November 2008 Archives

You will answer the following questions:

Many students in Block 4 have not turned in two particular assignments. They are the Compare and Contrast the Political Structure in India, China, Egypt, and Mesopotamia" and the "Mandate of Heaven" reading and questions. I think this is partially my fault, as I did not specifically ask you to turn them in during class. If you have completed it, and failed to turn it in, please email it to me or bring it to class tomorrow.

The assignments are posted on the Nov 10 Blog Entry

Good Luck on Presentations tomorrow....

I am just entering exam scores this morning. I am still commenting on some essays. I will hand back the test tomorrow in class, as we will have time to go over it. Today, we are going to the library first, then taking a brief quiz upon our return.


Homework: Your projects/presentations are due Friday.


Reading for Monday pp. 77-83- Questions 3-8 p. 82

Hello, Hoping for some good discussion today, based on the reading and handout. Next, we will introduce a project on World Religions.


Homework for tonight:


Read pp. 66-71 for Wed.- Quiz # 3 on Wed. in class.

Please read each of the following articles carefully. Then join with your partner(s) and answer the following:


What are the central issues at stake with the GM issue?


What are the arguments for and against a bailout of the auto industry?


What are your thoughts?



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111601743.html


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122688631448632421.html

Thanks for all of your hard work on the exam. I appreciate it. I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Homework Due Tues 11/18

Read Linguistics Handout (Will be handed out in class on Mon.)

Bring in 5 'Deep" questions


and


  Read pp. 58-65 and answer the following questions in complete sentences (typed):


1. Why have historians attempted to trace language families back to the original Indo-European language? What can it tell them?



2.  What was significant about the Hittite civilization?




3. Who were the Aryans? How did they transform Indian culture?




4.  How and why did the Caste system develop? How was it structured?




5. What were the Vedas? 



6. Compare and contrast the Aryans and the dasas.

Here we are on Thursday. Nice job of review yesterday. A reminder that we need positive contributions to the review process. Please refrain from the kind of "social discharge" that can be detrimental to the class as a whole. Today I will give you a few minutes to review, then we have set of sample questions, then we will go-over the chart.

A reminder to work on your essay, and bring your index card tomorrow. I will be in my room to help students during 3rd and 5th Blocks, and until 4 PM. Please stop by, I am here to assist.

I am glad everybody was able to work in groups yesterday during class on the study guides. Below are some additional questions that may help you prepare for the exam. They are not required but certainly recommended.

1. What were the environmental challenges faced by each civilization (Inus Valley, Egypt, Mesopotamia, China)? How were they overcome? 

2. How did the culture of each civilization vary? What was the central "character" of each place?

3. How did the artistic/symbolic forms reflect the character of that civilization?

4. Why was Hammurabi's code a significant human achievement?

5. What was the nature of social class in each civilization?  Compare and contrast.

6. What is the dynastic cycle? How did it compare with the other notions of leadership and legitimacy?

Homework is to prepare for the essay and exam.

There appears to be a bit of confusion surrounding the "Mandate of Heaven" link and reading...Do not stress, we will go over it in class.

 

Homework for the next three nights is to prepare for our exam on Friday.

Hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend. We will begin by having a discussion of both homework assignments. I will give everyone participation points based on the quality of their contributions, and the amount of courtesy they show to others in discussion. We will then work on a group activity comparing ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India. I am planning to have our first exam on Friday 11/14. You will get a study guide on Tuesday.

 

Homework:

 

Read pp. 50-55 and answer the following question for Tuesday..

 

Compare and contrast political authority in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. What commonalities do you see?  Where do you see discontinuity?

 

Secondly read the article at the following link, and answer the questions at the bottom

 

http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/shu-jing.html

Thanks for all of your work this week. We will start the day finishing up our talk on Mesopotamia.

 

Next, We will have the Quiz on the pp.35-41 reading. I have heard there is some confusion regarding  this.

 

Homework for Monday is to read pp. 44-49 in your text, and answer questions 3-8 on p. 49. Also read the religion handout and answer the questions for Monday.

 

 

Hi, I hope most of you were able to follow election coverage last night. We will start today with a brief discussion and activity.


Here is today's plan:

Get into groups of 2...

Then go to www.politico.com 


1.Take a look at the main page and answer the following questions:

1. What are the current electoral and popular vote totals for Obama, McCain, Nader, McKinney, Barr, etc.?

2. What percentage of the vote is in?

Next scroll down and take a look at the electoral map. You will then click on two states, plus Minnesota. When you click on a state it brings up all the races in the state, in addition to the presidential results. Answer the following:

1. What is the current popular vote for president? Next, click on the various counties. Which areas of the state did each candidate show strength? Why do you think this is the case??


2.  What other races occurred in the state? What were the results?


3. What can you tell about your state from this data?


We will then meet and briefly discuss our findings.


Next, we will talk about Mesopotamia



After a brief overview and discussion, We will look at the following site....



http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/


I would now like each person to explore this site and come up with 10 facts about Mespotamia. This is a great site and there is much to explore.


Reminder that there is a quiz on Egypt tomorrow (Thursday)

Election Day! Make sure you vote in the commons today. We will have a more thorough discussion tomorrow as the results come in...Make sure you watch or listen to coverage tonight so we can have a great conversation.

Today we will:

1. Finish the film

2. Talk about some questions from the film.-See Below

3. Discuss the Homework.

           

Thought Questions from the Film



1.    Why was the idea of 'property" important for the development of human civilization?






2.    Why was barter/exchange an important development?







3.    Based on the events depicted in the film, where do you think religion comes from? Why did it emerge?





    

4.    Why was record keeping so important in early civilizations? What did this lead to in terms of language and communication?






5.    How did human's view of nature change as societies became larger?






6.    What led to the development of stable, permanent societies? Why did the hunter-gatherer paradigm become less viable?



7.    What role did disease play in early civilization?






8.    Why and how did society move from a horizontal to a vertical social organization? What does this mean?



9.    How do you see norms developing in society?





10.    According to the film, what are the three key things needed for a stable civilization/settlement?





11.    What was the significance of the "forbidden zone"?



Homework: For Wednesday, Finish questions from the film.

For Thursday Read pp. 35-43. Prepare for a quiz on Thursday.



    

A reminder that you WILL need your textbook in class on Tuesday 11/4....


Thanks

Mr P

Welcome back. I hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend. Today we will try to finish up the film, and begin looking at Mesopotamia.

 

Homework:

 

Read pp.28-34 in text for Tuesday 11/4

 

Bring in 5 Questions about the reading for Discussion.