopedia Britannica - http://www.britannica.com - It gives very organized and informative facts. Not only does it search Encyclopedia Britannica, but also magazines and other websites. Ronn and Andreas

Please email your response to either mtnjuice@aol.com or mrdoug@aznet.net no later than Tuesday, December 19th at 11:59 pm.

Use the PowerPoint presentations, group abstracts, your notes from the readings, and other sources at your disposal.

Imagine you have access to a time portal. Yes, a time portal where you may go to three different periods of democratic explosion. Hint: the presentations provided an overview of seven such explosions. Pick three. Describe what you see. Your description may take the form of a: short story, series of postcards, narrative among characters from each period, a (fill in the __________).

Regardless of the format, show a clear connection of how your three topics combine to support the evolution of democratic ideas.

Make sure you include:

• historical background of each topic
• key figures and events
• resultant effects

Be creative.

Show and support what you know.

Cooperative Learning - Team Expectations - Some of the common fears about working with groups include student fears that each member will not pull their weight as a part of the group. Students are scared that their grade will be lower as a result of the group learning vs. learning they do individually. One way to address this issue is to use a group activity to allow the group to outline acceptable group behavior. Put together a form and ask groups to first list behaviors (expectations) they expect from each individual, each pair and as a group as a whole. Groups then can use this as a way to monitor individual contributions to the group and as a way to evaluate group participation. (NOTE: This content is taken from materials presented at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Instructional Excellence Retreat, May 1996. Barbara J. Millis, PhD, Associate Director for Faculty Development, United States Air Force Academy, Facilitator)

Step one - Searching for content

• Generate list of key search words - general to specific.
• Select a search engine. (Google loads the quickest)
  • AOL NetFind - http://www.aol.com/netfind/
  • AltaVista - http://www.altavista.com
  • Dogpile - http://www.dogpile.com/
  • Excite - http://www.excite.com/Info/
  • Google - http://www.google.com
  • InfoSeek - http://infoseek.go.com/
  • Lycos - http://www.lycos.com/
  • Snap - http://www.snap.com/
    Mama feels this site is a must visit for information on Arts and Humanities.
  • Webcrawler - http://www.webcrawler.com/
  • Yahoo - http://www.yahoo.com/
• Go through list of links (read descriptions and select best possibilities.
• Go to first viable link.
• Skim for content and source (credibility - educational, commercial, or crackpot site).
• If nothing go back to search engine list of links.
• If it looks promising, add link to "favorites" list.
• Print the web page.
• Save as a text file (go to File menu and you'll see the text option in the pop-up menu at the bottom of the directory).
• Copy the url
• Open the text document and paste the url at the top of the document, then save the file.
• Go back to the search page and continue the same process until you have amassed enough solid content or you've run out of time.

Step two - Sorting content | Top

• Select and open text file generated by search.
• Skim for usable content and quotes.
• Highlight or boldface and enlarge any content that looks like it may be usable.
• Print the text file after you've highlighted relevant information.
• Go to the next test file and do the same as above.

Step three - Starting draft

• If you have not already created an outline, do so.
• Dump the highlighted text from each file into the outline.
  Make sure to copy the url with each highlighted block of text.
• Sort through outline and look for highlighted text that would work as quotes and text that needs to be paraphrased.
  Make sure the url follows each block of text.
• Lose what doesn't work as supporting evidence.
  Make sure you save the outline with all of the text just in case you may need it later.
• Start the Works Cited page.

Step four - Revision and editing

• Make sure you get plenty of credible feedback.
• One True Sentence
• Show, Not Tell
• Using Quotes
• Quotes - tons of them
• Works Cited and Writing Style Guides - shows an example of a Works Cited listing and provides links to several writing style guides such as MLA and APA.