Castro - Foreign and Domestic Policies

Agenda 10/28 - 10/30:

1. Students learn about the Bay of Pigs Invasion, focusing on how it consolidated Castro's power and popularity.
2. Students learned about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
3. Students read from the Pearson text. They focused on Castro's social policies towards women, education, the arts, and religious and minority groups.
4. Students looked at Castro's evolution into communism and his treatment of the opposition when in power.

HOMEWORK:

Castro Quiz - Friday 11/7

Early Reforms in Castro's Cuba

Agenda 10/24:

1. Students read from Pearson chapter 3. They made a list of reasons that the rebels won the war against Batista.
2. Next students read the section about reforms in Cuba from the Agrarian reform of 1960 to the Special period of 1991. They organized these events on a spectrum, evaluating shifts between capitalism and communism.
3. Students read two documents illustrating Castro's shifts in policy.

History Will Absolve Me

Agenda 10/20:

1. Students continued working with Fidel Castro's speech History Will Absolve Me. They identified societal problems and solutions Castro presented in the speech.
2. Students drew maps of Cuba, labeling: Sierra Maestra, Havana, Bay of Pigs, Guantanamo Bay, Santa Clara, and Yaguajay.

Castro - "History Will Absolve Me"

Agenda 10/17:

1. Students discussed the armed revolution and under what circumstances it could be justified. They also discussed American society and whether revolution in this country would be possible.
2. Students watched a short clip from the film Fidel, focusing on the conditions in Cuba prior to the revolution. [below]
3. Students read Fidel Castro's speech History Will Absolve Me, highlighting the conditions which Cubans lived under.

HOMEWORK:

Pearson Chapter 3, Sections 1 and 2 (pgs. 53-66) - DUE - Monday 10/20

Fidel. Watch the first 18 minutes.

Castro and Cuba

Agenda 10/15:

1. Students took the unit quiz over Mao and China
2. Students began reading the first section of chapter 3 in the Pearson text (pgs.53-65). They began to take notes using this sheet.
3. Students participated in a Socratic discussion about the US trade embargo on Cuba. They used this information to base their discussion.

Mao Review

Agenda 10/13:

1. Students completed their propaganda posters depicting the reality of life under Mao.
2. Students watch a short film reviewing major events of Mao's leadership.

HOMEWORK:

Mao QUIZ - Wednesday 10/15 - Prompts below

Prompts for Mao quiz. You will need to answer two of the following questions:

• By what methods, and with what success did Mao Zedong try to eliminate domestic opposition?
• Examine the successes and failures of Mao Zedong’s economic policies.
• Examine the successes and failures of Mao Zedong’s domestic policies.
• In what was Mao Zedong able to create a cult of personality?
• Discuss the conditions that produced the Chinese Communist Party and the leadership of Mao Zedong.

Towards the Cultural Revolution

Agenda 10/6:

1. Students reviewed the reading from the previous class on the Great Leap Forward. They took notes on Mao's Words vs. People's Realities. Students then discussed how the book assessed four major events: Infrastructure projects, "The Four Pests", Steelmaking, and Communes.
2. Students were introduced to the Cultural Revolution by working on quotes in the style of Mao about the United States. 

Mao and The Great Leap Forward

Agenda 10/3:

1. Students learned about the protests in Hong Kong, noting the still powerful influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
2. Students read excerpts from the book Mao: The Unknown Story about Mao and the Great Leap Forward. They compared Mao's words to the realities of the situation at that time. Students read pages 322-327 and 418-431.

Chinese Propaganda

Agenda 10/1:

1. Students analyzed a series of propaganda documents focusing on leadership, revolution, cult of personality, and society. They discussed the composition, symbolism, meanings, and effectiveness of the posters.
2. Students began working on posters that reflected truer representations of life in Communist China. These posters were done in the style of Chinese propaganda.

China 1911-1949

Agenda 9/26:

Students watched a film covering the years of instability in China from 1927-1949. Students focused on the relationship between the Guomindang and the Communist Party. Students began watching the film at 20:00. As they watched, students took notes about the GMD, the CPC, and people living in China.

China and Mao

Agenda 9/24:

1. Students took a quiz over the sub-unit on Stalin.
2. Students read pages 142-156 in the Pearson text, learning about Mao Zedong's rise to power and the pre-existing conditions in China.
3. I briefly summarized the end of the Qing Dynasty, discussing the Opium Wars, Boxer Rebellion, and Open Door Policy.
4. Students also watched a short, fast, and humorous look at China throughout the 20th Century. [below]

HOMEWORK:

Read 142-156 in Pearson text - DUE Friday 9/26

Crash Course: Chinese Revolutions:

Stalin's Leadership: Review

Today students reviewed terms from the unit on Stalin and the USSR.

On Wednesday there will be a quiz over this unit. Students will be expected to answer two of the following questions at random. Students will also be expected to analyze and interpret a historical document.

Quiz Questions:

• What was the historical context of Stalin’s struggle for power? What were the key stages of the power struggle?
• How did the Great Purge, 1936–39, help establish Stalin’s power?
• What were the main features of collectivisation and the Five-Year Plans?
• What was the position of women in Stalin’s Russia?
• Explain why Stalin was able to defeat his main opponents and succeed in the power struggle by 1929.
• Assess the successes and failures of Stalin’s domestic policies.
• Assess the impacts of Stalin’s social and cultural policies up to 1941. 

Women in the USSR II

Agenda 9/19:

1. Students reviewed several documents explaining changes in women's lives after the Communist revolution.
2. Students typed a group essay analyzing and evaluating the documents. 

Women in the USSR

Agenda 9/17:

1. Students learned about the women's role in the USSR. They looked at a series of documents, analyzing them for bias and propaganda but also for information on changing roles for women.

Stalin and The Great Terror

Agenda 9/15:

1. Students reviewed the previous lesson about terror and purges during Stalin's dictatorship.
2. Students read a excerpt from a book about the Great Terror.
3. They looked at a series of documents illustrating life in a totalitarian state.

Stalin Consolidates Power

Agenda 9/12:

1. Students reviewed the political structure of The USSR.
2. Students watched a clip from a film about Stalin and listened to a podcast, taking notes about Stalin's actions and attitudes.
3. Students participated in a simulation meant to explain the state of paranoia and fear created by Stalin during the Great Purge. While they took a quiz students accused other students, rightfully or not, of cheating. Students accused of cheating were sent out of the room.
4. Students reviewed the purge, reading pages 122-124 in the Pearson text.

Machiavelli and Stalin

Today students learned about styles of leadership, drawing comparisons between Machiavelli and Stalin. Students furthered this study by looking a a series of quote by Stalin. Time permitting, students began looking at the rise of the communists in Russia under Tsar Nicholas and Stalin's consolidation of power.

HOMEWORK:

• Test corrections - Make up points by defining each vocabulary work you missed and using it in a sentence. Make up points on the short answer by re-answering them using relevant vocabulary. Due ASAP.
• Bring Pearson with you to class until further notice.

Welcome to IB 20th Century World History

Agenda for the first week:

1. Names and introductions
2. Students thought about history and learned different schools of thought from which history is written.

What is History:

Historical Dialectic:

Test

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