Performance Education - Current Events and Conversation

Moved to a New Blog

2008-05-20T15:32:00.002-04:00

Not that many people are checking in with this one . . .

but we are now here.

Social studies remains 1 part World History, 1 part US History and 98 parts Geography!

World History Tourney of Champs - Round 1 Results

2008-03-27T15:05:00.000-04:00

Round 1 Results

Buddha over Confucius - A battle of 4's, Four Noble Truths win over the Si Shu (Four Books)

Alexander the Great over Genghis Khan - In an offensive showdown, Alexander remains undefeated

Charlemagne over William the Conqueror - The "Father of Europe" advances easily.

Pope John XXIII over Pope Urban II - Urban's hopes of meeting the leader of Islam are dashed

Elizabeth I over Bad King John - No stranger to defeat, King John loses yet again

Marco Polo over Ibn Battuta - Ibn covered some 73k miles. In basketball, traveling is a bad thing though.

The Prophet Muhammad over Julius Caesar - "Et tu Muhammad?"

Vasco da Gama over Zheng He - Says Vasco, "I don't even know who He is."

Johannes Gutenberg over Bill Gates - Gates couldn't handle Gutenberg's full court Press.

Christopher Columbus over Ferdinand Magellan - Having a holiday doesn't hurt it seems

Hernan Cortes over Pizarro - DYK?: Pizarro was second cousin once removed to Hernán Cortés!

Leonardo da Vinci over Michelangelo - Da Vinci is "the most diversely talented person ever to have lived."

Martin Luther over John Calvin - Luter takes advantage of Gutenberg's press, puts up 95.

Galileo over Copernicus - "The big yellow one is the Sun!" is all Copernicus can say afterwards.

Gandhi over Akbar the Great - Gandhi, snubbed by the Nobel Committee 5 times, peacefully advances.

Peter the Great over Louis XIV - "The Bronze Horseman" gallops past "The Sun King" to round 2.

Albert Einstein over Isaac Newton - Smooth move Einstein!

John Locke over Montesquieu - Marx and Hobbes watch with disdain from the bleachers

Rousseau over Robespierre - Being enlightened, neither was looking forward to a 2nd round matchup with Jesus.

Jesus of Nazareth over The Apostle Paul - Jesus, only profile to get more than 90% of vote in Round 1.

Abraham Lincoln over George Washington - Face time on the dollar bill doesn't help George. upset.

Beethoven over Mozart - Mozart walks away as the pep band plays the canon "Leck mich im Arsch".

Florence Nightingale over Mary Wollstonecraft - DYK?: Wollstonecraft's daughter wrote Frankenstein.

Hitler over Napoleon - Napoleon tries to win one-handed, comes up short.

Fidel Castro over Simon Bolivar - DYK?: Castro is among the world's richest people (est net worth $900 million).

Karl Marx over Lenin - Groucho, Richard, Skid, and the entire check group rooted loudly from the stands.

Charles Darwin over Sigmund Freud - Says Freud, "I just couldn't get in his head."

Louis Pasteur over Marie Curie - In celebration, a carton of milk is dumped on him.

Thomas Edison over Alexander Graham Bell - Edison tuants, "Here's a quarter, call someone who cares."

Henry Ford over Orville and Wilbur Wright - In a close one, Ford wins by a car length.

Joseph Stalin over Mao Zedong - The battle of the Red Armies.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. over Nelson Mandela - Home court advantage propels MLK to next round.

The Big Dance, World History Style

2008-03-20T09:54:00.004-04:00

Who said preparing for the end of year exam can't be fun?

1. Download your Bracket!

2. Discuss with your class.

3. Vote

Famous People of the Middle Ages

2007-12-17T11:38:00.000-05:00

Famous People of the Middle Ages

We cover the biggies, all 94 of 'em.
The fall of the Roman Empire: from Julius Caesar to Attila the Hun. Islam in the Middle Ages: from Muhammad to Ibn Battuta. Africa in the Middle Ages: from Sundiata to Mansa Musa. China in the Middle Ages: from the Han dynasty to the Mongols. Medieval Japan: including Prince Shotoku and Lady Murasaki. Medieval Europe: everybody from Charlemagne and William the Conqueror to Eleanor of Aquitaine. [see sample pages]

The Middle Ages China

2007-12-17T11:34:00.000-05:00

The Middle Ages - China

While we're on the subject of China and the Middle Ages, take a look at the product developed for teaching it all . . .

Everything you ever wanted to know about Medieval China!
Overview of topics covered: The spread of Buddhism, The Golden Age of China, The impact of Confucianism, Overland trade and maritime expeditions, Chinese inventions – and their impact on Europe, Rise of the imperial state and the scholar-official class
The Test - 338 questions
[view toolbook]

Gifts and the Chinese Inventors

2007-12-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

It’s holiday time and our minds turn to gift-giving. Every civilization has bestowed gifts on the world, but medieval China was downright magnificent. Thanks to trade along the Silk Road, four crucial inventions shaped medieval Europe and the Americas.

The Han dynasty invented paper.
Without this, medieval monks in Europe could never have copied their manuscripts.

The Sui dynasty invented gunpowder, which could blast a hole in a castle.
So gunpowder eventually caused the collapse of feudalism.

The Tang dynasty invented wood-block printing.
Without this, Europe would never have experienced the Renaissance & Reformation.

The Ming dynasty invented the magnetic compass.
Without this, Europe would never have experienced the Age of Exploration.
And Columbus would never have landed in the Americas!

Are you teaching the Middle Ages?
FREE lesson “The great Chinese inventors!”.

Chinese Inventions

2007-12-17T11:25:00.000-05:00

Four Chinese inventions changed the history of Europe!
If you've ever read a book, flown a kite, ooohed and aaahed at a fireworks display, or eaten spaghetti, you've experienced just a few of China’s amazing inventions.
Just imagine how the Italian merchant Marco Polo felt when he visited China in 1271, and discovered that the Chinese were far more technologically advanced than anywhere in Western Europe.
Discover for yourself how four Chinese inventions changed the history of Europe . . . and the Americas.
Free lesson “The Four Great Inventions of China!”

Beta Testers Needed

2007-12-11T17:05:00.000-05:00

Want to be part of our test team?
We are looking for some schools as beta testers for our new products and product structure. Essentially its a way to get your school a free 6 months of Performance Education Unlimited in return for helping us know how to improve our product line and get the word out to other teachers/schools.

If you have used many of our products in the past, please send an email to gshirey@performance-education.com and detail what products you have used and why you think your school would be a good testing ground. Be brief, I know you're busy!

Hurry - there are only 10 slots available and they will be gone in no time.

Thanks,

George Shirey
Performance Education

EMAIL to gshirey@performance-education.com

Free Lesson Plans - A Medieval Christmas

2007-12-11T17:02:00.000-05:00

A Medieval Christmas!
Many of the holiday customs we observe today originated in medieval Europe. So bake that gingerbread and pour hot cider into a punch bowl! Dress up as mummers, sing carols, and dance the jig! Extroverts will love the memory game, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
(Introverts would rather play chess.)

Too much religion for you, amigo?
Well, it can’t be helped.
The Middle Ages was the “Age of Faith.”
Unless your students grasp that, they’ll never understand the Reformation. Much less the Age of Reason.

Besides . . . All of the terms in this lesson appear on standardized tests. So if anybody gives you a hard time, make ‘em “eat humble pie.”

Are you teaching the Middle Ages?
FREE lesson “A Medieval Christmas!”.

Free Lesson Plan - Medieval Missionaries

2007-12-11T16:57:00.000-05:00

Medieval missionaries:
How did they convert the barbarians of Europe?
It’s not easy to convert a barbarian.
If he’s a Viking, you’re messing with Yulefest, his favorite winter holiday.
And Thor, his mighty god of thunder.

How St. Patrick converted Ireland.
How St. Augustine converted England.
How Charlemagne converted France & Germany.

Are you teaching the Middle Ages?

Free lesson “Medieval missionaries”

Teach Better by Becoming a Great Storyteller

2007-12-11T16:15:00.001-05:00

Become a GREAT storyteller.
It can lead to success on the standardized test.
Years ago, long before I started teaching history, I overheard two seniors talking. The year before, they had taken the 11th grade U.S. history state test. Now they were discussing their high scores.
“Excuse me,” I said, curious as heck. “Why do you suppose your scores were so high?”
“Mr. Smith!” they said, smiling.
“Fine,” I said. “But what did Mr. Smith DO?”
“He tells stories!” they said, smiling.

It’s as simple as that. Mr. Smith was a great storyteller. His stories wrapped everything up: people and events, terms and concepts, causes and effects.

Are you teaching the Civil War?
Take a look at our FREE lesson on Lincoln.

Free Lesson Reminder: “Pakistan: On the brink?” It has nuclear weapons. It has Osama bin Laden. And President Musharraf’s government is STILL in chaos.
This free lesson is more relevant than ever!

Free Lesson Plans>>Pills from Puerto Rico

2007-12-11T16:12:00.001-05:00

Are your pills made in Puerto Rico?

You betcha. Thanks to Operation Bootstrap, Puerto Rico manufactures 90% of the pills sold in the U.S. (Operation Bootstrap, by the way, just happens to appear on nearly every standardized test.)

So take a look at our brand-new lesson about Operation Bootstrap, the pharmaceutical industry, and Barceloneta, the town that Viagra built.

Using Puerto Rico as your model, teaching economic terms (GDP, per capita income, literacy rate) will be a breeze, a tropical breeze.

Are you teaching Puerto Rico? The Caribbean?
Then take a look at our FREE lesson:
“Are your pills made in Puerto Rico?”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From World Regions - The Caribbean (BZ-4712)

Available at a special introduction price of $24.95, it provides a bazillion lessons on the geography, history, culture, and economics of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republican, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Free Lesson Plan - Ibn Battuta

2007-12-11T16:09:00.002-05:00

In 1325, Ibn Battuta was 21 years old and living in Tangiers, Morocco. That year, he went on the hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca.
He traveled for 30 years, visiting 44 countries, and covering 75,000 miles. The only medieval traveler to visit every country of the Islamic empire, he kept a diary that chronicled his run-ins with princes and pirates.

Robbed, bribed, kidnapped, and nearly drowned, Ibn Battuta made maps that were the most accurate of his day.
(p.s. Ibn Battuta lived at the same time as Marco Polo.)

Are you teaching medieval history?
Islam in the Middle Ages?
Take a look at our FREE lesson on Ibn Battuta.
(from Famous People in the Middle Ages)

Free Lesson Plan - World Regions - Canada

2007-12-11T16:06:00.000-05:00

Is it snowing in Canada?
You betcha. Using webcams, you can see for yourself. A humorous look at Canada’s climate. (“Canada has four seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction.”) How to read a climate chart. How winter shapes the Canadian culture. How the Canadians have invented winter sports. If you lived in Canada, how would your life change?

Are you teaching Canada? Climate?
How climate shapes culture?
Free lesson “Is it snowing in Canada?”

Trying to Catch up on Some Old Free Lesson Plans

2007-12-11T15:49:00.000-05:00

Stalin!
As the weather turns cold, our minds turn to Russia, its bitter cold winters, and Stalin, one of the coldest hearts that ever beat.

Thanks to collectivization, famine in the Ukraine, the Great Purge, and the Gulag, Stalin was responsible for the deaths of 20 million of his own people.

A mass murderer, his name is synonymous with totalitarianism. If it weren’t for Hitler, Stalin would have been the worst person of the 20th century.

Are you teaching Stalin? The rise of dictators? Totalitarianism?

Take a look at our FREE lesson on “Stalin’s rise to power”.
(from The Modern World - The Rise of Dictators)

How to teach World History using Hip-Hop

2007-10-24T17:18:00.000-04:00

One day, we were talking to a teacher in upstate New York.
Her students were musically inclined... and really into hip-hop.

Yeah, yeah, we know.
Hip-hop is notorious for its bad language, but not this one!

We’ve found one hip-hop video that is OUTSTANDING for teaching genocide, a topic that’s difficult for anybody, much less a young person, to comprehend.

Outstanding for several reasons:

1. It begins with the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
Not many people know about that – unless you teach World War I.

2. It is an overview of all cases of genocide, 1965 to the present

3. It answers the question that appears on most standardized tests:
“What do Armenia, Kosovo, Rwanda, and Darfur have in common?”
Answer: They are all examples of genocide.

Are you teaching World War I?
Want see how we tackle the Armenian Genocide?
Then take a look at this FREE lesson!

p.s. The hip-hop video is on page 12.

ESA - Observing the Earth - California's raging wildfires

2007-10-22T11:17:00.000-04:00

This Envisat image captures the smoke arising from raging wildfires burning in Los Angeles, California. Nearly a dozen wildfires driven by strong easterly winds ripped across Southern California on Sunday, killing one person and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.

ESA - Observing the Earth - California's raging wildfires

News on the Geography/History Front

2007-10-22T11:12:00.000-04:00

Happy monday morning to you -

Here's a recap of some of the stories of interest from the weekend news. Enjoy:

Humbling to see what History Has Forgotten
globeandmail.com: Time is stealing Robin Hood's famed forest
Military Prowess As Pre-Requisite For Leadership in Ancient Greece.
Mosque Compound Reveals Ancient Treasures
March to Power Spearheaded by Ancient Martyr
Politics Not History is Guiding Present Discussion on Armenian Genocide
Geography teacher helps break world records - Campus News

Special Find: Wow . . . are these games something teachers could capitalize on? The level of detail here is astounding.

A fascinating note - the methodology I use to locate news stories regarding Ancient History and Geography seem to come from about 85% overseas newspapers. Makes you wonder why our papers fail to bring these critical elements into the fold.

Hope you're having a great start to the week,

George

ESA - Observing the Earth - Earth from Space: Birth of an iceberg

2007-10-22T09:34:00.000-04:00

ESA - Observing the Earth - Earth from Space: Birth of an iceberg

Rewriting History! (Part I)

2007-10-20T10:24:00.000-04:00

"True science is obliged to doubt, reconsider and constantly redefine its own foundations as new discoveries are made, and this process may sometimes sweep aside years of research and investigation. We've come to know a version of history which speaks of a linearly increasing technological evolution, but findings like those listed above tell a much different story, inspiring a serious reflection on our present hypotheses. When faced with a significant amount of evidence that calls into question contemporary notions of our history and the technological sophistication of our ancestors, it is both unconscionable and unscientific to brush such artifacts aside in order to preserve an unsubstantiated belief."

The author of this article uses the above paragraph as his summation. The article: The History Before History II: Vestiges of a Lost Technology is a wonderful read - telling of historical technological advances that are said to happen well before conventional history says they should have happened.

I believe it to be very true - today's historians and scientist tend to like getting a version of what they define as "truth" and sticking to it no matter what other evidence is presented. Maybe it's the easiest way to make it through the professional world - what with grants and funding and reputation and all.

Though I must say this - and I will wait until my next post to tell you where I think the dangers in rewriting history lie.

Urbana teacher fosters students’ love of history

2007-10-18T11:14:00.000-04:00

It's not often that print media does stories that you want to read.

Much less about a cohort! Take two minutes and enjoy . . . Urbana teacher fosters students’ love of history.

2 Free Lesson Plans

2007-10-18T07:28:00.000-04:00

You know the student (You all have one).
One parent left (be it by choice or by law).
The other parent is never home (be it by choice, or just to make ends meet).
And the kid's life is a living hell.

Mrs. Brown had a student like this, Cherikka...
In U.S. History class, Cherikka exploded daily.
What did she care about the American Revolution?
Less than nada.
What she needed was a revolution in her own life.

Thing was, Cherikka was bright, really bright.
She was a leader – and the class was with her.
(They had been ever since kindergarten.)
So when Cherikka exploded, so did the class.

So I did the only thing I could do.
I put her in charge.
Back then it was debates.
I figured: If she wanted to argue, then by God she could argue.
From then on, Cherikka exploded like the fireworks on the Fourth of July.
The girl was born to be a trial lawyer.

Today, I might try another tack.
I might begin class with Cherikka reading stories from Predicting the Past.
After telling a story about one person’s dreadful childhood,
she could ask the class to predict what happened to him as President.

If we were on the 20th century, Cherikka would begin with Teddy Roosevelt.
Check out our free lesson plan on Teddy Roosevelt.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh! What a lovely war.”
Can you believe it?
Somebody actually made a musical about World War I.
(Richard Attenborough, the director who won an Academy Award for “Gandhi.”)

It is a musical satire.
Because the British government used so much propaganda leading up to the war.

When it comes to standardized tests, propaganda is a major topic.
Every standardized test has a section on propaganda in WWI.

Are you teaching World War I?
Wanna see how we tackle propaganda?
Then take a look at our FREE lesson!

ABC News: Ancient Greek Geeks Got It Right

2007-10-17T17:44:00.000-04:00

Just came across this news article about the innovation of the Ancient Greeks. Few would call the Ancient Greeks backwards - see why this scholar does.

Teaching Ancient Greece - check out some of these great resources.

Have a great evening,

George

Free Social Studies Lesson Plans - History, Geography, Government and More

2007-10-02T21:07:00.000-04:00

Free Social Studies Lesson Plans - History, Geography, Government and More

Event Guestbook

2007-09-06T21:19:00.000-04:00

Please use the "Post a Comment" link in this strand to let us know you were here.

Give us you're email address and we'll send you a very nice little gift (can you say free E-Book?)

How To Make Your Classroom Bloom - September 6, 2007

2007-09-06T19:40:00.000-04:00

Good evening. Thanks so much for joining us in this, our first ever, live event.

We have been working hard to bring this to you, but as with most new things, we may still have a few technical things to work out.

A few things to note:

-Make sure you are "refreshing" your page every minute or so - that's how you'll be able to see the new content.
-If you're not seeing the comments, you need to click on the link in the white box (on the right hand side of the page) that says "How To Make Your Classroom Bloom - September 6, 2007". This will allow you to see the conversation.

A bit about the format - we will spend the first 15 - 20 minutes on a more interview type of discussion with Linda Brown. I'll be asking the questions and she'll respond. After that initial time, we'll open the discussion up to your questions and comments. Use the "Make a Comment" link to post your comment or question.

If you need technical assistance during the event, please email bmills@performance-education.com - he'll try and get you fixed up.

We will begin promptly at 8PM EST - see you then.