Internal Assessment

Last class I covered the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. I also introduced the Internal Assessment. We will be working on the IA over the next several classes. Below are some resources to help you research your topic and write your paper.

Full Project Description
One Page Quick Reference Guide
Old IB Prompts = Possible Research Topics

OPCVL Worksheet - Use in section A

IA Samples with Examiner Marks and Comments
IB Command Terms (include in Research Question)

QUIZ: Castro

• "The main reason Castro came to power in 1959 was because of Batista's mistakes." To what extent do you agree?
• Examine two of Castro's social policies.
• Using specific examples, explain the shifts in Cuba economic policies through time. Include a discussion of Communist and Capitalist economic systems.
• Evaluate the methods Castro used to maintain power. Include foreign and domestic affairs.
• Explain the cause, course, and consequences of either The Bay of Pigs Invasion or Cuban Missile Crisis.

Castro

Agenda 11/29-12/5:

1. Students read excerpts by Eduardo Galeano about the Cuban Revolution.
2. Students read from Pearson and watched several film clips, contrasting Rebel Strengths and Batista's Weaknesses. Students determined why the rebels won.
3. Students read excerpts from Castro's famous, History Will Absolve Me speech. They looked for problems identified and solutions proposed in the document.
4. Students used the IB OPCVL protocol to analyze the speech.
5. Students took a vocab quiz over Castro.
6. Students read pages 75-80 in Pearson, taking notes about shifts in Cuban economic policy under Castro from free market to command economy reforms.

Introduction to Castro

Agenda:

1. Students were given the vocabulary list for the unit on Castro.
2. Students read about Cuba before the revolution. The read an article and contrasted how Americans saw Cuba from the outside versus how Cubans saw it from the inside.
3. Students participated in a mixer, learning about a variety of individuals involved in the Cuban Revolution.
4. Students watched a clip from the documentary Fidel Castro [below - watch first 20 minutes]

DUE:

Read Chapter 3.1 in Pearson

Fidel Castro:

Mao Quiz

There will be a quiz over our unit on Mao. Tentatively, the quiz is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 15. You will answer TWO of the following prompts, giving to you randomly in addition to a document-based question.

• Discuss the conditions that produced the Chinese Communist Party and the leadership of Mao Zedong.
• Examine the successes and failures of ONE of Mao Zedong’s economic policies.
• In what ways did Mao try to use education to support his regime?
• By what methods, and with what success did Mao Zedong try to eliminate domestic opposition?

DUE: Mao Domestic Policy Creative Interpretation

Mao: Domestic Policies

Last week students learned about two of Mao's major domestic policies: The Antis Campaign and the 100 Flowers campaign. Students read a series of excerpts from Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang. See me if you need a reading.

Students also took a vocabulary quiz over terms for the unit on Mao. Students were given an assignment to creatively research one of Mao's domestic policies in greater detail.

Agenda 10/31:

1. Student discussion of reading about the Antis campaigns and the excesses of Mao.
2. Students read a series of sources about the Cultural Revolution [see below]. They started with an excerpt from Red Azalea by Anchee Min. In pairs they wrote a short dialogue focusing on one part of the excerpt.

DUE: Domestic Policies Creative Research 11/2

The 100 Flowers and Antis Campaigns:

The Cultural Revolution:

Mao: The Commune and Great Leap Forward

Agenda 10/18-20:

1. Students participated in a simulation of the collectivization of agriculture led by Mao.
2. Students listened to a podcast and took drawing notes about life in China during this period - inside and out of the commune.

The Great Leap Forward:

Mao: The Commune and Great Leap Forward

Agenda 10/18:

1. Students participated in a simulation of the collectivization of agriculture led by Mao.
2. Students listened to a podcast and took drawing notes about life in China during this period - inside and out of the commune.

The Great Leap Forward:

Pre-Revolution Conditions in China

Agenda 10/12:

1. Students reviewed the reading questions from 5.1 in the Pearson text [below]. These answers can be turned in for credit.

• What was Mao’s background and why is it significant?
• What was happening in China between the fall of the Qing dynasty and 1928?
• The CPC and the GMD fought both as allies, in a “marriage of convenience” and as enemies. Identify reasons for and explain the shifting relationship from the 1920s until the Communist victory in 1949.
• Make a t-chart. Title it “GMD weaknesses | CPC Strengths”. Complete the chart considering events from the Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War.

1. Students looked at the sample IB essay with examiner notes on page 155 of Pearson.
2. I reviewed major strengths and weaknesses of the Communists (CPC) and Nationalists (GMD).

DUE:

Great Terror / Show Trial Creative Interpretations

Stalin Quiz and Intro to Mao

Agenda 10/10:

1. Students took the quiz over Stalin.
2. Students read Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 denunciation of Stalin's purges and cult of personality.
3. I gave a brief lecture on China before the era of the Communist Revolution (Pearson 5.1).

Stalin: WWII

Agenda 9/22-25:

1. I reviewed the Great Terror and explanations for the Purges including: 
• Necessary to deal with anti-Bolshevik threat
• Done to divert attention from failings of economic plans (later 5 years plans)
• Done to root out opposition to his power
• Pacify the population
2. Students listened to a podcast about Stalin and took notes using this worksheet.
3. Students watched parts of Declassified: Stalin [below].
4. I gave a brief lecture about the involvement of the USSR in WWII (this can be found in Pearson 4.4).
5. Students read a speech given by Nikita Khrushchev condemning Stalin. Students then analyzed the document using an OPCVL protocol.

DUE:

Great Terror: Show Your Knowledge - Now
Quiz - Monday 10/2

Declassified: Stalin

Podcast:

Stalin: Domestic Policies and the Great Terror

Agenda 9/30:

1. Students finished presenting about different domestic policies under Stalin. They used Pearson chpater 4.2 for this.
2. Students completed a reading and discussion about the Great Terror and discussed the question, "Stalin orchestrated the purges to make the USSR stronger."

DUE: Stalin QUIZ - Thursday 10/6

The Great Terror:

Stalin QUIZ

There will be a quiz over Stalin next Thursday 10/6. You will answer TWO of the following prompts at random.

• What was the historical context of Stalin’s struggle for power? What were the key stages of the power struggle?
• What were the main features of collectivization and the Five-Year Plans?
• How did the Great Purge, 1936–39, help establish Stalin’s power?
• Explain Stalin’s domestic policies regarding two social groups. Women, Religion, Arts and Culture, or Education.

Stalin: Domestic Policies

Students continued learning about domestic policies under Stalin. They made posters and shared their answers. After, they participated in a simulation of terror and show trials in the Soviet Union.

DUE: 
Read Pearson, 4.3

Stalin: Domestic Policies

Agenda 9/26:

1. Students reviewed the documents about collectivization and discussed the resolution, "Stalin deliberately starved to death millions of Ukrainians".
2. Students watched a clip of video explaining the effects of collectivization [watch from 8:35 to 22:00].
3. Students began reading from Pearson about major domestic policies under Stalin: 5 year plans, women, religion, art and culture, and education and social mobility. In groups they made posters to present their findings.  

Stalin: Consolidation of Power

Agenda 9/22:

1. Students drew diagrams of the structure of the Soviet Government and Politburo in the 1920s. I explained how Stalin used his position as the General Secretary of the Communist Party to influence leadership of the country. This was a review of 4.1 in the Pearson text.
2. Students analyzed a series of documents about collectivization under Stalin and its effects on the Ukrainian population.

Stalin: Introduction

Agenda 9/20:

1. Students reviewed the previous lesson about the Russian Revolution [below]
2. Students took a vocabulary quiz over terms from the Stalin unit.
3. Students read a series of quotes attributed to Stalin.
4. Students participated in a mixer, learning about people affected by Stalin and his actions as leader of the Soviet Union.

DUE: Read Chapter 4.1 in Pearson

Conditions that Produced Authoritarian States: The Russian Revolution

Students finished presenting about authoritarian/single party state case studies. Students took notes and highlighted themes across the different countries.

After, students began to hear a lecture about the Russian Revolution [below]. Here are my notes from the lecture.

DUE: 
Read chapter 4.1 in Pearson

Intro to Authoritarian and Single Party States

Agenda 9/12:

Students worked in groups, researching and presenting different case studies of authoritarian and single party states. They used the IB unit objectives to structure their research and presentation:

• Conditions that produced authoritarian and single-party states
• Emergence of leaders: aims, ideology, support
• Establishment of authoritarian and single-party states: methods, force, legal
• Forms of authoritarian and single-party governments, left and right wing ideology
• Nature, extent, and treatment of opposition 

Students chose one of these case studies:

• North Korea - 1948 until present
• North Vietnam - 1945-1976
• Argentina - 1970s-1983
• Italy - Benito Mussolini 1922-1943
• Spain - Francisco Franco 1936-1975
• Uganda - Idi Amin 1971-1979
• Cambodia - Pol Pot 1975-1979
• Iraq - Saddam Hussein 1979-2003

DUE: 

Read section 4.1 in Pearson (pgs. 97-108) - Friday 9/17

Define Stalin Vocab and prepare for VOCAB QUIZ - Monday 9/20

Welcome to IB 20th Century History

Welcome to the class blog for IB 20th Century World History. Make sure to bookmark this page as it will be a helpful resource for your throughout the year.

First Week Agenda:

1. Learning people's names
2. Political Spectrum Test
3. Intro to Fascism vs. Communism
4. Course Syllabus
5. Learning about "isms" - Collectivism, Individualism, Socialism, Capitalism, Equality, Freedom, Totalitarianism, Democracy.