It’s a sad state for the Governor’s race in Illinois. With all of the attach ads it’s tough to find something likeable about either candidate. With the election only one week away, NBC 5 has pretty much called it for Blagojevich. While it seems likely, I can’t believe that Topinka is the best challenger against Blago.
There was an article about third party candidates on NPR this morning, and although the idea is tempting, I can’t really agree with many of the third-party candidates’ stands on issues.
So what’s a voter to do?
We’ll have mock elections on Tuesday, so be ready to vote.
From WMAQ-TV
5:20 p.m. CST October 30, 2006
CHICAGO - A new poll gives Gov. Rod Blagojevich a nine-point lead over Judy Baar Topinka, but shows that many people simply don't like either option. The St. Louis Post Dispatch finds 47 percent of likely votes support Blagojevich, while 38 percent support Republican challenger Topinka.
Fifty-seven percent have an unfavorable view of Blagojevich and 58 of Topinka.
You can read the whole article here. The photo is also from WMAQ. [Maybe I'll put it up later. Blogger doesn't seem to be letting me upload images right now.]
Monday, October 30, 2006
Chapter 25 Test Review
Here are the terms, names and questions for the 1920s test. The test will be 11/1 or 11/2.
Terms and Names to Know
Al Capone
Amelia Earhart
Assembly line
Charles Lindbergh
Flapper
Harlem Renaissance
Installment buying
Jazz
Mass media
Organized crime
Popular culture
Prohibition
Prosperity
Suffrage
Wages
Questions
What were two names for the decade of the 1920s and why?
What development in the 20s was most responsible for the spread of the Ku Klux Klan outside of the South?
What technologies helped the boom in popularity of sports in the 20s?
Why were more Americans able to buy cars in the 1920s than ever before?
Which developments in the 1920s added to prosperity?
How was American society transformed in the 1920s?
What were four major changes in the 1920s?
What were three major reactions to change in the 1920s?
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Web Quest IV: Classzone.com
Don't forget about the textbook website, classzone.com. Chick here to go to the chapter about the Roaring Twenties.
There are links, some fun vocabulary activities, and a short quiz.
WebQuest III: Wikipedia
“Welcome to Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia that anyone can change.”
Great, an encyclopedia that everyone can use and change for free. Wait a minute. That sounds good but what are some of the potential problems?
Brainstorm and discuss this with your partner. Come up with two good things about Wikipedia and two possible bad things about it. Check out this page about WWI if you need some ideas.
Did you know that there’s a simple English language version of Wikipedia? If you have trouble dealing with all of the information on the entries, than this version might be for you. Check out there WWI page here to compare.
Apparently the founder of Wikipedia is going to try to improve the encyclopedia. You can read more about that here. And there are some other articles here.
WebQuest II: 1920s & 1930s Fashion
20s & 30s Day is just around the corner: Friday, October 27th. You’ve read the handout; now check out some era fashions on the web.
You can use the search terms that we came up with in class. If you find good sites you can post them for us in comment section or let me know in class.
A good site that I found was Fashion Era
These sites are also good as well:
(The first two are actually pages of links to lots of sites. Especially check out the “Chicago Exhibition” listed under history on the 20s site.)
http://www.wtps.org/WTHS/imc/Teacher_Assignment/social_studies/mcfadden%20the%2020s.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/Print/printindex.html
There's also some fun cultural items here:
http://www.crazyfads.com/20s.htm
This activity should take no more that 15 to 20 minutes.
North Korea
For those of you who missed class when we talked about North Korea and watched the video, here's the link to the Oprah site (yes, I know, that Oprah). It was a very engaging segment.
This will also help you to write your paragraph on what life in North Korea.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Letter from Bolivia
My Cousin Joy is in Bolivia with the Peace Corps. She’s up to a lot of interesting things, including this recycling program. If you’d like to donate, see me in class.
Hi friends and family,
Spring Greetings from Bolivia! I’m now into my 22st
month of service in Bolivia, which doesn’t seem
possible. I just got back to Vallegrande after
traveling around Bolivia for two fabulous,
action-packed weeks with one my best friend from
college who came down to visit me. (The pictures will
be up soon!) Amazingly, we only ran into one road
blockade (though dynamite was used...), and had two
flat tires---definitely a record for Bolivia!
Each Peace Corps Volunteer has an opportunity to help
direct a small community project, which many times are
financed from out-of-country funds. Through Peace
Corps Partnership, friends and family back home have
an opportunity to make a connection to Peace
Corps-served communities around the world by donating
to volunteer projects.
As most of you all know, my primary project is the
recycling and environmental club at the boy’s
orphanage. More than half of the boys who reside at
the orphanage Hogar Jesus Infante in Vallegrande
participate in the orphanage’s paper recycling and
environmental club. In addition to bi-weekly
environmental activities, the boys collect, sort and
bag paper that would otherwise be thrown into the
municipal dump, and send it to Santa Cruz City. A
company in Santa Cruz City buys the paper from the
orphanage and recycles it into new paper products.
As part of the recycling project, a field trip to the
nearby town of Samaipata has been planned for the end
of the school year (November 2006). The field trip
will be partially funded with revenue generated from
selling the collected paper. Twenty boys and three
orphanage employees will partake in the field trip.
The field trip will allow the boys to paint the ¨big
picture¨ view of how
recycling contributes to environmental conservation by
learning about the local flora, fauna and the cultural
riches of the area. Additionally, since the recycling
project aims to teach the boys new job skills, the
boys will have an opportunity to explore future career
options as park guides and in tourism.
Three hours from Vallegrande, Samaipata is an ideal
destination for the field trip because of its access
to natural and cultural sites. The field trip will be
a total of four days. The boys will visit Amboro
National Park, Las Cuevas waterfalls, the museum and
UNESCO World Heritage site of El Fuerte and an animal
rehabilitation refuge.
The participating boys will have an opportunity learn
about:
• the fauna and flora of the area and the “big
picture” view of how recycling contributes to
environmental conservation
• the cultural riches of the area
• future career options in tourism and as park guides
Because the majority of the boys hail from humble
families of the countryside, a field trip of this sort
would never be possible.
By selling our two metric tons of paper (!!), we hope
to earn around $100. The total project cost is $545,
so we are looking to raise at least $365 by October
31, 2006.
Thank you for all your support!
Love,
Joy
Hi friends and family,
Spring Greetings from Bolivia! I’m now into my 22st
month of service in Bolivia, which doesn’t seem
possible. I just got back to Vallegrande after
traveling around Bolivia for two fabulous,
action-packed weeks with one my best friend from
college who came down to visit me. (The pictures will
be up soon!) Amazingly, we only ran into one road
blockade (though dynamite was used...), and had two
flat tires---definitely a record for Bolivia!
Each Peace Corps Volunteer has an opportunity to help
direct a small community project, which many times are
financed from out-of-country funds. Through Peace
Corps Partnership, friends and family back home have
an opportunity to make a connection to Peace
Corps-served communities around the world by donating
to volunteer projects.
As most of you all know, my primary project is the
recycling and environmental club at the boy’s
orphanage. More than half of the boys who reside at
the orphanage Hogar Jesus Infante in Vallegrande
participate in the orphanage’s paper recycling and
environmental club. In addition to bi-weekly
environmental activities, the boys collect, sort and
bag paper that would otherwise be thrown into the
municipal dump, and send it to Santa Cruz City. A
company in Santa Cruz City buys the paper from the
orphanage and recycles it into new paper products.
As part of the recycling project, a field trip to the
nearby town of Samaipata has been planned for the end
of the school year (November 2006). The field trip
will be partially funded with revenue generated from
selling the collected paper. Twenty boys and three
orphanage employees will partake in the field trip.
The field trip will allow the boys to paint the ¨big
picture¨ view of how
recycling contributes to environmental conservation by
learning about the local flora, fauna and the cultural
riches of the area. Additionally, since the recycling
project aims to teach the boys new job skills, the
boys will have an opportunity to explore future career
options as park guides and in tourism.
Three hours from Vallegrande, Samaipata is an ideal
destination for the field trip because of its access
to natural and cultural sites. The field trip will be
a total of four days. The boys will visit Amboro
National Park, Las Cuevas waterfalls, the museum and
UNESCO World Heritage site of El Fuerte and an animal
rehabilitation refuge.
The participating boys will have an opportunity learn
about:
• the fauna and flora of the area and the “big
picture” view of how recycling contributes to
environmental conservation
• the cultural riches of the area
• future career options in tourism and as park guides
Because the majority of the boys hail from humble
families of the countryside, a field trip of this sort
would never be possible.
By selling our two metric tons of paper (!!), we hope
to earn around $100. The total project cost is $545,
so we are looking to raise at least $365 by October
31, 2006.
Thank you for all your support!
Love,
Joy
Virtual Time Capsule
I just found out about Yahoo’s virtual time capsule. You can read more about it here. It’s really fascinating to look at what images, text, video, and so on that people have included. I’m also surprised at the amount of Spanish language postings as well as other non-American posting.
It’s very cool and well worth a look.
Political Cartoon Roundup
I haven’t been blogging for a while but that doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been a lot going on in the world.
North Korea just tested its first nuclear device, it’s been a horrible month in Iraq and we’re approaching 3,000 U.S. troops dead and over 45,000 Iraqi civilians (or 600,000 depending on who is estimating).
There’s also been the Mark Foley scandal in Washington, highlighting the need for young people to be cautious in their contact with adults, even ones that are in important, respected positions. The scandal has also dragged down other politicians, including Illinois Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
Here’s a sampling of a few political cartoons on recent events. There mostly from Daryl Cagle’s site, which you can find in my link section.
North Korea just tested its first nuclear device, it’s been a horrible month in Iraq and we’re approaching 3,000 U.S. troops dead and over 45,000 Iraqi civilians (or 600,000 depending on who is estimating).
There’s also been the Mark Foley scandal in Washington, highlighting the need for young people to be cautious in their contact with adults, even ones that are in important, respected positions. The scandal has also dragged down other politicians, including Illinois Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
Here’s a sampling of a few political cartoons on recent events. There mostly from Daryl Cagle’s site, which you can find in my link section.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Blagojevich, Topinka To Square Off In Anticipated Debate
Things are really heating up for the governor's race to be held this November. It feels like this debate is happening a little early, but bring it on.
With so much negative campaigning on both sides, I'm interested to see if either of the candidates will have anything of substance to say or just sling mud the whole time.
The debate will be Monday, 10/9.
Wow, I was actually 10/2. That shows you how out of it I am. You can read about the debate here and I may be posting about it in the future.