April 13th, The Beginning of Distance Learning

Hi all 9th graders:

This week is the first week of our distance learning from Sprague High School.  My office hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 1-2.  You can connect with me then.  This first week is going to be rough as I figure this out---so be prepared for an email (or two) about how I will navigate this.

For you, there are 5 assignments this week---but don't worry, only two are written and the two written ones are personal responses.

You need to watch the first three powerpoints.  They are not boring and pretty interesting.  After you have read this content, you can begin the two assignments.

One assignment includes many mini stories (paragraph) that you will just for yourself whether they are high stress, middle stress or low stress.

The second assignment is looking at some primary documents about prohibition---which was an era when the sale of alcohol was banned throughout the United States.  You just need to look at each document or picture and tell me whether the document if for or against prohibition.   I tell you exactly what to do in Google classroom.

Don't hesitate to email me directly about your classes and if you have questions.  I'll try to answer them as best I can.

Hang in there kids!  I miss you. 

Mrs. Olsen

Supplemental Materials for Grade 9

Students,

When I last saw you, we were ending World War I and had just completed the War Horse Essay.   Please note that we are to start posting lessons on April 13th, but here are some supplemental materials for you to view.  When I say supplemental, it means optional, but I strongly encourage you.....as in if you were my child and I was home with you I would INSIST that you watch some of these.

If you had been in class if me during the last few weeks, we would have been learning about the Russian Revolution.  When I teach about this subject, I have students learn about the Russian Royal family, why some communists murdered them, and what happened during the Russian Revolution.

They even learn about the tremendous wealth of the Russian Royal families and how resentment and anger over unequal living conditions led to this revolution which was bloody and violent.

Here are some supplemental videos on Youtube about this time. 

Rasputin:  Dark Servant of Destiny (1996)

This is an excellent film that received many Emmy awards.  I usually show this in class, but I edit some parts.  Rasputin was quite a character, and though this film is exceptionally accurate, be warned that there are questionable parts which I edit out meticulously.  If you watch this with your student you will be able to mute or fast foward---though there is no nudity, there are some crude phrases and one "sex scene" that is fairly mild by today's standards.   This film was made shortly after the fall of communism, so the makers were able to film on location in Russia at the places the Russian Royal family lived.  This is a riveting film to watch for both parents and students.

Romanovs:  The Missing Bodies /  National Geographic

This is an excellent documentary about the murder of the Russian Royal Family.  Again, this would be of interest to both parents and students.

Here's another video to watch---

"Lost" $20 million Faberge Egg on Show for the First Time in 112 years.

In fact--you might like to read more about the Faberge Eggs---just type in Faberge Eggs into Youtube, or even into Google search.  There are many many articles about these objects, and also many videos.