Summary: Today I lectured on the downfall of the Soviet Union. We followed the progress of the Soviet Union from Brezhnev to Gorbachev to Yeltsin. We talked about how the U.S.S.R was effectively dissolved by 1991 as it’s former republics gained their independence.
Handouts: No handouts (you took old school notes today).
Video:
PowerPoint:
Summary: Today we finally we able to get to our review of the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War. You took some old school notes and watched a bunch of clips today.
Homework: none.
Handouts: none.
PowerPoint: none.
Summary: Today you continued watching the documentary, The Fog of War. Remember to be filling in your notes as you watch. Please turn in your notes at the end of class.
Handouts: Just the guided notes sheet from yesterday.
Homework: None.
Summary: Once again, I’m out of the classroom. This time, however, it was planned. I will be attending the OCSS (Ohio Council for the Social Studies) conference in Columbus today and tomorrow. By the time you get to school today I will have been driving for two hours already!
So, today and tomorrow you will be watching a documentary called The Fog of War. It is about the life of Robert McNamara, one of the most influential people during the Cold War. He was Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and therefore obviously played key roles in the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. Pay close attention to the part where he discusses the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Russians.
As you watch the movie, please complete the guided notes sheet that the substitute will have passed out to you. These will be collected on Friday, regardless of whether or not the movie is completed.
Handouts: [[will be posted soon]]
Homework: None.
Summary: Today we used the timelines you worked on in class on Tuesday to conduct a review of the major events that led up to the Cold War. Starting with the Russian Revolution, we discussed how the Communists came to power in the USSR. I showed you various video clips that I hope served as a useful review of information you may not remember very well. Now that we have this review under our belts, we’ll be able to move on and discuss the actual topic of this unit, the decline of the USSR. Stay tuned for that next week.
Handouts: You took “old-school” notes today.
Homework: None 
Video Clips: [[will be added soon]]
Once again, I’m sorry I was not at school today. I was hoping I’d feel better in the morning, but ended up feeling much worse. Luckily, I did go to the doctor and your beloved teacher does not appear to be dying. As long as I wake up without a fever tomorrow, I should see you all in school on Wednesday.
Summary: Today, everybody worked in partners or small groups to create timelines of main events that happened in Russia from about 1918 to just after World War II. We will use these timelines on Wednesday when I complete our review of Russian history.
Homework: If you were absent or did not complete your timeline, please do so for homework. These will be turned in at a later date.