Comic Stripping and Current Event Google Mapping

Life of Buddha Comic Strip  Today is the last class day to work on your Life of Buddha Comic Strip, which is due this Friday, March 4. If you don't finish in class today, you will need to finish for homework. Please let me know what resources you need to complete your project.

CNN Student News and Google Mapping  As we watch CNN Student News today, identify one or two news stories that you can pinpoint geographically and place on the Current Event layer of your Social Studies World Map via Google Maps. 

Syria; Lebanon; South Carolina; and California were all featured in today's segment. After pinning at least one of these places on your map, consider the most important question: What happened here? You should include a title for the event, the date(s) the event took place, a brief summary of what happened, and include an appropriate photo or video. If you need to refer to a transcript of today's broadcast you can find it here.

The Life of Buddha Comic Strip Project

Mr. McGinty's first attempt at creating a digital comic strip panel using ToonDoo.

Today's Learning Objective  Know the life and moral teachings of the Buddha. 

The Life Buddha Comic Strip Project  Today you will begin working on creating a comic strip of focused on the Buddha, as a way of demonstrating what you have learned so far about his life and teachings. Before you can begin working on your comic strip, however, you must complete your Buddha Comic Strip Story Board, which is located in your Social Studies Google Classroom. Once you have your comic planned out, you have a choice of whether to create a comic strip digitally using ToonDoo or drawing and designing one in the classic style using paper and colored pencils and markers. However, due to this technical issues that many of you were experiencing with TooDoo yesterday, I am going to strongly recommend that you design your comic strip by hand.

Whether you creating your comic digitally or classically with paper, you still must follow the same basic guidelines. The Life of Buddha Comic Strip Rubric (which can also be found in your Social Studies Google Classroom) explains the various criteria you must meet in order for your comic to be considered 'Proficient' work. 

Below you can find an example panel of a student who chose to make his comic by hand.

An example of a hand-drawn comic strip panel.

Whether you are doing your comic by hand or digitally, please let me know how I can support you. A completed 'Life of Buddha Comic Strip' will be due on Friday, March 4.

The Life of Buddha Meets a Comic Strip

Can you demonstrate what you have learned about the story of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha) 
by encapsulating his life in a comic strip, like famed cartoonist and animator Osamu Tezuka did above?

Today's Learning Objective  Know the life and moral teachings of the Buddha. 

The Life of Buddha: Examining Multiple Sources  Today we will finish learning about the life of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha) and how Buddhism originated. We will continue examining Buddha's life from multiple sources, including 'The Story of Buddha" created by the site buddha.net which you can find here, excerpts from our Social Studies Ancient Civilizations workbook posted on yesterday's Blog, and parts of the movie Little Buddha, all while recording and synthesizing key events from his life using the document Important Events in the Life of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha). 

Introducing the Comic Strip  Many of you are familiar with comics and comic books, which generally feature a story told a series of panels which include illustrations and dialogue. See an example of the classic "Garfield" comic strip below.

I would like you to create a comic strip of your own focused on the Buddha, as a way of demonstrating what you have learned so far about his life and teachings. Ultimately, you will have a choice whether to create a comic strip digitally using an online program called ToonDoo or drawing and designing one in the classic style using paper and colored pencils and markers. 

Today, however, I would like everyone to play and experiment with ToonDoo in order to familiarize themselves with this new resource. First, head on over to ToonDoo and click the red "Sign Up" button. Next, select the "FREE" version like the one pictured below. 

Next, you will see a screen (like the one below) that will ask you for your Username, Password, and Email ID. Please select a Username and Password that you can remember. Consider using the same ones you use for logging on to your Google Drive. As for your Email ID, enter your studentID#@pvusd.net, and then click "Register." 

Finally, click the "CREATE" button, select a layout, and start playing! You may select your own characters, choose different backdrops, draw your own designs, add props and text, and even design your own faces for your cartoons. Have fun today!

Edpuzzle Activity: The Life of the Buddha

Edpuzzle Activity: The Life of Buddha  Today you will continue to learn abouthe life and teachings of the Buddha by completing a video activity through EDpuzzle. After the clicking the link, click "Login," "Student," and then "Sign in with Google." You may also access this activity through Google Classroom. 

Once you're logged in, make sure you've selected the video "Life of Buddha." If you have headphones, use them. As the video progresses, it will stop periodically and ask you a question. You must answer the question in order to proceed. If you don't finish your EDpuzzle in class today, please complete it by Friday, February 26. Good luck! If you finish early, you may silent read.

The Origins of Buddhism: The Life of Buddha (Day 2)

 Today's Learning Objective  Know the life and moral teachings of the Buddha. 

The Life of Buddha: Examining Multiple Sources  Today we will continue read about the life of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha) and how Buddhism came to be. We will continue reading the version of the 'Story of the Buddha' created by the site buddha.net which you can find here, while recording key events from his life using the document Important Events in the Life of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha). 

We will then compare this version of Buddha' life with excerpts about Buddha included in the Interactive Reading Guide of our Ancient Civilizations textbook below. We will also be watching recreations of parts of Buddha's life story featured in the the movie Little Buddha. Ultimately, our goal is to synthesize these three tellings of Buddha's life using our document Important Events in the Life of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha). 

           

 

Homework  Continue working on your assignment Important Events in the Life of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha).

The Origins of Buddhism: The Life of the Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama sat under the Bodhi Tree until he gained enlightenment and became the Buddha. 

 Today's Learning Objective  Know the life and moral teachings of the Buddha. 

Background Knowledge  In our previous unit, we learned about Hinduism, the first major world religion to take root in ancient India. A second major religion known as Buddhism also has its roots in India. Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian spiritual leader. Today you will begin to learn about Siddhartha's life and his founding of Buddhism.  

The Life of Buddha  One of the key differences between Hinduism and Buddhism is that Buddhism had a founder, Siddhartha Gautama, a real life person who started the religion. Today we will read about his life story and how Buddhism came to be. We will read the version of the 'Story of the Buddha' created by the site buddha.net which you can find here. 

While many elements of Siddhartha's story are similar across various sources, it is very important, especially as history students, to consider the source when determining the validity and reliability of information. Before you reading, you should always ask yourself the following: Who wrote this? What is the author's perspective? Why was it written? Where was it written? Is it reliable? Why? Why not? Considering the source is a website that promotes and markets the teachings and practice of Buddhism, does that make their version of Buddha's story more or less valid than the version included in our Social Studies textbook? These are questions we must consider.

As we read this version of the the 'Story of the Buddha' today, I want you to identify the key events in Siddhartha's life that you consider to be the most important in capturing who he was and explaining how Buddhism came to be. You will record these events using the document Important Events in the Life of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha), which can be found in your Social Studies Google Classroom. Tomorrow you will have an opportunity to check the reliability and consistency of the version of events you recorded by comparing them to other sources.  

Homework  (1.) Complete the assignment Hinduism Study Guide (A Central Idea and Its Parts), which is due tomorrow, Friday, February 19. (2.) Complete the assignment Important Events in the Life of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha), which will be due next Friday, February 26.

Assessing Hinduism

 Today's Learning Objectives  * Explain the major beliefs and practice of the religion of Hinduism. * Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details.

Assessment: Hinduism Quiz  Today you will be taking a short quiz to demonstrate some of what you have learned so far about the religion of Hinduism. The quiz consists of five multiple choice questions and one short answer paragraph. You can find it here. You are allowed to utilize your Hinduism Study Guide (A Central Idea and Its Parts) notes during the quiz.

Determining the Central Idea of the Hinduism Unit  Over the course of the last several weeks as we have studied Hinduism, you have utilized the document Hinduism Study Guide (A Central Idea and Its Parts). You have taken notes on the parts, the details, and the various elements of Hinduism, while the leaving the 'Central Idea' section blank. What I want you to do today is to review your notes about the various elements of Hinduism in order to determine what is the larger, more central idea about Hinduism they work together to convey. Write a central idea statement about the religion of Hinduism based on the notes you have taken. 

The Beliefs of Hinduism: The Three Paths to God

A Hindu pilgrim offers prayers after taking a dip in the Ganges River. 

 Today's Learning Objective  Explain the major beliefs and practice of the religion of Hinduism. 

Guided Reading: 'The Three Paths to God'  Today we are going to learn about the various ways that Hindus practice their religion. As we read excerpts of our Social Studies textbook, Ancient Civilizations, together, continue to take notes using the document Hinduism Study Guide (A Central Idea and Its Parts).

Video: 'The History of Hindu India'  As we near the end of our unit on Hinduism, let's watch the short video "The History of Hindu India," which ties together some of the big ideas we have been learning about. Continue to take notes using your Hinduism Study Guide (A Central Idea and Its Parts).  

Homework  Hinduism Quiz tomorrow! Please study and make sure you understand the basic beliefs of the religion.

The Beliefs of Hinduism: Reincarnation and Karma

 Today's Learning Objective  Explain the major beliefs and practice of the religion of Hinduism. 

Turning in Your Caste System Infographic  Before we start our lesson today I need each of you to turn in your Caste System Infographic project. Whether you are finished or not I need a link to your project so I can begin assessing your work. If you Google Drawing, simply copy the URL of the document. If you used easel.ly, click on the 'Share' button, select 'Shareable Link,' and then click the 'Copy' button (see below). 

Next, using the Google Form below, input your first and last name, class period, the link to your project, and an explanation of what your Infographic shows that you learned. 

 

The Beliefs of Hinduism: Reincarnation and Karma  Today we continue learning about some of the core beliefs Hinduism, while using our Hinduism Study Guide (A Central Idea and Its Parts) document to take notes. Our focus today is on the beliefs of reincarnation and karma. First, we will read excerpts from our Social Studies textbook Ancient Civilizations below. Then we will watch two different videos about Hindu religious beliefs. Remember to keep track of your various sources on your study guide.  

Now we will watch the video "Reincarnation in Hinduism" below. 

Finally, we will end today's lesson by watching Crash Course's take on some of the core beliefs of Hinduism. 

The Basic Beliefs of Hinduism: The Four Goals of Life

Living a moral life, known as dharma, is one of the goals of life for Hindus.

 Today's Learning Objective  Explain the major beliefs and practice of the religion of Hinduism. 

The Basic Beliefs of Hinduism: The Four Goals of Life  Today we will continue our study of the religion of Hinduism, while using our Hinduism Study Guide (A Central Idea and Its Parts) document to take notes. Our focus today is on learning about the "Four Goals of Life" for Hindus. We will read excerpts from our Social Studies textbook Ancient Civilizations below. 

CNN Student News  As we watch CNN Student News today, identify one or two news stories that you can pinpoint geographically and place on the Current Event layer of your Social Studies World Map via Google Maps. 

Washington, D.C.; New Hampshire; and LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, in Pasadena, California were all featured in today's segment. After pinning at least one of these places on your map, consider the most important question: What happened here? You should include a title for the event, the date(s) the event took place, a brief summary of what happened, and include an appropriate photo or video. If you need to refer to a transcript of today's broadcast you can find it here.

Homework  (1.) Complete your Caste System Infographic, which is due tomorrow, Friday, February 12. (2.) Continue working on your Hinduism Study Guide (A Central Idea and Its Parts) document.

Introduction to Hinduism

Hindu goddesses Saraswati (left) and Lakshmi (center), and the elephant-headed god Ganesh

 Today's Learning Objective  Explain the major beliefs and practice of the religion of Hinduism. 

An Introduction to Hinduism  Today we begin to learn about Hinduism, one of the oldest religions in the world. For more than 2,500 years, Hinduism has been the major religion of India. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we will learn about and examine Hinduism from multiple sources and perspectives. As you learn about this fascinating and complex religion, I am going to ask you keep track of relevant facts and information you discover using the document Hinduism Study Guide (A Central Idea and Its Parts) (which can be found in your Social Studies Google Classroom). Please use the Study Guide to also make note of your sources of information.

Our first source will be the video "Introduction to Hinduism" featured below. As you watch, make note of the information you learn that you believe is most essential to understanding the religion. 

Hinduism: Sacred Texts and Belief in God(s)  We will now read an excerpt (below) from your Social Studies textbook Ancient Civilizations focused on some of the sacred texts of Hinduism and two of its core beliefs. Continue to make note of what you learn using your Hinduism Study Guide. 

CNN Student News and Caste System Infographic Project

Find out who Nora is in today's CNN Student News.

CNN Student News  As we watch CNN Student News today, identify one or two news stories that you can pinpoint geographically and place on the Current Event layer of your Social Studies World Map via Google Maps. 

Pyongyang, North Korea; Rio de Janeiro, Brazi; Dixville Notch, New Hampshire; and the Columbus Zoo in Ohio were all featured in today's segment. After pinning at least one of these places on your map, consider the most important question: What happened here? You should include a title for the event, the date(s) the event took place, a brief summary of what happened, and include an appropriate photo or video. If you need to refer to a transcript of today's broadcast you can find it here.

Creating a Caste System Infographic  Today will be your last class period to work on your Caste System Infographic. Remember that your infographic may include information about how the caste sytem began, how it's both similar and different from other social class structures that you've learned about, the different levels (or castes) that make up the system, and its costs and benefits. You may also choose to use have your infographic shine light on the plight of the untouchables by including facts and statistics about their treatment, as well as the existence of caste system discrimination. 

You may rely on your notes from your Caste System - Study Guide, this Blog, your Social Studies text, and trusted online sources to assist you in gathering the necessary facts and information for this project. You may choose to use either Google Drawings or the website that specializes in the design of infographics called easel.ly. This assignment will be due on Friday, February 12.