The 5 Major Religions: Great TedTalk Overview

Here's a great review of the five major religions from a terrific TedTalk from John Bellaimey.

It's only 11 minutes but hits all the major beliefs and practices of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

We have to review the religions for the world history state tests in May and this short clip may help reinforce student understanding.
  

Online AP World Review Apalooza

Here are two terrific ways AP World students can review online with other students and teachers next week.

• One is through Adobe Connect on Monday, April 25 and Tuesday, April 26. See the Google Doc for times.
• The other is through Today's Meet on Wednesday, April 27 and Thursday, April 28.  Read this Googledoc  to see the guidelines, instructions and schedule for students. 

Angela Lee, one of the hosts for the Today's Meet review reminds us  that "these chats/forums are open to all students and teachers across the country as a service to everyone. Please remind your students that they should comport themselves appropriately."

Quizlet goes Live for Classroom

Jeff Feinstein posted this new update about Quizlet on the US History blog. I checked it out and like it a lot and think its a good complement to Kahoot.

This clip from quizlet explains the simple process. Students just type in their name. Quizlet then pairs them with random team-mates. The different teams complete to get all the quizlet questions correct.

How to Play Quizlet Live from Quizlet on Vimeo.

Using Hexagons to Stimulate Learning

Here are hexagons about Stalin's leadership which students can maneuver into various categories.

Russel Tarr, an English teacher who curates a terrific website called Classroom Tools, created the set as well as a form on which you can create your own.  He also writes about the hexagon generator on his blog and how it helps to engage students.

I'm working on one for the Cold War now!

Spread of Christianity & Islam under the Byzantine Empire

Watch as Christianity, and then Islam spread throughout the Mediterranean and the Byzantine Empire from Imperium Tour.

Medieval & Byzantine Art

Here's a fun clip reviewing the differences between medieval and Byzantine art from Tice art.

You can find other resources for the Middle Ages on my Pinterest board here.

Teaching History Through Art

Here's a good clip showing how to incorporate art into social studies from the Teaching Channel.

Teacher David Cooper gets his students to first write down what they see, not what they can infer. Then, he asks them to "wonder" or ask questions about what they see. Next, he asks them to think about answers to their questions. And, finally, he asks students to make guesses about their image. 

Cooper calls the system "see, wonder, and think."