This week the INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) has published the birth and mortality rates of 2016 first semester and they are really worrying. There have been 13,000 deaths more than the number of births and we are losing 72 inhabitants per day. If we did the calculations of Spain's natural growth right now, we would have negative growth (Stage 5 according to the Demographic Transition model). Here you have a short report in Spanish from the TV news:
If you want to learn more about this topic and its negative consequences for the economy, here you have two links. The firts one is shorter and the second one is more complete:
You can also draw population pyramids using computer software, such as Excel:
And here you have other tutorials to draw the pyramid with Google spreadsheet, that you will find on your Google Drive. You can access Google Drive from your e-mail account, clicking on the small squares that appear on the right top of your screen.
Here you have three short videos about infant mortality rate, which is more precise to explain the real situation of healthcare in a country. If you pay attention to the firts video, you will discover that the countries with the highest infant mortality rate are among the LEDCs. These countries have lack of hospitals and doctors, suffer malnutrition, pregnancies are not controlled by the doctors and many children die under the age of 1. But the two following videos show that the USA infant mortality rate is higher than the average of the MEDCs. And this is why their healthcare system is not good. Patients receive only the cares they can pay and many families can't afford paying a good insurance. This case shows how important a good an accessible healthcare system is to reduce mortality among the most vulnerable people, children.
Here you have some links and short videos to learn more about China's one-child policy and why the Chinese government decided to abandon it last year:
-These three links explain why the Chinese government decided to intervene in order to reduce birth rate in China and the results of this anti-natalist policy:
- This video explains 10 important key data about China's one-child policy:
- A short explanation of why China left the one-child policy in October 2015:
- These two videos focus on the consequences of the anti-natalist policy over ordinary people. ageing population, only children and secret children with no rights:
These videos explain very interesting facts about world population growth. If you watch them, you will quickly understand that the main demographic problem in the world is IMBALANCE:
Here you have some easy videos to review the contents about the Demographic Transition model. There is a song too!
And this is the song. Click on the image to be redirected to the link on Youtube (the author doesn't allow the embedding of the video in other websites:
As you know, this year we are going to study Spain's history using a family saga, as a homage to Galdós' National Episodes. The story will start in the 18th century and will continue until present day. There will be different chapters for every historical period and you will have to adopt the personality of a person who lives every historical moment and write about your life and how the historical events affect you and the rest of the ordinary people. The final version will have to be as an old book and include drawings or images related to what you write in every chapter.
Here you have the instructions for the first four chapters and some links to complete the information of the notes:
CHAPTER 1
This story
starts at the beginning of the 18th
century and you are working as aservant in the Royal Alcázar of Madrid.
You started working there in the last years of Charles II’s life. And now a new dynasty has arrived and things
are changing. You have to explain your
life in the palace and how the different historical events of the period affect
people’s lives. In the first chapter you should include the following
contents:
The arrival of Philip V to the court, his
personality, hobbies, family life…
War of Spanish Succession and Treaty of Utrecht
Reforms
introduced by Philip V
Philip V’s abdication in 1724 and his return to
the throne
The fire in the Alcázar in 1734 and the moving
of the court to the Buen Retiro Palace, uring the construction of the Royal
Palace
Philip V’s death and Ferdinand VI’s reign and
reforms.
This chapter
should end with Ferdinand VI’s death in
1759 and the arrival of the new
monarch, Charles III.
You don’t have
to copy the notes, but invent situations
that allow you to explain these contents, being part of them. You have to include information about your
family, your everyday life, feelings… Remember that you are a member of the Third Estate and you
know how to write because someone taught you (invent who). One of your children,
who started working in a coffee shop, is going to be the protagonist of Chapter
2.
Your father/mother passed away and you’ve
decided to continue to write the story of your family. You live in the 2nd half of the 18th century, during Charles III’s reign. You work
in a coffee shop and many members of
the bourgeoisie go there and talk about the main political events in the court.
In this chapter you have to include the following contents:
Charles III’s arrival from Naples
Inauguration of the Royal Palace
Charles
III as an enlightened monarch
The
Esquilache Riots and their consequences (you have to participate in the riots)
Reforms
made during Charles III’s reign.
You have to serve drinks in a meeting of an Economic Society of the Friends of the
Country to explain what they did there.One of your children has to participate in the colonization of Sierra Morena. Another is going to find a job as an apprentice in the Royal
Tapestry Factory, where he is meeting Goya, the painter (Goya worked there from
1775 to 1792).
This chapter should end with Charles III’s death and Charles IV assuming
power.
You are the boy who met Goya in the Royal Tapestry Factory. He hired you as his assistant and you have decided to
continue your family saga. Goya is working for the court and you always go with
him to help him with his paints, canvas…, so you have the possibility of
getting a lot of information about what’s
happening in the government and in the country. This chapter has to include
the following events:
Charles
IV’s personality and his ministers
The
reception of the news of the French Revolution and Godoy’s decisions
El Escorial Conspiracy
Signature
of the Treaty of Fontainebleau
Mutiny of Aranjuez
Beginning of the Peninsular War
Abdications of Bayonne
Before this chapter ends you have to receive a letter from your brother in
Andalusia, who explains you that he’s a councillor in his village and they are preparing to resist the
French.
This chapter is going to be an exchange of letters between the man in
Madrid -who still works for Goya- and the man in Andalusia:
- - The
man in Madrid’ writings are dealing with Joseph
I’s court, the Francophiles and The
Disasters of the War, the series of etchings Goya painted in this
period. This person, influenced by Goya, has got liberal ideas.
- - The
man in Andalusia is going to focus on the
war, the guerrilla and the news about what is happening in Cádiz (Cortes and Constitution). This
person has got absolutist ideas and
doesn’t like the reforms made in Cádiz.
You have to write at least 2 letters per person. Don’t forget to include personal
information about your family…
This chapter is going to end with Ferdinand
VII’s comeback. The man in Madrid is afraid of what might happen to Goya and
him. The man in Andalusia is happy.
These are the three presentations we'll use to study the 19th century. The first one includes the general information about the Ancien Régime, the Enlightenment and the independence of the USA. The second presentation includes the contents referred to Spain and the last one includes art.
The donkey started being used by the Democrats in the 19th century. During the presidential campaign of that year Democrat candidate Andrew JAckson was called a jackass (a donkey) by his opponents and he decided to adopt this animal for his campaign. Later cartoonist Thomas Nast popularized the symbol.
Thomas Nast was also the inventor of the elephant that became the symbol of the Republican Party. In 1874 he drew a cartoon inwhich the Democrats' donkey appeared as clothed in lion's skin, scaring all the other animals. There was an elephant labelled as "The Republican Vote" and from then on the elephant was associated with the Republican Party.
- The colours associated to every party date back from year 2000 and it comes from the colours the TV channels used to represent the states every party won. . Red is associated to the Republican Party and blue to the Democratic Party. This is the opposite to the use of these colours in Europe, where red colour is associated to leftist parties and blue colour is associated to the conservative- rightist parties. Curiously, before 2000 several channels used red for the Democrats and blue for the Republicans, as we do in Europe.
Here you have some more games to review different parts of Unit 1. With these games you can learn/ review Spain's main peaks, national parks, the features of its coasts and rivers and review concepts you will need for the climate graph analysis. Click on the images below to be redirected to the games:
This is a short video with drawings to understand the Scientific Revolution and the changes that took place in the 18th century with the Age of Reason. Pay special attention to this kind of video, because one of our firther projects will be something similar:
These are two more games to review geographic coordinates. you have to locate the points that correspond with the coordinates given. Click on the images to be redirected to the game.
And this is the second one, with more points to locate:
Here you have the links to review the contents we have already studied about physical geography of Spain. Please, register and play. This way I will be able to check your progress. To access the games, click on the following images and you will be redirected to the website that hosts the games:
Here you have four videos, just in case you don't remember how to draw a climate graph when you're at home.
Don't forget:
- temperatures have to be on the left and precipitation on the right
- temperatures have to be written five by five
- precipitation has to be at least double than temperatures. For example, for every 5ºC at least 10 mm in the precipitation axis.
- temperatures are represented with a red line of dots and precipitation with blue bars.
This video is an overview of Caravaggio's most famous paintings:
On the following video the curator of Italian and Spanish painting of the National Gallery explains Caravaggio's life and talks about the three paintings of this painter they have in the museum:
And here you have the explanation of some of the paintings we have studied today:
- The Conversion of Saint Paul, which includes the two versions of the painting:
This short video explains why this Vermeer's painting is considered to be a masterpiece:
Here you have the trailer of the 2003 film inspired on the painting, where you can learn how Vermeer painted and the typical life in the city of Delft in the 17th century. You will see many of the paintings we have seen in class today:
Here you have an interactive map to learn about the location of the main biomes natural landscapes in the world. If you click on the image below, you will be directed to the website where you can click on every colour and learn where every type of vegetation is located:
Here you have some videos to review world climates:
- This video explains the climate zones in the world, which are determined by the amount of solar radiation the different areas of the world receive. In this way, there are three climate zones: hot zone, temperate zone and polar zone. We use the lines of the tropics and the polar circles to separate these zones:
- This video summarizes the main types of climates in the world. Some names are different from the ones we use in Spain, but the explanation of the features is good:
This is the presentation of the basic concepts related to weather and climate. Remember that you have to use it to complete the scheme I've given you for Wednesday:
Here you have some videos to review the English Revolutions:
- These are some scenes of the film Cromwell, that show the conflict between Charles I of England and the Parliament, the Civil War, the execution of the king and the establishment of the Republic, with Oliver Cromwell as the main figure:
- The English Civil War and the in three minutes:
- A funny depiction of Charles II, the monarch who restored monarchy after Oliver Cromwell's, from Horrible Histories:
Here you have the lyrics, just in case you want to sing it at home:
- The Glorious Revolution and the Bill of the Rights:
- The Glorious Revolution in 3 minutes:
- And these are three videos from the BBC TV series Timelines: A History of Britain about the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell and the "Glorious" Revolution. The last video is very interesting, because it focuses on the fact that those who led the 1689 changes in England didn't want a real change in society, but the preservation of their status, especially property:
- Here you have a short overview on absolutism, focused on Louis XIV's example. At the end there are some other absolute monarchs, like Frederick II the Great of Prussia, Peter I of Russia and some late absolute monarch, like Emperor Franz Ferdinand II of Austria and tsar Nicholas II of Russia.
- This is another short video that explains the origins and use of the divine right of kings, which means that kings' power came from God and made them untouchable:
- And this is a BBC documentary about Louis XIV and his use of the Royal Palace of Versailles. This period of France's history is really well explained:
- Finally you can have a look on Versailles dance parties with two scenes of the film Le roi danseand another one from the filmVatel::
This is the video of the song we have watched today. The quality is not good, but the sound is acceptable.
Add these are the lyrics, just in case you want to sing:
We're the pilgrim fathers You may have heard rather A lot 'bout our notions Crossing the ocean On the good ship Mayflower But it's true our journey Turned into quite a commotion.
People report that we sported these hats But that's not true, I mean, would you? Anyway the main thing to say We began the USA Our little band of religion fans From the East Midlands.
We all believed slowly That England was becoming less holy So set off for Holland 'Cos there we had friends But in the end seemed the Netherlands Would never be the land, we planned.
Couldn't stand to remain on that terrain So again we rearranged To start a new nation with our congregation A new and calmer life took a farmer and a builder and his wife And a clerica, to find America.
Oh it's a new world It wasn't new to the natives Still we thought we'd claim it Yeah, it's the new world.
I still remember 9th of November The year 1620 and we saw plenty of land We thanked God when we found ground I kept calm but it didn't go as planned.
Couldn't land on the sand A month later though, we made it New Plymouth man, we claimed it The natives said not But ran when we shot.
Moved there it proved yeah That life would be tough 'Cos we didn't have enough Of the right stuff. Did you know had no seeds we could grow Although William Mullins had stacked 126 pairs of shoes in his pack Now that's whack.
A fishing rod, a plough, A pig, or a cow Would have been a much better idea But now there's no food for us to eat Does this mean that we'll meet with de feet!
No fun in the new world I'm glad we've arrived here But will we survive here Yeah, in the new world.
People were staving Our numbers halving And when the winter winds blew Even fewer live through It wasn't pretty in our new city But the natives took pity even though They didn't have to.
Man called Squanto Showed us how to grow maize Catch eel for a meal Chopped up in the baze Tribe gave us a feast Our starvation ceased In 1621 what they had done Turned us back from the dead To the living and to this day That's why we have thanks-giving.
In Massachusetts built a colony it's true They say modern America was founded by our crew It's a new world But we can't call it England Let's call it New England Yeah, in the world.
My home was in Plymouth Lets call it New Plymouth I got an idea let's call this New Hampshire Wait I'm from Newcastle Can we call it New Newcastle? Nah! It's a new world.
The song is a parody of Empire State of Mind , by Jay Z and Alicia Keys. This is the link to the original song:
Here you have the presentation we are going to use to study the 17th century. The firts one includes the contents related to politics, economy and culture and the other two are about Barque art:
Here you have some orientation for your comic strip about the Austrias in the 16th century:
- As the project consists of an autobiography told by both monarchs, you should make a research about Charles I and Philip II's lives to add some personal information about these two figures: their family, their children, their loves (if they had them), their hobbies, some anecdotes... Here you have some links in Spanish about Charles I and Philip II:
- As for the content, it has to be historically accurate. This means that you can't forget about the historical facts and the main events and problems of each reign. You have to include them. Include also the main facts about the Indies in each reign:
Charles I's reign: a short summary of the discoveries and conquests done during the Catholic Monarchs' reign and after this, the conquests of the Aztec and Inca empires, the explorations developed during his reign, the creation of the main administrative institutions (vicerroyalties), the New Laws of the Indies to protect the natives from exploitation after Bartolomé de las Casas complaints...
Philip II's reign: here you should include the addition of the Philippines (called this way to honour Philip II) and you could also explain the exploitation systems and colonial society in the Indies.
Historical accuracy doesn0t mean that the script has to be boring. You can introduce humour and some jokes to make it funnier.
- In Philip II's reign there was a dark episode with his secretary Antonio Pérez. Here you have some extra information from the presentation I prepared for 2nd Bachillerato. You don't have to add all this, but summarize this episode in Philip II's reign:
- Look up for paintings where Charles I and Philip II appear in order to keep some physical similarities with the characters you draw. These paintings can also be useful for you to draw the scenes' decoration.
- You don't need to make perfect drawings. Here you have some examples and advice about how to draw comic strips with stickmen:
