Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Rise and Fall of Napoleon in Three Short Clips

Here are three excellent and engaging short clips about Napoleon.

The first is a five minute clip that reviews Napoleon's life and accomplishments called "all you need to know about Napoleon Bonaparte."

The second is a three minute animated cartoon review and third is a TedEd lesson by Alex Gendler, "History vs. Napoleon Bonaparte."

Friday, November 25, 2016

How to Use the New Google Sites Pages

Google has updated Google Sites.  Above is a video explaining how to use it.  I use it with our online teachers for our on boarding site. 

Saturday, November 19, 2016

The Scientific Revolution: Video Resources

Teaching the Scientific Revolution?

Here are several short clips about some of the key figures including Galileo, William Harvey, Tycho Brahe (from TedEd), and Neil deGrasse Tyson on Isaac Newton.

Friday, November 18, 2016

A History Teaching Toolbox: Terrific Resource

Russell Tarr, a history teacher in France, just published a book with terrific resources for history teachers. The resources are grouped by skill.

For example, if you want to teach your students how to make comparisons or judgements, you can learn a number of different activities that enhance that skill.

Some of the other categories include debate and discussion, group work, and essay skills.

One of my favorites is hexagon learning. Students get hexagons with key information and have to organize it into categories of their own choice.

Tarr provides an example with a case study of Stalin. He put together a list of the factors that led to Stalin's rise and generated 40 hexagons using a digital "hexagon generator" he developed.

You can develop your own hexagons using his generator here at his site, Classroom Tools.
Tarr's "History Teaching Toolkit" is a great resource with a lot of novel ideas. 

Saturday, November 5, 2016

The Opium War from Extra History

Studying the Opium War?

Here two excellent clips from Extra History that reviews the history of the war. The first clip outlines the Chinese monopoly on tea and the limits of its single trading port or hong.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

What Caused the French Revolution? TedEd Lesson

Teaching the French Revolution?

Here's a great TedEd video from Tom Mullaney. He reviews the role of the Enlightenment, economics, and inequality of the the three estates with engaging graphics.

The Worst Killers in History


Who committed the worst atrocities in history? The New York Times printed a really cool graphic showing the "murderous ways" of empires and peoples throughout history.

Genghis Khan wins by wiping out close to 11% of the population in the 13th century. But who were the other killers?

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

The Caliph: A New 3-part Series about Islam

Teaching Islam? Empire of Faith is a good documentary from PBS that has been the standard for years.

But a new three-part series from Al Jazzera called The Caliph may offer a new standard. And you can stream it for free. 

Part one deals with the Islam's founding. Part two outlines the division between Sunni and Shia, and part three reviews the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the last caliphate.