Welcome to Hockert History

This site is intended to help LaFollette High School students reference important and relevant material for World History this semester.  It will not, however, replace the need for their assignment notebooks since I do not intend to update it daily with homework.  It will offer information on class expectations, long term projects, current events sites, and National History Day updates.  I am open to comments and suggestions from parents and students to improve the website.  

Please email me at:     kehockert@madison.k12.wi.us
My name has changed since last year as well from Katie Casey to Katie Hockert.

Current Events

As part of our weekly routine, each class will be competing against the others with a current events quiz.  I, along with several teachers from East High School, write questions about events that were in this week's news.  At the end of class on Fridays, I ask the class as many questions as we can go through in the time remaining.  A volunteer spokesperson gets the final word on the answer for points.  At the end of the semester, the leading class receives a small party to celebrate their current events knowledge. For those interested in getting a leg up on the competition here are some places I get my questions from...
-CBS Morning and Evening News-Local and National
-NBC Morning and Evening News- National
-ABC News online
-CNN News online
-TIME magazine
-BBC News online
-New York Times online

Japan Study Tour-Summer 2010

In Summer 2010, I had the opportunity to go to Japan for three weeks on a study tour through the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia.  I joined a group of 16 other secondary teachers from around the US and traveled around the country.  We started in Fukuoka on Kyushu.  From there we continued south by train to Nagasaki.  After a short two days, we took the Shinkansen or bullet train up to Nara. Then we continued over to Kyoto and finally to Yokohama.  I also saw Kamakura with my host family.  Although we didn't stay in Tokyo, we did visit the University of Tokyo, Harajuku, and Shibuya (home of Hachiko).  Some highlights included staying at a Zen Buddhist monastery for a night and a traditional Japanese inn (ryokan) for two nights, living with the Kumakara family in Kamakura for two days, hearing about the experiences of an atomic bomb survivor in Nagasaki, visiting the man-made island, Dejima, where the Portuguese then Dutch traders were quarantined, and experiencing some interesting cuisine.  It truly was the trip of a lifetime.  You can check out some of my photos at this website: http://katiesjapantrip.shutterfly.com/.  I look forward to integrating what I've learned into my curriculum this year and in the future.