February 27, 2014

At 1:07, we learned about the wonderful, famous Christmas truce of 1914. That happened when both sides of no man's land made a truce on Christmas. They drank together and sang. After Christmas the truce continued, and they found they did not want to fight each other. Upon hearing this, the generals sent out new troops to fight. If only something like this could happen now, would that be incredible?
At 1:12, we learned about Laurence of Arabia, who was a a hero to some, and a terrorist to others, depending on who you spoke to. Despite his name, "Laurence is from Great Britain." (Elisabeth Gomez)
At 1:16, we went over vocab and learned about how Ottomans wanted to stop British from bringing supplies to Russia.
At 1:25, we learned that the main reason the US joined the war was the "sinking of the Lusitania." (Eugene Kang) the Lusitania had been a large cruise she that was sunk after unrestricted submarine warfare was institutionalized. Bombs had been hidden below the decks. The US had been trying to sneak bombs to their allies.
Meanwhile, with the US unable to ship weapons, the British had to go through a very long and treacherous route in order to get cargo to the Russians so they could hold off the Germans.
At 1:35, we learned about how Americans intercepted the "Zimmerman note." (Breanna Arnolds) We got to look at a lovely poster made by elder Nader.
At 1:40, we learned that "Czar Nick doesn't want to be king!" (Paul Ji) The only reason he took over the throne was to keep his family in power. That was the reason why he allowed the throne to be taken from him without much resistance.
At 1:46, Mr. P. told us about an old woman he met. He was filming when an elderly woman came up to him, claiming to be a Russian princess. He asked her many questions and she answered them correctly.
At 1:51, we learned when World War 1 ended. It ended on the "11th month, 11th day, 11th hour" (Chris Hsiao) in 1918. To honor the people who died in World War 1, we get a day off from school in early November.

-I