World History AP

Today in WHAP we took our third reading quiz and received our LEQs back. First, as is the procedure, we got in our table teams and did some light reviewing over something we didn't fully understand, all that good stuff. Then, we chose our question, which happened to be one of the multiple choice questions, so shout out to Emilio, because that question was his idea. We then started the dreaded quiz, and to be quite frank, and my name isn't even Frank, the quiz didn't seem to bad. Mr. Profitt had given us the SAR question or general idea in advance, so I was well prepared for that. I also was happy about the HTS we had, as I was able to make a solid causation argument. I'd definitely say that I felt the most prepared and confident about this quiz than any of the other, and maybe, just maybe, I'm finally starting to overcome that learning curve, and maybe some of my fellow WHAPpers are experiencing this as well. We received our LEQs back while we were taking the ...

Today in WHAP we prepared for the reading quiz on Friday by going over the ID and HTS argument part(s) of the quiz, we went over some Profitt tips, and we reflected back a little bit on my entry on Emotional(Confucianism) versus logical ruling(legalism) styles. First, Mr. Profitt mentioned my point in reference to grades, and how they mattered/why we attempt to get good grades. He related and countered my point by saying that emotions, or fear, also propel us in a legalistic system because if someone has a gun to a loved ones head, you will be fearful and thus will comply. This related to what we were talking about because Mr. Profitt was asking why we cared about getting good grades, to which Will Nickols said that he wanted good grades so he could go to a good college. Most of the class agreed with either that or just to avoid the wrath of one's parents, they would get good grades. After this discussion, we broke down an example response to an SAR from a fundamental standpoin...

Today in WHAP we listened to a guest speaker, Mr. Pichon, talk about Ancient Warfare. I thought his lecture was very interesting, especially about the phalanx battle formation. It certainly made sense how it was successful, just because so many different people could stab you whenever you tried to approach. It seems like a good archer could snipe people in the middle of the phalanx, which would then separate it, but maybe the shot would be too hard with all the armor and their shields. Other than that, I also found the Roman battle formations and their "battle corrections" process fascinating as well. The turtle formation sounds like such a musty idea, but yet it worked until hot oil was thought of. However, to me it seems like by dropping large rocks the person holding the shield would probably drop it due to sudden weight on his back. The way the "battle corrections" were done made it seem very tedious (parallelism to WHAP?), but clearly the process was very e...

Today in we asked some questions about the Crash Course, talked about these questions, and then we ended up not taking our clicker quiz today. First, we got into our table teams and started talking about all our questions, and then Mr. Profitt asked each table to voice one to the class. The first two tables got by pretty quickly, but then when our table and then eventually John Patee's table came around, Mr. Profitt gave longer answers. Our question was regarding Confucius' teachings and his impact on China. Mr. Profitt answered our question, but then he gave us some food for thought as he mentioned that Confucius' accomplishments may have been exaggerated or the achievements of others may have been attributed to him, so he may not have actually been such a polarizing person. On the top of that, he said that he may not have existed at all. Then, John asked about what SPQR means and its significance, which started a discussion that ended up lasting until the the end of...

Today in WHAP we talked about our weekly agenda and empires. First, after going over some less important assignments, we started talking about the test corrections we have (Due Next Monday). It turns out that these test corrections take a little longer than the normal test corrections, which isn't really surprising as this is WHAP we're talking about -_-. While I'm not going to go over all the formatting as it's all over the agenda, but don't wait until the last minute because these corrections are time consuming and difficult to do and prove, and not being able to complete them well will result in no credit. After this, we drew a map of AfroEurasia. Mr. Profitt, using his excellent drawing skills, drew Africa, a large triangle, and Europe, a blob above the triangle, along with the Mediterranean blob...or sea above. The point of drawing these areas along with South and East Asia was to emphasize the amount of action happening in that area. An example would be ho...

Today in WHAP we had a discussion about Greece and took a clicker quiz over the crash course videos we watched last night. We started off class by assembling in our table teams and talking about the crash course video, and going over some of the questions we had. Then Cameron asked a question about how the Persian war started, and our whole class' purpose was transformed. Mr.Profitt gave us an option to either discuss Greece and the Persian war in detail, or for him to give us a little blurb. The catch was that if we discussed it in detail, we would miss out on something in class. No one answered, so Mr. Profitt chose to discuss Greece in detail. First we discussed the geography, and the various peninsulas in the littoral region. Then, we talked about how greek cities are called a "polis", and that when the Greeks ran low on resources, they would go to war with nearby city-states. I won't go over the whole summary of the Persian War, as you could easily glean th...

Today in WHAP we talked about a classic topic, periodization, and we started working on a frayer model. First, when we were talking about periodization, Mr. Profitt used an example of his great-grandmother. He ellaborated how she lived for over 100 years, and how when she was a wee child back in 1903, she had to take a horse and buggy to get to places if she didn't want to walk, and that to get water she would have to draw it out of a well. Then, he said that before her death she was able to receive pictures of her grandchildren on her smartphone. It really is amazing that we were able to go from horse drawn buggies to VR Minecraft in about 100 years. It will be fascinating to see how much the world changes in my lifetime, and I imagine something I wouldn't ever be able to think off, like the smartphone to one born in 1900, will be invented. After we talked about this, we were handed a little sheet of paper called a Frayer model. It has a few categories or open-ended quest...

Today in WHAP we took our first essay test! The only thing we did in class today was the essay, so this entry will be brief. We started the period off just like any other test, by putting our belongings at the front of the room and putting our phone in the penitentiary. We were then given the rubric, and we had until the bell rang to compose a rudimentary outline. Then, the bell rang and the test began. It was a little difficult, but I planned my essay out in the past few days, so I knew what I was doing. Normally we only have to write a timed essay a few times a year, primarily finals, but now with WHAP we get to write one every unit! That being said, it really wasn't that bad since we were gifted the prompt before hand, so I expect the next one to be more difficult since we can't plan ahead of time. I finished with roughly nine seconds left on the clock, and then the alarm went off. The bell shortly followed, and we were dismissed. Until Tomorrow! P.S. Don't for...

Today in WHAP we prepared for our essay by going over some organizational methods and looking at how to best emphasize our points. First, we did the 10 Profitt Tips©. They were 1.) Plan it out. Have the whole essay planned before you walk into the classroom. 2.) Pay attention to the prompt. Hint: Use page 80-88 in Strayer. Remember that social comparison of Mesopotamia and Egypt is off limit so no slavery, patriarchy, etc. 3.) Develop your thesis to answer the prompt and build the roadmap. Hint: Use the "How to create a thesis" document on Moodle. 4.) Contextualization. Stick this in the intro, 4-5 sentences. 5.) Organize your primary arguments. 6.) Organize every body paragraph, meaning make sure you use one piece supporting, one against, and so forth. 7.) Use a topic sentence for every paragraph. 8.) Explain your evidence 9.) Prove that a difference exists before elaborating on it, meaning use your evidence and then elaborate. 10.) Use the samples give...

Today in WHAP we took our exam and talked about the Es é.  First, we took the exam. When the test started out I thought it would be very difficult, but then about halfway through the quiz I got in "my groove" and ended up finishing with four minutes left, and was able to check my answers. I definitely am not looking forward to doing 55 of these questions, but it probably won't be very hard since we have a stimulant, just tedious. After this, we started to talk about the es é. It sounds very intimidating, but for those of us in Pre-AP English, timed essays are old hat. It will be different to break down historical information from a fundamental standpoint instead of breaking down a book from a fundamental standpoint.  We talked about how to format the essay, which is the standard five paragraphs. The good news for the essay is that we know the prompt before hand, so we can practice writing the essay beforehand. That definitely takes some of the st...

Today in WHAP, we looked at study techniques for the exam tomorrow and we did some practice questions.  First, we started off class by Mr.Profitt emphasizing the importance of using the College Board review, which is located on the Moodle page. Then, in order of importance to study, he recommended the Princeton Review, Strayer, and then Crash course and the Freeman review. After emphasizing the importance of using these sources (some not all), we moved on to looking at video which Mr. Profitt made (@cprofittjcpstudents on youtube, you should really check him out), and then we had a light discussion about the AP scores of Jesuit and the scores of students all around the globe. Jesuit did seem to finish a bit better than the global averages. Mr. Profitt also mentioned how every year only one or two students don't pass the AP exam, and that he's never had a class in which everyone has passed. Maybe we'll be the first... After this, we did some practice multiple choices ...

Today in WHAP we took our reading quiz. Before the quiz, we did the usual table team review, which was helpful as usual. Sometime during this, Mr. Profit mentioned how if we were going to miss a test, specifically the one on Friday, to take it tomorrow and not to wait and take it on Monday. His reasoning was that it would be better to get it off your plate and be able to study for the essay over the weekend instead of having to study for both. After this, we did the class round robin questions. I'd have to say that the round robin questions would have to be my favorite part of AP history, just so I get a little bit more review time. We took the reading quiz after this, which wasn't too hard but wasn't the easiest quiz I've taken either. With the test looming on Friday, I'll have to start studying today, and I recommend you do the same. About 10 seconds after we finished our quiz, the bell rang and we were dismissed. Until tomorrow!

Today in WHAP we prepared for our reading quiz tomorrow. First, Mr. Profitt emphasized how we should explain our answers, using CPA for each answer. He showed us some examples where people had received full credit from last weeks reading quiz. I would say that the CPA is the easy part of the response, and that being prepared for all the different questions would be the more difficult part. However, that is all in my own opinion. After this, Mr. Profitt emphasized when picking a type of response, pick the easy one or the "low hanging fruit." Basically, if you don't know how to do causation arguments as well as comparison than do comparison. Stick with what you can do best. Moving on from that, Mr. Profitt talked to us about giving an example and then explaining it to get the full credit from the question. After all this I have an apology to make. Mr. Profitt, I've been spelling your name like "profit" for all my other days of my blogging, and was just...

Today in WHAP we continued the Code of Hammurabi assignment we had been working on and then took a clicker quiz over the two Crash Course videos we watched over the weekend. First, we revised the Hammurabi assignment by making sure that our answers were concise and to the point, and that we answered the whole question. After this, Mr. Profit analyzed a student's answer in front of the class, breaking it down from a fundamental standpoint by saying how it answered the whole question and expanded on the answer. He also emphasized how using S.P.I.C.E. is a good way to find patterns in civilization, since it can apply to basically all of them. Today in class, we also talked about our upcoming reading quiz on Wednesday and our exam on Friday. I'm not too worried about the reading quiz since I know what to improve on from the last one, but I am a little anxious about the test on Friday. However, it is multiple choice, which means it will be easier than short answer. Did you get e...

Today in WHAP we listened to a nifty song about Mesopotamian kings, continued our civilizations PowerPoint, and then partially filled out a worksheet for a certain subdivision of S.P.I.C.E. First, the song we listened to basically said the four major kings of Mesopotamia, in a song. What I found interesting about the song when I broke it down from a fundamental standpoint was how Gilgamesh was included after the other three kings, almost as an afterthought. I thought this was ironic because he's arguably the most famous/well known king of Mesopotamia (Look up the epic of Gilgamesh). After that, we received our reading quizzes, and Mr. Profit talked about how we need to learn from our first reading quiz, and make sure to try and improve on our short answer responses. He mentioned how we definitely should NOT keep studying for quizzes/answering the question the same way, as that would be insanity, or continually doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different r...

Today in WHAP we did some table teams activities, we took our clicker quiz, and then we had a neat discussion about civilizations. First, as usual in our table teams, we created some question, and then voiced them to the class. This is pretty normal for a pre-quiz routine, but Mr.Profit's response to our question definetely made me think a little bit. We asked about John Greene's recurring analogy with the "clingy boyfriend" (Question #10 on the review), and Mr. Profit responded by asking me about my tie, and why I was wearing it. I responded that it was for the uniform, and that I was wearing it to comply with the policy. Then Mr. Profit responded that the reason why John Green was referencing the "clingy boyfriend' was because humanity wants to be close to others of their same race, and fear motivates us to seek out others, and form civilizations, cities, etc. After a few more questions, we took the clicker quiz which wasn't too difficult. I won...

Today in WHAP, we did some last minute reviewing for the quiz, and then we took the greatly anticipated reading quiz. For reviewing, we got in our table teams and broke some of the questions down from a fundamental standpoint, which was very helpful as it always is. Sometimes it can be nice to have a different perspective than your own if you find a certain question difficult, and that's why the table teams are so effective. After voicing some of our questions to the class, we started our reading quiz. I personally was very nervous going into the quiz, but once I started the quiz and got rolling it really wasn't that difficult. i was able to finish the quiz a few minutes early so I was able to re-check over some of my short answers to make sure and stick in a few key words. For homework tonight we get the privilege of watching my favorite TV show, Crash Course, and it's also recommended that we read some of the textbook pages. Class once again really revolved around t...

Today in WHAP we talked about the reading quiz we have tomorrow and practiced preparing for it.      First we went over a Google Slides presentation which basically broke down the reading quiz from a fundamental standpoint, showing all the question varieties and what each type consisted of. Personally, I'm a little anxious for the reading quiz but I'm confident that the methods I've been doing, note-taking and reviewing over the notes along with reading the chapter study guide should leave me well prepared for our first REAL reading quiz tomorrow. After this, we had time to do one half of a practice question, and I learned several things from that brief but very enriching and mentally stimulating activity. One lesson I learned was that to answer the prompt quickly, you need to start writing quickly. I spent probably a minute and a half just organizing my thoughts, and then when I started typing I definitely felt that pressure which the time constraints provide. By g...

     Today in class we talked about quality of work on assignments, took a clicker quiz, and continued our discussion on periodization.      First, while we were looking at the Crash Course question, Mr. Profit was showing us some answers for the worksheet. Some of them were good responses while the others weren't quite as good. This may seem like menial information, but I took one important thing away from this discussion, which was a quote Mr. Profit said. He said "If you aren't going to do the worksheet well, don't do it." He then followed that up with an analytical statement saying it's just a waste of time as we will get no credit, which I thought was an interesting way of arguing against just finishing worksheets as soon as you can.      After this, we took our clicker quiz. It was basically what I expected from it, and in my opinion the quiz was easy. The video we had to watch last night really made the information mo...