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Here's another copy of the Unit #4 Review/Study Guide if you are looking for a online version...

Here's a blank Unit #4 "Two-Minute" Review template. It has all the section titles, as well as information on the sections in Chapter 16 that no one was signed up for. If you'd like to try something different (which I may not do next year), you can downloaded a completed set of Unit #4 review_notes here. I'm experimenting to see if that is more useful for people.

Today's plan is simple. We'll tackle the "Two-Minute Drill" to aid you in preparing for the Unit #4 Exam. Remember, you each have a chance to contribute to our overall understanding of the material that we have studied this unit. (These are worth 5 points each.) Here's a list of the sections in the order that we'll cover them:

WORLD HISTORY: PATTERNS OF INTERACTION

UNIT 4: Connecting Hemispheres (500 - 1800)

Chapter 16 People and Empires in the Americas (500 - 1500)
1 North American Societies
2 Maya Kings and Cities
3 The Aztecs Control Central Mexico
4 The Inca Create a Mountain Empire

Chapter 17 European Renaissance and Reformation (1300 - 1600)
1 Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance
2 The Northern Renaissance
3 Luther Leads the Reformation
4 The Reformation Continues

Chapter 18 The Muslim World Expands
1 The Ottomans Builds a Vast Empire
2 Cultural Blending
3 The Mughal Empire in India

Chapter 19 An Age of Explorations and Isolation
1 Europeans Explore the East
2 China Limits European Contacts
3 Japan Returns to Isolation

Chapter 20 The Atlantic World
1 Spain Builds an American Empire
2 European Nations Settle North America
3 The Atlantic Slave Trade
4 The Columbian Exchange and Global Trade

You're free to ask me questions and do whatever sort of review that you think would be helpful with any remaining time today and/or tomorrow.

HOMEWORK for the rest of the quarter...

The Social Studies Final Exam will begin at 8:45 AM on Thursday in the Nicholson Center. You are not allowed to bring your computer in to the exam. That means you will want your ID notes printed out IN ADVANCE.

You can access the Unit #4 Identifications and Essays here.

Remember that your Unit #4 Essay is due no later than at your arrival for the Final Exam on Thursday morning. I want them printed out, and you may certainly use double-sided printing.

Here are the parts of the Social Studies Unit #4 (Final) Exam:

• 60 multiple choice questions
• Identifications - 5 of the 8 chosen from the list. You may bring 10 word of notes for each potential ID.
  
• 5 Document-Based Questions

Remember that any World History - Extra Credit Films reviews must be given or emailed to before the end of Friday, June 8th in order to receive credit.

Today will be a work day. I'm helping Ms. Murr with the 8th grader's Middle East Peace Conference, but Mr. Schwieger will have you and Ms. Murr's World History 9 classes in the US Commons. Be good and be productive.

Here's another copy of the Unit #4 Review/Study Guide if you are looking for a online version...

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, June 4th

The Unit #4 "Two-Minute Review" will take place on Monday.

You can access the Unit #4 (Final) Exam Identifications and Essays here. Your essay is due to me no later than at your arrival to the Final Exam on Thursday, June 7th.

Remember that any World History - Extra Credit Films reviews must be given or emailed to before the end of Friday, June 8th in order to receive credit.

Tomorrow you will have a work day. I'll be helping Ms. Murr with the 8th grader's Middle East Peace Conference, but Mr. Schwieger will have you and Ms. Murr's 9th grade classes in the US Commons. Be productive.

Here's another copy of the Unit #4 Review/Study Guide if you are looking for a online version...

We'll wrap up our year of lessons today with a look at the legacy of the voyages of Christopher Columbus and others.

What was it? Your text calls it the "global transfer of foods, plants, and animals during the colonization of the Americas." There's a great graphic on page 572. For those of you without a textbook handy, this chart of the Columbian Exchange might be useful...

The Columbian Exchange: Plants, Animals, and Disease between the Old and New Worlds is a really interesting article posted by the National Humanities Center.

What do you think? These prompts for discussion come from Alfred W. Crosby, Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin. Pick one and let us know what you think.

• "Wheaties and Cheerios are Old World, wheat and oats having originated in southwest Asia. Corn flakes are New World, Mesoamerican to be precise. Milk is from cows, which are Eurasian. Sugar is southeast Asian, probably from New Guinea."
• What is the significance of the Columbian Exchange demographically? What is the staple of the Bantu of southern Africa? Maize, an American food. What is the staple of Kansas and Argentina? Wheat, an Old World food. The chief crop of the lower Rio Grande river is rice, from Asia. How many of the six [now seven] billion of us are dependent for our nourishment on crops and meat animals that didn't cross the great oceans until after 1492?
• What were the Amerindian societies like with no beasts of burden (or unimpressive ones), and, therefore, no plows, no wagons, no way to move really heavy objects but by human muscle?
• "What must it have been like to be exposed in a rush to a totally alien people, horses, steel, and new and hideous diseases?"
• Most historians are trained in the liberal arts, not in the sciences, and are inclined to think that we control nature, rather than the opposite: they thought Cortez was successful because he was a very great soldier and not, surely, because he was lucky enough to have received a live case of smallpox.

Our last "new" stuff of the year should be to make sure that you understand, at a very basic level, economic terms like capitalism, joint-stock company and mercantilism.

HOMEWORK for next session - Friday, June 1st

I know you are all sad to actually read this, but we're done with reading assignments for the year. I'll try to get your quiz packets put together so you can have them for the weekend.

The Unit #4 "Two-Minute Review" will take place on Monday.

You can access the Unit #4 (Final) Exam Identifications and Essays here. Your essay is due to me no later than at your arrival to the Final Exam on Thursday, June 7th.

Remember that any World History - Extra Credit Films reviews must be given or emailed to before the end of Friday, June 8th in order to receive credit.

Our major topic for today will be the African Slave Trade.

The Atlantic slave trade

Consider these to be guiding questions as we look at the Atlantic slave trade:

• How did the Atlantic slave trade begin?
• How did the slave trade function?
• What was the impact of the slave trade?

I've got a variety of resources here to help familiarize you with various aspects of the Atlantic slave trade.

Here's are two excerpts from the PBS series, "Africans in America." The first is on The Atlantic Slave Trade and the second is on The Middle Passage.

Here, Tom Feelings uses art and text to try to capture the "Middle Passage" and its impact on the Africans who endured it.

Timeline of Slavery This covers some of the major events in the slave trade, particularly those involving the United States.

The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record is a series of more than 1000 images collected by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

The Debate over Reparations

Here's an article that, while getting a little old, helps introduce you to the debate over reparations in the United States:

• "Does nation owe blacks for slavery?"
  
  
• Here's a 2006 update on the issue from MSNBC.com: "Advocates quietly push for slavery reparations" Notice that you can "vote" your opinion later in the article.
  

In order to discuss this as a group, we'll frame the issue in the following resolution. We'll start by assigning you to one side (affirmative or negative), but you'll later be free to express your own opinion.

Resolved: that the United States should pay monetary reparations to African-American descendants of slaves and to African nations whose development was impacted by the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Let's hear what you have to say on this topic... If we have time, we can consider the validity of some of these related statements.

• The legacy of slavery continues to impact society today.
• Racism continues to impact American society.
• Governments should be held responsible for their past policies, even if their current policies are very different.
• Money is an appropriate apology for a past wrong.
• Other groups of people deserve reparations more than African Americans.
• The United States can say with confidence that it guarantees equal rights to all of its citizens.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, May 31st

Please finishing your reading for the year with "The Columbian Exchange and Global Trade."  It's Section 4 of Chapter 20. Your final reading quiz of the year will be matching.

Some of you may recognize the lesson title as that of a Neil Diamond song. If you don't know who Neil Diamond is, ask someone old...

Today, we'll take a look at the early explorers, conquerors and settlers who come to the Americas. As you've been seeing, we have a good deal more historical information on this group as opposed to explorers and settlers from earlier time periods we have studied.

Tomorrow, we'll look at the creation of the Atlantic Slave Trade, but our focus today will be on peoples and groups that voluntarily came to the Americas.

Parade of Explorers and Settlers
Here's how we'll do this. You'll each represent an individual or group. We'll move in a roughly chronological order through the exploration and settlement of the Americas by Europeans. I'll have maps available for you to use.

Be prepared to tell us a little about yourself, your goals and motivations, your journey, and the significance of your coming to America. We'll give you a few minutes to prepare your very short presentation to us. I'd recommend starting with the textbook and then checking out a website or two.

Act I - Spain Builds an American Empire - Chapter 20:1

• Christopher Columbus (p. 553)
  
• Treaty of Tordesillas (p. 533)
  
• Pedro Alvares Cabral (p. 554)
• Amerigo Vespucci (p. 554)
• Vasco Nunez de Balboa (p. 554)
• Juan Ponce de Leon (p. 558)
  
• Ferdinand Magellan (p. 554)
• Hernando Cortes (p. 554)
• Francisco Pizarro (p. 556)
• Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (p. 558)

Act II - European Nations Settle North America - Chapter 20:2

• Giovanni da Verrazzano (p. 561)
• Jacques Cartier (p. 561)
• Samuel de Champlain (p. 561)
• Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet (p. 561)
• Sieur de La Salle (p. 561)
  
• Jamestown (p. 562)
• Pilgrims (p. 562)
• Puritans (p. 562)
• Henry Hudson (p. 563)

After we have seen our parade of explorers, conquerors and settlers, we can talk about what will be next for the Americas.


HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, May 30th

Please read Section 3 of Chapter 20, "The Atlantic Slave Trade." The quiz will be true/false.

Remember that your choices for the essay and the possible identifications are on a previous blog entry.

Today, we'll discuss/debate the impact of Europeans upon the Americas...

First, we'll go back to the material on China and Japan from the end of last week.

• "History Haiku" - Remember that you are allowed an introductory statement if you want as well.
  
  

  China
  Ming Dynasty
  Hongwu
  Zheng He
  Manchu
  Qing Dynasty
  Kangxi

  Japan
  Oda Nobunaga
  Totoyomi Hideyoshi
  Tokugawa Ieyasu
  Tokugawa Shogunate

• Timeline - Chapter 19: I just wanted to give you a chance to share anything interesting or particularly useful you found while doing the timeline.
  
  
• Memo to an Emperor / Shogun: On Tuesday, we will find out what some of you had to say given your choice of these two situations.
  

China: You are adviser to Emperor Qian-long (p. 539), who ruled from 1736 to 1795. It is 1775, and he asks your opinion as to whether or not he should decrease restrictions against Dutch and British traders. At that time, they were required to pay tribute and to "kowtow" before the emperor, and they were allowed access only to special ports. Do you recommend making it easier to trade?

Japan: It is 1615, and you are an advisor to Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Trade has brought cannons, goods and Christian missionaries to your shores from Portugal and elsewhere. Some want you to drive the foreigners out, and you actually banned Christianity three years earlier. Should Japan seal its borders (except for the port of Nagasaki, which the shogun controls) and become a "closed country"?

Europe comes to the Americas We'll spend the rest of the class holding a discussion on Spain's empire in the Americas.

These are some resources that you might find useful:

• Howard Zinn's "Columbus and Western Civilization" - Disinformation
  
• Change Columbus Day to Native Americans Day Petition
• Columbus 'sparked a genoicde' - BBC News article
• The (Alleged) Crimes of Christopher Columbus (& Western Civilization)by Dines D'Zouza
• The Conquistadors - PBS website

Here are some questions to get us started:

• Should history remember Christopher Columbus as a "hero" or a "villain?" Why?
• Should the United States celebrate Columbus Day? Why or why not?
• Is teaching a "Columbus Myth" (whatever that means) to young children necessarily a bad thing? Why or why not?
• Is it unpatriotic to challenge conventional wisdom on a figure like Christopher Columbus?


• Are high school history teachers trying too hard to be "politically correct"? Should they be?
• Does the media try too hard to be "politically correct"? Should they change their ways?


• Are the "conquistadors" guilty of genocide? Crimes against humanity? Others?

HOMEWORK for next session - Tuesday, May 29th

Please read Section 2 of Chapter 20, "European Nations Settle North America." This will take some of you back to 6th and 7th Grade US History.

Today, we'll focus more on China and Japan's decisions to turn inward toward isolation during the time period we've referred to as the Age of Exploration.

"History Haiku" - Remember that you are allowed an introductory statement if you want as well. As you've probably guessed, I think these are some of the main ideas and specifics from these two sections as well.

China
Ming Dynasty
Hongwu
Zheng He
Manchu
Qing Dynasty
Kangxi

Japan
Oda Nobunaga
Totoyomi Hideyoshi
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Shogunate

Timeline - Chapter 19: I'm surprised we've gotten to this point in the year without me having you create a timeline. I think they are a great way to see comparisons and contrasts between events and over time. It's not about memorizing the dates, but rather about seeing how the events occur in relation to each other.

You should download a Chapter 19 - Timeline. Depending on how fancy you want to be, you can use shading, borders, "paint" features, etc. in Microsoft Excel. Or, you can simply use it to place the information correctly. Notice that I've given you one example for each of the three cultures or "sections" from the chapter.

Your job is to add additional events, periods, reigns or whatever it is that you find important.

• Europe: I'd expect a minimum of ten additional events from the material in Section 1 of Chapter 19 as well as Section 1 in Chapter 20. (Coincidentally, you're asked to read that as homework for tomorrow.)
• China: Add a minimum of six additional entries from Section 2 in Chapter 19.
• Japan: Add a minimum of six additional entries from Section 3 in Chapter 19.

Once you've finished, look back for relations between events. Are there any conclusions that you can draw from this sort of visual representation?

This timeline should be ready to share/turn-in tomorrow.

Memo to an Emperor / Shogun: You can choose to work with ONE partner on this if you would like. As you know, both China and Japan chose policies of isolation for centuries. You're going to be placed at a key point in the history of one of these two cultures, and you will draft a memo for the ruler as to whether or not you believe that isolation is the best policy. Here are the two scenarios from which you may choose, and the specific instructions are below.

China: You are adviser to Emperor Qian-long (p. 539), who ruled from 1736 to 1795. It is 1775, and he asks your opinion as to whether or not he should decrease restrictions against Dutch and British traders. At that time, they were required to pay tribute and to "kowtow" before the emperor, and they were allowed access only to special ports. Do you recommend making it easier to trade?

Japan: It is 1615, and you are an advisor to Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Trade has brought cannons, goods and Christian missionaries to your shores from Portugal and elsewhere. Some want you to drive the foreigners out, and you actually banned Christianity three years earlier. Should Japan seal its borders (except for the port of Nagasaki, which the shogun controls) and become a "closed country"?

Instructions for the "memo": Once you have chosen your scenario and decided on your position, you need to draft your memo. First, it should have an appropriate greeting for your emperor/ shogun. Your memo needs to consist of three major arguments (or "bullet points" if you like memo-speak) in support of your position. Each argument should be explained in a minimum of three good sentences.

These memos should be ready to share on Monday. (If you work with a partner, be sure both names get on the post.)

HOMEWORK for next session: Friday, May 25th

Please read Section 1 of Chapter 20, "Spain Builds an American Empire." It will be your final multiple choice quiz of the year.

Your "Memo to the Emperor/Shogun" should be ready to share for Monday's class.

Today's lesson will be a continuation of what we started yesterday. Tomorrow, we'll focus more on China and Japan's decisions to turn inward toward isolation at this time period. This Age of Exploration (and its consequences) is basically our topic for the rest of the way.

Here's where we left off... I'll give you a few minutes to meet with the others who had the same voyage(s), and then we'll hear from all the groups.

Conquest of the Oceans:

• Treasure fleets of Zheng He
  
• Prince Henry sends ships along the African shore
  
• First voyage of Cristobal Colon (aka Christopher Columbus)
  
• de Gama's sea voyage to India
  
• Magellan circumnavigates the world

Using both the notes and the sources, try to figure out answers to these questions:

1. Who ordered or authorized the voyage?
2. What reasons were given for making the voyage?
3. How was the voyage paid for?
4. What were the attitudes of the voyagers towards the people they met?
5. What problems were encountered with people they met?
6. Who benefited from the voyage? How?

I've got a couple of general questions for you following these "reports."

"Routes to Empire" - This will sort of work like a "Readers' Theater" presentation. We'll give you each a primary source, and you'll be divided into two groups. One group will look at Portugal's new empire in Asia, and the other will consider Spain's empire in the Americas.

Your job is this. You'll have 20 minutes to prepare. The "big question" that you need to answer is below. You can take it in a number of various ways, but that's the general topic. I want to hear support, evidence, or proof from EACH of the primary sources that you have. You can read a line or a paragraph or whatever, but someone in your group should be reading a section from every document you have to support your answer. It might work to sort of have a narrator or moderator, but I'll leave that up to you.

Portugal: How, and with what success, did Portugal shift from finding sea routes to controlling them, and to building a maritime empire in Asia?

Spain: How did Spain shift from finding a continent to controlling it and to building a land empire in the Americas?

With the time remaining, we'll shift our focus toward two civilizations that chose not to participate in the Age of Exploration, China and Japan. To get you started, we'll do a little poetry...

"History Haiku" - As you'll be reading tonight, the haiku is a Japanese three-line verse where the syllables per line follow a five-seven-five pattern. I can't think of a better way to have you all introduce a specific person or idea from the China and Japan sections tomorrow. You'll each claim one of the following, and we'll double up on a couple. (Each of you does your own in that case.) You are also allowed a sentence of introduction before you read your story. That way, you can give us the long name, important years or other information that doesn't fit in your haiku... Yes, you get five points for giving this a good try. HAVE YOURS READY TO SHARE IN CLASS TOMORROW.

China
Ming Dynasty
Hongwu
Zheng He
Manchu
Qing Dynasty
Kangxi

Japan
Oda Nobunaga
Totoyomi Hideyoshi
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Shogunate

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, May 24th

Please read Section 3 of Chapter 19, "Japan Returns to Isolation." The quiz will be matching.

Your "History Haiku" should be ready to share at the appropriate time tomorrow.

Today's lesson will probably carry over a bit into tomorrow's class, but we'll see how far we get today. We'll begin with a look back at the Muslim "Gunpowder" Empires you worked on yesterday. Then, the Age of Exploration (and its consequences) is basically our topic for the rest of the way.

Here's the completed version of Muslim "Gunpowder Empires" matrix.

The Age of Exploration: We'll do a number of things to try to understand how and why the Europeans (particularly the Spanish and Portuguese in the beginning) began to venture further from home, forever changing the course of history.

For those of you thinking about the reading and the Unit #4 Objective Exam, I'd be sure I could define the following terms and answer the following questions:

Defining terms: "God, Gold and Glory," Prince Henry the Navigator, Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Treaty of Tordesillas, Dutch East India Company

• What motivated the Age of Exploration?
  
• What scientific and technical advancements made the Age of Exploration possible?
  
• What were the early claims of the Portuguese? The Spanish? Others?

"Seeing" the World: This first activity will help us see just how differently people saw the world of five hundred years ago as opposed to the GoogleEarth outlook of today. You will get a copy of a map to show us on the overhead. (If you want a better look at the little writing on your map, go to the original source at A World History for Us All and scroll down to pages 22-30.)

Preparing for the Voyage: First, let's make sure we've "packed" what we need in terms of new technologies and knowledge...

Discussion question #1: If you were planning a long-distance sea voyage during the second half of the 15th century to little-known destinations along unknown routes, what problems with the physical environment would you expect to have to deal with during the voyage? What problems of human-to-human relations would you expect to have to deal with on board and on arrival at your destination? What might you do to minimize or deal with these problems?

Discussion question #2: What personality traits do you think would have been helpful to the long-distance mariners of the 15th and 16th centuries? How would they have been helpful? Who, if anyone, in modern society is called upon to possess a similar set of qualities?

Discussion question #3: How accurate is this statement? "It was adopting and adapting the ideas and technologies of earlier times and other peoples, rather than anything they came up with on their own, that made possible the long distance voyages of the Iberian mariners in the 15th and early 16th centuries."

Discussion question #4: How would you rank the following in terms of importance to voyages such as (#1) da Gama's reaching India and returning and (#2) Columbus' crossing the Atlantic and returning? Explain why.

• Technological changes in European ship design after about 1400
• Existence of reasonably reliable east-west and west-east wind systems
• Changes in the representation of the world on European maps after about 1400
• Europeans learning to use the stars/ planets to establish their latitude and distance from the equator
• Having guns available on shipboard
• Personal characteristics of those undertaking the voyages

Conquest of the Oceans: We'll make you all "specialists" in one of five voyages from the Age of Exploration.

• Treasure fleets of Zheng He
  
• Prince Henry sends ships along the African shore
  
• First voyage of Cristobal Colon (aka Christopher Columbus)
  
• de Gama's sea voyage to India
  
• Magellan circumnavigates the world

Using both the notes and the sources, try to figure out answers to these questions:

1. Who ordered or authorized the voyage?
2. What reasons were given for making the voyage?
3. How was the voyage paid for?
4. What were the attitudes of the voyagers towards the people they met?
5. What problems were encountered with people they met?
6. Who benefited from the voyage? How?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, May 23rd

Please read Section 2 of Chapter 19, "China Limits European Contacts." The quiz will be true/false.

Be sure the "Conquest of the Ocean" primary source you received is ready to go tomorrow, assuming that we don't get there today.

Today, we'll turn our attention to the empires of the Muslim world found in Chapter 18. There's a perception that, after the Middle Ages, the rise of European power and military might meant that they modernized while the Islamic world was left behind. However, when measured by size, population or military power, the so-called "gunpowder empires" of the Ottomans, Safavids, and the Mughal rivaled or exceeded in power any of the states of Europe. As the age of warfare by well-trained men on horseback gave way to the cannons and guns of a new time, these Muslim empires reached the peak of their power.

Our plan for today will be simple. You'll work on one of the three empires today in class. Tomorrow, we'll look for comparisons across and contrasts among the three. You should download a copy of The Muslim "Gunpowder" Empires to help you in your work. The information in your text should be sufficient to answer virtually all of the questions, but you are free to look online as well for additional help. 

You and your group need to create a thorough chart for your empire.  The information should be well-organized, clear, and comprehensive. Once you group has put this together, EMAIL me a copy of it.  This needs to be done by the end of class today. That way, I can compile a "master" chart for your use in class tomorrow.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, May 22nd

It's simple. Read Section 1 of Chapter 19, "Europeans Explore the East." The quiz should be fill-in-the-blank.

Remember that you should return the 18:2 reading quiz to me if you have not yet already done so.

Be sure that you are keeping up with your Current Events assignment as well. This will be week #3.

Welcome to the Fourth (Almost) Annual MPA Renaissance and Reformation Round Table. This will be a graded discussion. You'll find your seat at your name tag. Remember that, in our initial round of introductions, you'll need to provide the following at a minimum:

• Who are you?
  
• What was your significance during this time?
  
• At least one statement of opinion/perspective (For example, "The Renaissance was great for women because...")

In most cases, I'd expect this to be between 30 seconds and a minute. Be sure to TALK to us, not just read something at us.

I may group folks differently, but here is our cast of characters. (You're obviously not all represented in this smaller class...)

Baldassare Castiglione
Desiderius Erasmus
Francesco Petrarch
Giovanni Boccaccio
Girolamo Savonarola
Isabella d'Este
Johann Gutenberg
Leonardo da Vinci
Lorenzo de Medici
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Niccolo Machiavelli
Raphael Sanzio
Thomas More
Vittoria Colonna
William Shakespeare

Elizabeth I
Henry VIII
HRE Charles V
Ignatius of Loyola
John Calvin
Martin Luther
Pope Leo X
John Knox

We can begin with questions like the following:

• What conditions were necessary for the Renaissance and Reformation to have occurred?
• How did the Renaissance impact you? What were its greatest strengths? What were its biggest drawbacks?
• Was the Renaissance really a "new" time, or was it simply a continuation of the Middle Ages?
• How did the Church influence the Renaissance? How was it influenced by the Renaissance?
• Did the Renaissance really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?


• Who should be considered the epitome of the Renaissance Man (Woman)? Would it be possible for someone today to match his/her achievements? Explain.
• What work of art or literature best epitomizes the Renaissance?
  
  
• In what ways was the the Reformation foreshadowed by Renaissance thinking?
• Was the Reformation necessary? Why or why not?
• Was the Reformation a positive or negative development? Why?
• How should history judge Martin Luther?
• Did the Reformation really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?
• Where should blame be placed for the blood that was spilled in the name of religion during the Reformation?
  
  
• Which event has proven to be more historically significant, the Renaissance or the Reformation? Why?
• Is America undergoing either a Renaissance or Reformation today? Should America undergo one or both of these movements today? Why?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, May 21st

You should read Chapter 18, Section 3 ("The Mughal Empire in India") for class time Monday. The quiz will be multiple choice.

You should turn in the take-home quiz for Chapter 18, Section 2 ("Cultural Blending") no later than your arrival at class on Monday.

We're going to hear from the Incans today, and we'll use the rest of the hour to get through some odds and ends, mostly related to the Reformation.

Maya, Aztec and Inca - Early American Empires

Friday, May 18th: Incan Empire

The Impact of the Reformation

We'll lead off with the set of performances that we set up yesterday...

Henry VIII and the Anglican Church (p. 492)
Elizabeth restores Protestantism (p. 494)
Calvin spreads the Reformation (p. 495)
Ignatius and the Jesuits (p. 498)
Reforming Popes (p. 499)

Question: What are the implications of using the term Catholic Reformation and opposed to Counter Reformation? Which do you prefer? Why?

Christian Denominations - Now that we've had both of the major splits that will occur in the Christian faith, we'll take a few minutes to look at two graphic representations of the various branches of the religion.

HOMEWORK for next session: Friday, May 18th

You should be reading Chapter 18, Section 1, "The Ottomans Build a Vast Empire," for Friday's class. The quiz will be true/false.

Tomorrow, we'll have our Renaissance and Reformation Round Table discussions. I want to add one more requirement to the "Renaissance and Reformation Round Table." We'll do a quick round of "introductions" at the beginning. Basically, you'll need to provide the following at a minimum:

• Who are you?
  
• What was your significance during this time?
  
• At least one statement of opinion/perspective (For example, "The Renaissance was great for women because...")

In most cases, I'd expect this to be between 30 seconds and a minute. Be sure to TALK to us, not just read something at us.

It's the Aztecs today, and then back to the Reformation... (Remind me to finish up the Luther material that we may have missed yesterday.)

Maya, Aztec and Inca - Early American Empires

Wednesday, May 16th: Aztec Empire
Thursday, May 17th: Inca Empire

Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Let's make sure all the Luther material we were supposed to go over yesterday makes sense to people...

More events from the Reformation:
Some of you will like this, but it might drive others of you crazy. You're going to be assigned an event from the Reformation. Your group will have your choice of the following ways to transmit to us the "big picture" of what happened.

1. Dramatic skit
2. Opera scene
3. Pantomime
4. Rap song
5. Straight-forward "lecture"

In all cases, you'll have about 15 minutes to prepare, and then we'll go through the events in order.

• Henry VIII and the Anglican Church (p. 492) - 3
  
• Elizabeth restores Protestantism (p. 494) - 3
  
• Calvin continues and spreads the Reformation (p. 495-496) - 3
  
• Ignatius and the Jesuits (p. 498) - 2
  
• Reforming Popes (p. 499) - 2
  

I'll help make sure you all get the "facts" you need for each of these events, but this should help you with the "big picture."

Question: What are the implications of using the term Catholic Reformation as opposed to Counter Reformation? Which do you prefer? Why?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, May 17th

Please finish your reading in Chapter 16 with Section 4, "The Inca Create a Mountain Empire."

Obviously, you need to be ready for your group's presentation if you are an Inca.

Do a little thinking for the Renaissance and Reformation Round Table scheduled for Friday. Remember that you should think a little about what your figure might say to these types of questions. (Not all apply to everyone.)

• How did the Renaissance impact you? What were its greatest strengths? What were its biggest drawbacks?
• Was the Renaissance really a "new" time, or was it simply a continuation of the Middle Ages?
• How did the Church influence the Renaissance? How was it influenced by the Renaissance?
• Did the Renaissance really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?
  
  
• Was the Reformation necessary? Why or why not?
• Was the Reformation a positive or negative development? Why?
• Did the Reformation really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?


• What conditions were necessary for the Renaissance and Reformation to have occurred?


• Is America undergoing either a Renaissance or Reformation today? Should America undergo one or both of these movements today? Why?

We'll begin our "Early American Empires" presentations today with the Mayans, as well as starting our look at the Reformation. (We'll also take a look at the final art works from the Renaissance Art Festival.)

Maya, Aztec and Inca - Early American Empires

Tuesday, May 15th: Mayan Empire presentation (+ Reformation)
Wednesday, May 16th: Aztec Empire presentation (+ Reformation)
Thursday, May 17th: Incan Empire presentation (+ Reformation)

Your group will have about 15-20 minutes of class time on your date. (Presentations shorter than 10 minutes or longer than 25 may be penalized.) Your "presentation" is expected to include the following elements.

• an outline of the material in your section (1 page maximum) for a class handout
• at least 10 visual images to project in class
• a 3 - 5 minute "introduction" to your empire
• a 3 - 5 minute "focus" on a topic of particular interest
• a brief discussion among group members on the question: "Were the ____ civilized? Why or why not?" (You can disagree with each other.)
• anything else relevant that you would like to include

Figure that each of the 5 components are worth 5 points maximum. You get another potential of 10 for your use of class time in preparation and your attentiveness as an audience member. There are another five points you can earn for the "anything else" or overall impression, etc. That's a total of 40, but we'll decrease that (probably in half) for the grade book. So, it's probably going to be worth 20 points.

Introduction to the Reformation

We'll look at Martin Luther today, saving Henry VIII and the rest for tomorrow's class. By the time we are finished, you should be sure that you understand the following terms.

Defining terms: Martin Luther, indulgences, Friar Tetzel, Wittenberg, 95 Theses (1517), Reformation, Pope Leo X, papal bull (1520), HRE Charles V, Diet of Worms (1521), Edict of Worms (1521), Prince Frederick the Wise, Peasants' Revolt, Protestant, Peace of Augsburg (1555)

These are the questions we'll work to answer:

• What were the underlying social, political, economic and religious causes of the Reformation?
• How did Luther challenge the Church? What ideas were at the base of his teachings?
• How did the Catholic Church react to Luther's challenge?
• What was the impact of Luther and his actions?
  

• Martin Luther - site from PBS Empires
  
• Martin Luther's 95 Theses - October 31, 1517
• Exurge Domine - Condemning the Errors of Martin Luther - Pope Leo X - 1520
• Martin Luther - excerpts from speech at Diet of Worms - 1521
• Martin Luther - "The Jews and Their Lies" - 1543 NOTE: One thing that is often overlooked in Martin Luther's career is a strong degree of Anti-Semitism in his writings. These excerpts have been posted at a site called the Jewish Virtual Library, and they are linked here not to shock, but rather to get you to think about how these type of writings influence your opinion of Luther.

Renaissance and Reformation Round Table

Remember that we'll be doing this review activity on Friday. All of you should have selected a figure from this time period. You'll be asked to speak from "their" perspective, answering questions and commenting in a way consistent with what they might have done. You don't need to do anything written for your person, but you should certainly know what made them important, how they were affected by the times, etc.

The discussion may go a number of ways, but here are some questions to get you thinking.

• How did the Renaissance impact you? What were its greatest strengths? What were its biggest drawbacks?
• Was the Renaissance really a "new" time, or was it simply a continuation of the Middle Ages?
• How did the Church influence the Renaissance? How was it influenced by the Renaissance?
• Did the Renaissance really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?


• Was the Reformation necessary? Why or why not?
• Was the Reformation a positive or negative development? Why?
• Did the Reformation really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?


• What conditions were necessary for the Renaissance and Reformation to have occurred?


• Is America undergoing either a Renaissance or Reformation today? Should America undergo one or both of these movements today? Why?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, May 16th

Please read Section 16.3 on the Aztecs for tomorrow's class. The quiz will be back to multiple choice.

Obviously, you need to be ready for your group's presentation if that hasn't yet happened.

We'll have the Renaissance and Reformation Round Table Discussion on Friday, May 18th.

Renaissance Art Festival - Welcome to our annual Renaissance Art and Architecture Festival. You've got a couple minutes to come up and tell us about your work of art/architecture. These are worth 10 points, and I will feel free to penalize poor audience behavior.

Your presentation might consider items like these, as they apply:

• Name of the work
• Name of the artist
• Date of the work (location of creation)
• Description of the work and its creation
• Interesting information about the process of its creation
• Interesting information about materials, style, approach, etc.
• What makes this a "Renaissance" work of art/architecture?
• What Renaissance values, ideas and/or themes does the work depict?
• What is the significance of this work?
• What was its impact during the time when it was created?
• What has been the subsequent impact of the work?
• Where, if anywhere, can the work be seen today?
• What is your reaction to the work? What do you think of it?

Renaissance Art and Architecture
Masaccio - The Expulsion of Adam and Eve (Brancacci Chapel - 1425)
Brunelleschi - Duomo (Florence: 1420 - 1436)
Donatello - David (1430)
Jan van Eyck - Arnolfini Wedding (1434)
Paolo Uccello - The Battle of San Romano (1438-1440)
Leonardo da Vinci - The Annunciation - (1472 - 1475)
Perugino - Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter (1480 - 1482)
Botticelli - The Birth of Venus (after 1482)
Leonardo da Vinci - Vitruvian Man (c. 1485 - 1492)
Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper (1495 - 1497)
Michelangelo - Pieta (1500)
Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa (1502)
Hieronymus Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delights (1503 - 1504)
Michelangelo - David (1504)
Michelangelo - Holy Family (1506)
Michelangelo - Creation of Man (Sistine Chapel - 1510)
Raphael - School of Athens (1510)
Raphael - Sistine Madonna (1512 - 1514)
Michelangelo - Moses (1515)
Raphael - Transfiguration (1520)
Michelangelo - The Last Judgment (Sistine Chapel: 1534 - 1541)
Bramante, Michelangelo, others - St. Peter's Basilica (Rome: 1506 - 1626)

Connection to Today: We've talked a little about the role of patronage in the art of the Renaissance. We have also talked about its significance in the "civic life" of Florence and other cities. Today, while patronage takes many forms, one that has generated a spirited debate is that of governmental funding for the arts. Let's talk about that a bit as time permits...

Here's the homepage for the National Endowment for the Arts. The site features a list of "Exemplary projects funded since 1965" that you might find interesting.

It is currently estimated that each American taxpayer ends up "contributing" less than $1 of their taxes to the NEA.

In the late 1980s, an artist named Andres Serrano generated much controversy for art produced after he received a $15,000 NEA grant. I've linked you to a page of Senate testimony used in a college philosophy course lesson on this topic.

• Should the US government use public money to fund the arts? Why or why not?
• Should there be limits imposed on what types of art will be funded? If so, how?
• What should be government's role, if any, with respect to art?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, May 15th

We're back to reading in Chapter 16 for the next few days. Please read Chapter 16, Section 2, "Mayan Kings and Cities" for tomorrow's quiz. We'll be doing a matching quiz.

Here's a reminder of the remaining schedule for the week. (You can find the requirements for the Americas presentations on yesterday's blog entry.)

Tuesday, May 15th: Mayan Empire presentation (+ Reformation)
Wednesday, May 16th: Aztec Empire presentation (+ Reformation)
Thursday, May 17th: Incan Empire presentation (+ Reformation)

We'll have the Renaissance and Reformation Round Table Discussion on Friday, May 18th.

Today, our focus will be on the Renaissance as it played out in literature, writing and ideas. Monday, we'll have our Renaissance Art Festival and look more at the visual side.

Five Authors of the Renaissance (and One More) to Remember:
This is, of course, a completely arbitrary list made by me. However, I think most would agree that these are definitely some of the key figures of the literature of the Renaissance.

Dante is generally regarded as the link from the Middle Ages. His most famous work was The Divine Comedy, and he wrote in the vernacular (Italian). More on him next year...

• Petrarch - "father of humanism," famous for sonnets, Laura was his muse (ideal)
• Boccaccio - wrote The Decameron - stories of young Florentines fleeing the plague
• Erasmus - Christian humanist from Holland, wrote The Praise of Folly
• Thomas More - English friend of Erasmus, wrote Utopia
• William Shakespeare - Elizabethan Age, greatest playwright of all to many

Words of the Renaissance - I've got a series of short excerpts from Renaissance authors. We'll have some dramatic readings (with explanations). Here are the selections:

• The Discourses - Niccolo Machiavelli
  
• On the Dignity of Man - Giovannia Pico della Mirandola
  
• Self-Portrait of a Universal Man - Leon Battista Alberti
  
• Murder in the Streets - Benvenuto Cellini
  
• The Courtier - Baldassare Castiglione
  
• Rules of Etiquette - Giovanni della Casa
  
• Sonnet - Petrarch
• To Boccaccio - Petrarch
  
• A Carnival Song - Lorenzo de Medici
  
• Body and Soul - Michelangelo
  
• Journey to the Moon - Lodovico Ariosto
  
• Advent Sermon - Girolamo Savonarola

You will take one of these. You have ten minutes to figure out what you've got. As we go through them, two things should happen. You will introduce the work and tell us why it is a good example of Renaissance literature. (Refer to specific values and ideas if you can.) Then, you will read us part of the selection. (Since they vary in length, I'd suggest aiming for something around a dozen lines. Use your judgment. In some cases, a summary of the narrative may seem more appropriate.)

Johann Gutenberg and the printing press - Don't underestimate the significance of this advancement in Germany around 1440. Although the Chinese had invented movable type centuries earlier, Gutenberg combined a number of advancements to make a printing press capable of making large numbers of books quickly and cheaply. Like the Internet in our time, it revolutionized the way knowledge was made available and spread.

* #1 Event of the Millennium - Gutenberg Prints the Bible - Life magazine ranked the top 100 events of the millennium between 1000 and 2000 CE. Here's the whole list.
* Project Gutenberg - This is an online library of more than 17000 books available for free download.
* The Gutenberg Bible (1455) - Here's information on a copy of the bible at the University of Texas.

Machiavelli's The Prince - As you read, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince as a sort of "guide" to political leaders of his time. He is remembered today for his rather pessimistic view of human nature. Download these words of advice from Machiavelli. Pair up with someone and look through them, evaluating their relevance for today's world. We'll discuss what you think.

• Do you agree with Machiavelli that it is primarily the character or skill of an individual leader that determines the success of a state?
  
  
• In politics, to what degree does the end justify the means? Why?

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, May 14th

You should be reading Chapter 17, Section 4 ("Luther Leads the Reformation") for our next class. The quiz will be true/false. (We'll be reading Chapter 16, Sections 2 - 4 for the remainder of the week.)

Remember that your group presents next week. Starting with Tuesday, it goes Mayan, Aztec, and Inca.

Your contribution to the "Renaissance Art Festival" needs to be ready to go for Monday. Lesson #27 has more specific information, and you should be planning on your presentation being somewhere in the neighborhood of three to five minutes. I'll have the projector set up, so your work will be displayed for us all to see.

Following our reading quiz, you've got the period to work with your group to get ready for the presentation early next week. I'll expect to be amazed with how cooperative you are and how well you use your time...

Maya, Aztec and Inca - Early American Empires: Here is the schedule. Each group is responsible for being ready on the correct day.

Thursday, May 10th: Work day for this and/or Renaissance Art Festival

Tuesday, May 15th: Mayan Empire presentation
Wednesday, May 16th: Aztec Empire presentation
Thursday, May 17th: Incan Empire presentation

Your group will have about 15-20 minutes of class time on your date. (Presentations shorter than 10 minutes or longer than 25 may be penalized.) Your "presentation" is expected to include the following elements.

• an outline of the material in your section (1 page maximum) for a class handout
• at least 10 visual images to project in class
• a 3 - 5 minute "introduction" to your empire
• a 3 - 5 minute "focus" on a topic of particular interest
• a brief discussion among group members on the question: "Were the ____ civilized? Why or why not?" (You can disagree with each other.)
• anything else relevant that you would like to include

Figure that each of the 5 components are worth 5 points maximum. You get another potential of 10 for your use of class time in preparation and your attentiveness as an audience member. There are another five points you can earn for the "anything else" or overall impression, etc. That's a total of 40, but we'll make it half that for the grade book. So, it's worth 20 points.

Obviously, I want you to use today's class time wisely. If you finish early, you should do your reading, finish preparing for Monday's Renaissance Art Festival or do a little research on your figure for the "Renaissance and Reformation Round Table" discussion.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Friday, May 11th

You should be reading Chapter 17, Section 3 ("Luther Leads the Reformation") for our next class. The quiz will be fill-in-the-blank.

Remember that your group presents later this week. Starting with Tuesday, it goes Mayan, Aztec, and Inca.

Your contribution to the "Renaissance Art Festival" needs to be ready to go for Monday. Lesson #27 has more specific information, and you should be planning on your presentation being somewhere in the neighborhood of three minutes. I'll have the projector set up, so your work will be displayed for us all to see.

In addition to learning more about what you'll need to do with your early American empire, we'll introduce the Renaissance today. Pay close attention to due dates and reading assignments, as we'll be doing things a little differently these next few days and chapters.

Maya, Aztec and Inca - Early American Empires: Here is the schedule. Each group is responsible for being ready on the correct day.

Thursday, May 10th: Work day for this and/or Renaissance Art Festival

Tuesday, May 15th: Mayan Empire presentation
Wednesday, May 16th: Aztec Empire presentation
Thursday, May 17th: Incan Empire presentation

Your group will have about 15-20 minutes of class time on your date. (Presentations shorter than 10 minutes or longer than 25 may be penalized.) Your "presentation" is expected to include the following elements.

• an outline of the material in your section (1 page maximum) for a class handout
• at least 10 visual images to project in class
• a 3 - 5 minute "introduction" to your empire
• a 3 - 5 minute "focus" on a topic of particular interest
• a brief discussion among group members on the question: "Were the ____ civilized? Why or why not?" (You can disagree with each other.)
• anything else relevant that you would like to include

Introduction to the Renaissance Most of what we do with the Renaissance will be with written and visual sources. However, we'll spend a few minutes together going over the basics.

• What was the Renaissance?
• When did the Renaissance occur?
• Why was the early Renaissance concentrated in Italy?
• What new values and ideas were expressed in the Renaissance?
• How did the forms and techniques of art change in the Renaissance?

A couple of quick side trips: Medieval painting: I think it is easier to appreciate the art of the Renaissance if we have something to compare it to. Here are some medieval art works. (Remember there is also a rich tradition in architecture and other forms of expression. These mainly show a contrast in painting styles and subject matter.)

Here's a 13th-century painting of the popular "Madonna with Child" style.
Here's a work by Giotto, generally considered the first (or fore-runner) of Renaissance artists.

The Baptistery (Florence): a case study: The Baptistery is believed to be the oldest building in Florence. Keeping with the Renaissance spirit, a competition was announced to design the decorative bronze panels for the new North Doors in 1401. Seven sculptors completed, but Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi were the finalists for their interpretations of the Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac. Ghiberti was judged the winner, Brunelleschi left for Rome in anger, and Ghiberti spent the next 21 years creating what Michelangelo called, "The Gates of Paradise." Typical of the spirit of the time, Ghiberti carved his image above the doors, modestly calling them "the most singular work that I have ever made." The original doors now can be found in the Bargello Museum of Florence, as copies are now on the North Doors of the Baptistery itself.


Renaissance Art Festival - Monday, May 14th You'll select a work of art or architecture from the list below. You'll be asked to introduce and explain your work. Figure about 4 minutes per work. 

Your presentation should consider items like these, as they apply:

• Name of the work
• Name of the artist
• Date of the work (location of creation)
• Description of the work and its creation
• Interesting information about the process of its creation
• Interesting information about materials, style, approach, etc.
• What makes this a "Renaissance" work of art/architecture?
• What Renaissance values, ideas and/or themes does the work depict?
• What is the significance of this work?
• What was its impact during the time when it was created?
• What has been the subsequent impact of the work?
• Where, if anywhere, can the work be seen today?
• What is your reaction to the work? What do you think of it?

Renaissance Art and Architecture
Masaccio - The Expulsion of Adam and Eve (Brancacci Chapel - 1425)
Brunelleschi - Duomo (Florence: 1420 - 1436)
Donatello - David (1430)
Jan van Eyck - Arnolfini Wedding (1434)
Paolo Uccello - The Battle of San Romano (1438-1440)
Leonardo da Vinci - The Annunciation - (1472 - 1475)
Perugino - Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter (1480 - 1482)
Botticelli - The Birth of Venus (after 1482)
Leonardo da Vinci - Vitruvian Man (c. 1485 - 1492)
Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper (1495 - 1497)
Michelangelo - Pieta (1500)
Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa (1502)
Hieronymus Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delights (1503 - 1504)
Michelangelo - David (1504)
Michelangelo - Holy Family (1506)
Michelangelo - Creation of Man (Sistine Chapel - 1510)
Raphael - School of Athens (1510)
Raphael - Sistine Madonna (1512 - 1514)
Michelangelo - Moses (1515)
Raphael - Transfiguration (1520)
Michelangelo - The Last Judgment (Sistine Chapel: 1534 - 1541)
Bramante, Michelangelo, others - St. Peter's Basilica (Rome: 1506 - 1626)

NOTE: I used Wikipedia for the images to provide some consistency and because they do a good job of crediting their sources and/or showing that the image is in the "public domain."


Renaissance and Reformation Round Table - Friday, May 18th A week from Friday (5/18), we'll spend part of class summarizing the Renaissance and Reformation. You'll be asked to represent one of the major figures from the time during this discussion. You'll be provided with more guidelines as to specific topics. For now, work on figuring out "who" you are, your views on the "big issues" of the times, and your historical legacy.

Renaissance Figures
Baldassare Castiglione
Desiderius Erasmus
Francesco Petrarch
Giovanni Boccaccio
Girolamo Savonarola
Isabella d'Este
Johann Gutenberg
Leonardo da Vinci
Lorenzo de Medici
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Niccolo Machiavelli
Raphael Sanzio
Thomas More
Vittoria Colonna
William Shakespeare

Reformation Figures
Elizabeth I
Henry VIII
HRE Charles V
Ignatius of Loyola
John Calvin
Martin Luther
Pope Leo X
John Knox


HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, May 10th

Please read Section 17.2, "The Northern Renaissance," for tomorrow. We'll be back to multiple choice for the quiz.

If you haven't yet read "your" section from Chapter 16 (Maya, Aztec or Inca), you could also take care of that.

Your "entry" into the Renaissance Art Festival needs to be ready to go for Monday's class.

Remember that your group's early American empire presentation will be the middle.

We can take a quick look at the multiple choice questions from the Unit #3 Exam.

Here's a Unit #4 Review/Study Guide in digital form if you prefer.

It is also time to start your second Current Events Log. This will run for this week and the three that follow.

Chapter 16 takes a look at some of the "People and Empires in the Americas, 500 - 1500." This fourth (and final for the year) unit is called "Connecting Hemispheres," so you probably have some idea of where we are headed. This chapter, however, will focus only on events in the Americas that precede the arrival of Columbus and others.

We're going to do things a little bit differently here. After an introduction to the chapter today, we're going to sort of set it aside for almost a week. You'll all be part of a group focusing on one of the three "big" empires of the Americas: Maya, Aztec and Inca. We'll turn to Chapter 17, "European Renaissance and Reformation," but we'll come back to these American empires after that. Make sense? It should as we get going...

We'll do a couple of quick activities to kick things off here.

Spheres of Interaction: First, one of the common misconceptions about the early Americas is that small pockets of people were living in isolation with no contact among them until the Europeans come along. We'll take a look at some evidence that may lead you to rethink that conclusion.

You'll get a handout on trade goods found in one of three areas: Eastern North America, Mesoamerica and the Andes. Work with people with the same group to sort the items into three categories: food, raw materials, manufactured items. We'll get these listed on the board.

Consider these questions: Which items are most likely to be locally produced and which have come from some distance? What considerations influence your predictions?

Next, we'll give you a couple minutes to think about geography. For your region, make a list of both advantages and obstacles geography provides for your region in terms of trading.

Finally, what evidence or hypotheses do we have to suggest that these spheres actually did interact?

North American Societies - Chapter 16.1
As I said, we won't do much with this. However, there's some interesting information on the Internet that can help supplement what your textbook has for information.

Spend a few minutes browsing the links provided for some of the groups mentioned in the section.

* Hohokam (Arizona) - click on the photos to tour a Hohokam "pithouse" in 3D
* Anasazi (Four Corners region) - take a tour of the "great kiva"
* Mississippian Mound Builders (woodlands east of the Mississippi) - browse the artifact collections
* Hopewell (Ohio) - sort of an odd mix of information about the Great Serpent Mound

Choosing an Empire - As I mentioned, we'll be embarking on a project on the three great empires of Mesoamerica and South America in the pre-Columbian period. To help you refresh your understanding of the Maya, Aztecs and Inca, I have a quick document-based activity for you to work through.

After we discuss these items, we'll get you assigned to three groups. The rest of the time is yours to look at the information in your section and/or check out the book and reviews below.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus is a relatively recent (and controversial) book written by Charles Mann. I'm linking a couple of reviews below. We'll talk a bit about what these critics have to say if we get time.

• 1491: The Truth About the Americas Before Columbus from Upside Down World
• '1491' Explores the Americas Before Columbus - National Public Radio
  
• Reviews of Books - a site offering multiple reviews from different sources

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, May 9th

Please read 17.1, "Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance," for tomorrow. There will be a reading quiz. (We will take this one the "traditional" way

Remember that you need to get me your Unit #3 Essay by Friday. (That's the original due date, but I did say I won't count late any that I receive on Monday.)

It is a pretty straight-forward plan for today. You'll take the objective portion of the Unit #3 Exam. It has 60 multiple choice questions. (I should have the multiple choice portions graded by tomorrow.)

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Tuesday, May 8th

I know, only a real meanie assigns reading the night of the exam. However, to keep us on schedule, I'd like you to read Section 16.1 for tomorrow. There will be a quiz. (After that, we're going to do something a little different with the order of readings, so I'll explain that on Tuesday.)

Remember that you should turn in your Unit #3 Essay no later than Friday upon your arrival to class. Please have them printed out. (Double-sided is just fine...)

Here's a copy of the Unit #3 "Two Minute" Review template you might want to use to take notes. (NOTE: I've typed in information for the sections no one selected.)

Here's another copy of the Unit #3 Review/Study Guide if you need it.

We'll tackle the "Two-Minute Drill" to aid you in preparing for the Unit #3 Exam. Remember, you each have a chance to contribute to our overall understanding of the material that we have studied so far this year. (These are worth 5 points each.) Here's a list of the sections in the order that we'll cover them:

WORLD HISTORY: PATTERNS OF INTERACTION

UNIT 3: An Age of Exchange and Encounter (500 - 1500)

Chapter 10: The Muslim World (600 - 1250)
1 The Rise of Islam
2 Islam Expands
3 Muslim Culture

Chapter 11: Byzantines, Russians, and Turks Interact (500 - 1500)
1 The Byzantine Empire
2 The Russian Empire
3 Turkish Empires Rise in Anatolia

Chapter 12: Empires in East Asia (600 - 1350)
1 Tang and Song China
2 The Mongol Conquests
3 The Mongol Empire
4 Feudal Powers in Japan
5 Kingdoms of Southeast Asia and Korea

Chapter 13: European Middle Ages (500 - 1200)
1 Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms
2 Feudalism in Europe
3 The Age of Chivalry
4 The Power of the Church

Chapter 14: The Formation of Western Europe (800 - 1500)
1 Church Reform and the Crusades
2 Changes in Medieval Society
3 England and France Develop
4 The Hundred Years' War and the Plague

Chapter 15: Societies and Empires of Africa (800 -1500)
1 North and Central African Societies
2 West African Civilizations
3 Eastern City-States and Southern Empires

You're free to ask me questions and do whatever sort of review that you think would be helpful with any remaining time.

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, May 7th

We've got the Unit #3 Multiple Choice Exam coming up on Monday.

Please finish up and return your Unit #7 DBQs if you have yet to do so.

Your Unit #3 Essay is due no later than the end of the day on Friday, May 11th.

Remember that you may either hand write or type your Identifications. Here's a Unit #3 Identifications template if you are planning on typing. (Of course, you are not able to access the Internet or anything else on your computer should you choose to type.)

The DBQs are available and ready for you to get started on those. You are NOT required to finish them completely by the end of the hour.


HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Friday, May 4th

We will do the Unit #3 "Two-Minute" Reviews tomorrow. Be sure you are ready with your section.

Reminder that Monday is the Objective Exam - Multiple Choice.

Your essay is due no later than at your arrival to class on Friday, May 11th.

Here's another copy of the Unit #3 Review/Study Guide if you need it. We'll also draw for the Unit #3 "Two-Minute" reviews that will take place on Friday.

We'll finish our look at the trading kingdoms of West Africa today. We'll discuss the two tasks you were asked to work on yesterday. After that, you'll have some time to begin reviewing for the Unit #3 Exam.

Trading Kingdom Top Tens: Our three groups were responsible for creating a "Top Ten" list on one of three important West African trading kingdoms: Ghana, Mali, or Songhai. Today, each group will share its list with the groups representing the other two kingdoms. The BBC website, The Story of Africa: West African Kingdoms might be useful. You can download a template for the West African Trading Kingdom Top Tens if you still need one.

Trading Kingdoms Study Guide: The Trading Kingdoms study guide was designed to get you looking at a few primary source documents on Africa.We'll talk about what you found.

Cool Site of the Day: As you read, Great Zimbabwe was an important city in southern Africa. Here's a pretty interesting slide show on Great Zimbabwe that also contains useful information.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, May 3rd

You have two days, but be sure to prepare your part for our review activity that will take place on Friday.

The Identification portion of the Unit #3 Exam will take place tomorrow. (Remember that you are allowed to bring in 10 words of notes for each item.)

The multiple choice portion of the Unit #3 Exam will take place on Monday, May 7th.

Your Unit #3 Essay will be due to me no later than the end of the day on Friday, May 11th.

I'll take any questions about the Unit #3 Exam format at the top here. Then, we'll let Eleanor of Aquitaine have her moment of fame, followed by a quick look back at the Middle Ages.

Today's focus will be on Africa and Chapter 15. You'll have the bulk of the hour to work on two tasks.

Trading Kingdom Top Tens: Initially, we'll divide into three groups. Each will be responsible for creating a "Top Ten" list on one of three important West African trading kingdoms: Ghana, Mali, or Songhai. On Wednesday, your group will share your list with the groups representing the other two kingdoms. You decide what is important enough to go our your list. Section 2 of Chapter 15 will be a good resource, and some of you may like using the BBC website, The Story of Africa: West African Kingdoms. You can download a template for the West African Trading Kingdom Top Tens.

 .

Trading Kingdoms Study Guide: There aren't a lot of primary source documents that have survived from these trading kingdoms, but this activity will acquaint you with some of the most famous. You'll get a packet containing four of these documents. You can download a study guide that contains a number of questions. You may work with one partner if you'd like, but everyone should have their own set of answers.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, May 2nd

Please finish up your reading for Unit #3 with Chapter 15, Section 3. The quiz will be fill-in-the-blank.

Remember that the information for the Unit #3 Identifications and Essay questions are posted on a separate entry. I'll have your packet of quizzes from this unit ready for you tomorrow as well.

On Thursday, we'll have you write your first batch of identifications. Remember that you can bring in ten words of notes for each item. The Unit #3 "Two-Minute" Review takes place on Friday. We'll do the Multiple Choice portion of the exam next Monday, May 7th. Your Unit #3 Essay is due by Friday, May 11th.

We'll finish our look at the Middle Ages today by considering the deadly epidemic of the bubonic plague. After that, we'll discuss the "meaning" of the Middle Ages.

The Bubonic Plague (The Black Death) We will use various sources to try to make sense of this epidemic and its impact. Start with reading the handout, "Dramatic Moment: A Case of Germ Warfare that Got Out of Hand."

Next, here are some basic facts. We'll also take a look at the geography of the plague.

• The plague first arrived in Europe in 1347 aboard Genoese ships in Sicily.
• Black rats carried fleas infected with Yersinia pestis.
• Within 4 years, it touched almost all parts of Europe.
• About 1/3 of Europe's population was lost. Perhaps 25 million died.
• Another 25 million died in Asia and Africa.

Contemporary Accounts of the Black Death: We'll have you read two accounts of the suffering of those living in Italy during the plague. Both Boccaccio and Agnolo di Tura wrote about its effects. The next handout contains an excerpt from each of them.

Some questions to consider:

1. Besides the fact of death itself, what other problems caused by the Black Death did Boccaccio and di Tura identify?

2. What characteristics of the Black Death were emphasized by the contemporary observers read so far (including those in the Dramatic Moment)?

3. What reasons can you give for accepting, and what reasons for doubting, the information given by Boccaccio and di Tura?

4. In your reaction to Boccaccio's and di Tura's accounts, what difference, if any, does it make that the two authors' outlook and purpose were different? That Boccaccio's account is part of a book that is fiction, and he did not speak from personal experience, while di Tura's is a chronicle by an eyewitness? How acceptable is hearsay as historical evidence? How acceptable is fiction as historical evidence?

Trying to Cope: For the Europeans of the time, explaining just what was happening, and how to stop it, proved to be difficult. We'll look at some of the various explanations.

Some questions to consider:

1. What explanations did people at the time give for the pestilence?

2. Which explanations were based on observation? Which on reasoning? On religious belief? Analogy? Inference? Later statements by authorities?

3. If you had to identify one thing we now know from scientific research that was not known in the fourteenth century and most handicapped efforts at finding the causes of the plague, what would you pick? Why? Given fourteenth-century conditions, what would have been the consequences of someone at the time discovering the one thing you picked?

Effects of the Plague: It should be no surprise that the plague had long-reaching effects and impacts upon Europe. Let's see if we can figure many of them out. Think in terms of social, political and economic impacts. (I've also got a few interesting overheads to show you.)

COOL(?) SITE OF THE DAY: The Black Death is part of the "Insecta Inspecta" website. Their motto? "The world is covered in bugs, so shouldn't you know a little bit about them?" There is some good information on the plague and its effects here.

Discussion: What was the Middle Ages? Dark Ages, Age of Faith, Age of Feudalism, or a Golden Age?"

We'll give you five minutes initially to meet with others in your group to brainstorm ideas for "your" side of this discussion. Following that, we'll hear your thoughts. Consider this likely to be a graded discussion, so be sure to make at least one good contribution.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Tuesday, May 1st

Continue your reading in Chapter 15 with Section 2. The quiz will be multiple choice.

Remember that the information for the Identifications and Essay Questions are posted on a separate entry. You will write five identifications on Thursday, and you are welcome to bring in up to ten words of notes for each of the 15 possible ID terms.

Today, we'll take a look at the development of the earliest nations in Europe. England and France are generally considered the first to develop strong central governments. Soon after that, they'll be fighting each other in the Hundred Years War (1337 - 1453).

Eleanor of Aquitaine - As you will (hopefully) read over the weekend, Eleanor was a fascinating woman who was both wife to two kings (one French and one British) and also mother to two other kings (England's Richard the Lion-Hearted and John).

On Monday, we'll give you a quick chance to accuse or defend Eleanor of Aquitaine on the charges that she both incited a rebellion against her husband, the King of England Henry Plantagenet, and encouraged her sons to rebel against their father.

Let's spend some time together bringing England and France from collections of feudal lords to what we might call "nations."

England

Norman Conquest - 1066 - throne is vacant after Edward the Confessor

William the Conqueror - Duke of Normandy

defeated Harold Godwinson at Battle of Hastings
claimed all English lands as his - gave to loyal nobles

Henry II (rules 1154 - 1189) - marries Eleanor of Aquitaine - gains French lands

strengthened courts and justice system
rise of the jury trial
rulings formed basis of "common law"

Richard the Lion-Hearted is succeeded by brother John

cruelty and taxes led to conflict with nobles
John forced to agree to Magna Carta in 1215 (Translation here.)

limited the power of the king and enforced basic legal rights
huge influence on the US and democracy centuries later

Model Parliament formed under Edward I

1295 - called people together to raise money for war
involved both nobles (House of Lords) and commoners (House of Commons)

France

Hugh Capet begins Capetian Dynasty (987 - 1328)

spread power outward from Paris

Philip II (Philip Augustus) - rules from 1180 to 1223

seized Normandy from the English
tripled lands under the king's control
made central government stronger
grandson, Louis IX, adds court of appeals

Philip IV creates the Estates-General

called French together for support against pope

First Estate - Church leaders
Second Estate - lords and nobles
Third Estate - commoners

The Hundred Years War (1337 - 1453) in about Ten Minutes
This war is generally seen as the "end" of medieval society in Europe. Let's see what we can figure out about the conflict.

• Who fought?
  
• When did they fight?
  
• Where did they fight?
  
• Why did they fight?
  
• How did they fight?

Remember that Joan of Arc played a role in this conflict... She led the French to a victory at Orleans at age 17, and she was burned at the stake less than two years later.

Impacts of the Hundred Years War: nationalism, end of knights in battle, increased power for French monarch, turmoil in England

"The Middle Ages: Dark Ages, Age of Faith, Age of Feudalism, or a Golden Age?"

This will be the discussion we'll use to wrap up our look at the Middle Ages on Monday. We'll give you the last few minutes today to meet with others in your group to brainstorm ideas for "your" side of the discussion. (Remember that we'll also look at the bubonic plague, or Black Death, as well.)

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Monday, April 30th

Please read Chapter 15, Section 1 ("North and Central African Societies") for class on Monday. The quiz will be matching.

Remember that the Identifications and DBQ portions of the Unit #3 Exam will be on Thursday, May 3rd. (We'll do the Unit #3 "Two-Minute" Review on Friday the 4th.) The Multiple Choice portion of the Unit #3 Exam will be on Monday, May 7th. Your Unit #3 Essay will be due to me by the end of Friday, May 11th. (The IDs and Essay choices are listed on a separate blog entry.)

Today we'll take a look at Cathedral. This is another from the David Macaulay series that originally aired on PBS. This time, we'll travel back to 1214 to the fictional Gothic cathedral, Notre Dame de Beaulieu.

HOMEWORK for next session: Friday, April 27th

Please finish your reading in Chapter 14 with Section 4, "The Hundred Years' War and the Plague."

For Monday, you should read through the "historical background" and the "documents" in the "Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Angevin Empire" packet you received. We'll briefly debate the charges against her, namely that she helped her sons rebel against their father, Henry Platagenet, the King of England.

Chapter 15, "Societies and Empires of Africa," will be our focus next Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, we'll do the Unit #3 Identifications and DBQs. On Friday, we will do the Unit #3 "Two-Minute Reviews." You'll have the weekend to prepare for the Unit #3 Multiple Choice Exam on Monday, May 7th. Your Unit #3 Essay will be due to me no later than your arrival at class on Friday, May 11th.

Our focus today will be on the "tour" of medieval art and architecture. You'll get your chance to briefly teach us about your part of the tour. These are worth 10 points.  These should go quickly, like no more than 5 minutes each. Here's the order in which we'll see presentations:

Medieval Art and Architecture:

Gothic Cathedrals
Notre Dame de Paris (France)
Chartres (France)
Reims (France)
Sainte Chapelle (France)
Canterbury Cathedral (England)
Westminster Abbey - (England)
Cologne Cathedral (Germany)

Castles
Tower of London (England)
Warwick Castle (England)
Eilean Donan (Scotland)
Chateau de Vincennes (France)
Bojnice (Slovakia)

Art and Museums
Louvre (Paris)
National Gallery (London)
The Cloisters (branch of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art)
illuminated manuscripts

The Crusades
Your assignment was to have put in a good effort on the Crusade Document Study Guide that you received yesterday. We can talk briefly about what you found interesting and/or important on those questions. (Of course, if you have any question on the "basics" of the Crusades, it would be a good time to ask them.)

As Bob Dylan wrote and sang, "The Times They Are A-Changin'." They were also doing so during the Middle Ages. How's THAT for a transition? Let's briefly look at some of those changes:

Growth in food supply:

horsepower
three-field system

Development of the guilds

Commercial Revolution

fairs and trade
business and banking

Growth in population and urban life

Revival of learning:

Muslin connections
Universities
growth of the vernacular
Thomas Aquinas - links Greeks to Christianity

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Thursday, April 26th

Continue the Middle Ages reading in Chapter 14 with Section 3, "England and France Develop." The quiz will be fill-in-the-blank.

For Monday, you will be asked to read through the "historical background" and the "documents" in the "Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Angevin Empire" packet you receive tomorrow. On Monday, we'll briefly debate the charges against her, namely that she helped her sons rebel against their father, Henry Platagenet, the King of England.

The Crusades - Reviewing the Basics

You should have read the textbook's section on the Crusades by now. (pp. 382-385) If you can answer the questions below, I think you are on the right track. (If you can't answer them, it's a good time to use your textbook and figure out those answers.)

• Who actually "began" the Crusades in 1095 with his call to reclaim the Holy Land?
• In addition to the obvious religious motives; what economic, political and social factors helped spur the Crusades?
• What was the most significant outcome of the First Crusade? Was this gain permanent?
• Who were Richard the Lion-Hearted and Saladin?
• What was the Reconquista in Spain? How did later Spanish rulers use the Inquisition?
• What would you consider to be the main effects of the Crusades?

The Crusades - Looking at Primary and Secondary Sources

After you are feeling good about the "basics" of the Crusades, you should tackle this activity. The seven sources below each correspond to a question on this

Crusades Document Study Guide. You can work with a partner if you'd like, and I certainly might wander around checking these during our Medieval Art and Architecture tour tomorrow. You know, maybe even giving credit to those who show evidence of having used their time effectively and gotten something out of this activity...

• Pope Urban II (1088-1099): Speech at Council of Clermont, 1095, (Five versions of the Speech) - Internet Medieval Sourcebook
  
  
• Crusader Letters: Medieval Sourcebook
  
  
• The Siege and Capture of Jerusalem: Collected Accounts - Medieval Sourcebook
  
  
• A Christian/Moslem Debate of the 12th Century - Medieval Sourcebook
  
  
• The "Children's Crusade", 1212 - Medieval Sourcebook
  
  
• "Kingdom of Heaven" - Insight (CNN transcript) - May 9, 2005
  

  
  (AFTER you answer the questions on this one, you can check out the "trailers" and some other features.)

• "Europe cringes at Bush 'crusade' against terrorists" - Christian Science Monitor, September 19, 2001 (NOTE: The Christian Science Monitor is a well-respected international newspaper. It shouldn't be seen as coming from an exclusively religious perspective.)

COOL (in a being very thorough and scholarly sort of way) SITE OF THE DAY #1: The Crusades - Internet Medieval Sourcebook For those of you looking ahead to the Crusades and those of you who love primary sources...

COOL SITE OF THE DAY #2: The Saint John's Bible - This is a pretty interesting and ambitious project undertaken by Minnesota's own Saint John's University. Browse to see examples of the work.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, April 25th

Please continue reading in Chapter 14 by completing Section 2, "Changes in Medieval Society." (If you skipped it, be sure to read the "Different Perspectives" on page 386.)

Your part of our Medieval Art and Architecture tour should be ready to go for tomorrow.

We'll take a look at "Things that Start with 'C'" for a couple of days:  chivalry, the Catholic Church, the Crusades, Cathedral. Think of it as a theme...

Chivalry: I'd like to start with us brainstorming a bit about what we think "chivalry" means.

Chivalry - A modern perspective: Chivalry Today is a website dedicated to bringing a Code of Chivalry to the 21st Century. If you browse the site, you can find a lot of interesting ideas and resources. We'll make use of a couple of these.

The Seven Knightly Virtues: Essential elements of today's code of chivalry - I'll give you a handout of what the group has identified to be the seven "knightly virtues" of modern chivalry. Pair up with one or two other people, and I'd like you to ponder three things: (1) Which of these values do you find most important today? (2) Which of these values do you find most lacking in today's society? (3) How well do you and those around you fulfill the values on the list?

Discussion I figure we can spend fifteen minutes or so on these questions. First, we'll get your take on the questions above.

• Does true chivalry exist today? Why or why not?
• Does it matter if chivalry exists today? Why or why not?
• How does the medieval code of chivalry compare to the Japanese Bushido code?
• Is chivalry inherently sexist? Explain.
• What would make up YOUR modern code of chivalry?

Chivalry (and more) in Medieval Literature: Below are links to on-line versions (or excerpts) of several works of medieval literature. We'll take ten minutes and browse one or more, looking for specific examples of chivalry and other important values of the time. Keep track of a couple interesting ideas to share with the class.

• The Song of Roland - Anonymous (20th c. translation)
• Canterbury Tales - "The Knight's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer
• The Tales of King Arthur's Court - collected by the Camelot Project at the University of Rochester
• Tales from "The Robin Hood Project" - another University of Rochester group

Church things you should know that I don't have a clever way to teach you...(aka Section 13.4) So, before we get to the Crusades, we should make sure you are clear on some of the ideas related to the Church and its power in the medieval period.

We'll clarify and take any questions on:

• sacraments
• canon law

excommunication
interdict

• Otto the Great - Holy Roman Empire
• lay investiture

Henry IV v. Pope Gregory VII - 1077
Concordat of Worms - 1122 - compromise on investiture

Medieval Art and Architecture: You all seem to like PowerPoint, so here's a chance to put it to good use. We're going to take a tour of medieval architecture and art, and you're doing the work.

Your task is simple. You will select a topic from the list below. (I'll listen to suggestions of other possibilities as well.) You'll prepare a visual PowerPoint (or Keynote, if you prefer) presentation on that topic. The ONLY writing that should appear (beyond a title slide) is what you feel is necessary to label something or to credit a source. I don't want written descriptions and that sort of thing. You should have between five and ten slides. (They don't all need to be overall photos. You can show particular features, diagrams or whatever seems appropriate.)

These are worth 10 points.

Gothic Cathedrals

• Canterbury Cathedral (England)
• Chartres (France)
• Cologne Cathedral (Germany)
• Notre Dame de Paris (France)
• Reims (France)
• Sainte Chapelle (actually a chapel, not cathedral) - (France)
• Westminster Abbey (technically a church, not cathedral) - (England)

Castles

• Bojnice (Slovakia)
• Chateau de Vincennes (France)
• Eilean Donan (Scotland)
• Tower of London (England)
• Warwick Castle (England)

Art and Museums (focus on thier Medieval collections)

• The Cloisters (branch of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art)
• illuminated manuscripts
• Louvre (Paris)
• National Gallery (London)

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Tuesday, April 24th

Please start reading in Chapter 14 by completing Section 1, "Church Reform and the Crusades."

Your part(s) of the Middle Ages Art and Architecture "tour" is/are due this Wednesday.

As I mentioned earlier in the quarter, I've got several pretty good videos that I do have time to show since this is a longer quarter.

I think you'll both enjoy this and find it useful. Here's what the New York Times had to say in its review...

Host and author David Macaulay takes you on a journey to the 13th century to explore a Welsh castle. From beginning to end we see a how a castle is created. He explores the culture of the time and its unique architectural developments. Get a first look at the construction of an ancient castle and their building methods. We see the lives of those who called the castle home, and the significant role castles played in 13th century life. This PBS animated program has won the Cine Golden Eagle Award, and was a Red Ribbon winner at the American Film and Video Festival. David Macaulay documents the massive undertaking of castle construction.

The video will take about an hour. Yeah, it's largely a cartoon, but it has a LOT of good information about life at that time...

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, April 23rd

Please finish your reading in Chapter 13. Read Section 4, "The Power of the Church," for Monday. The quiz will be true/false.

Your Current Events Logs for Weeks #1 and #2 should be completed by Monday.

Our look at the Middle Ages in Europe continues today as we examine feudalism, bringing in Japan as well. Following today, our focus will shift to issues largely related to religion for several days.

FEUDALISM

Here's what you should get for materials today:

* A copy of EITHER a handout on Japan or a handout on Europe. Half of you will get each one today. That will determine whether you focus on European or Japanese feudalism today.

* TWO documents are available below to download for activities you will be doing. They are the "Feudalism Matrix" and the "Comparison and Contrast" sheet.

* Of course, you also have your text and the Internet available. (Page 361 is a good resource in your text.)

TASK #1 - "Feudalism - A Drama in Two Acts"- I know that many of you were/are involved in the MPA Winter and/or Spring Shows (as well as outside groups), but the "Ninth Grade World History Theater" needs to take precedence for today. You'll be chosen to present either Japanese or European feudalism to the other half of the class.

You'll have fifteen minutes to prepare. Your "presentation/ discussion" needs to be somewhere around five minutes. It must introduce us to the vocabulary below, as well as anything else you deem important. Talk, act, recreate, dramatize, do whatever it takes without being offensive. You'll get some resources from me, as well as what you read in your textbook, find online, etc. (Page 361 is good.)

Act One - European Feudalism: lord, fief, vassal, knight, serf, manor, tithe

Act Two - Japanese Feudalism: shogun, emperor, daimyo, samurai, ronin, peasants

TASK #2 - Feudalism - Organizing your thoughts: You'll get twenty minutes to fill in as much information on this Feudalism matrix as you can on "your" style of feudalism with members from your group. The reading and your textbook, along with the Internet if you'd like, should provide you with good information.

TASK #3 - Feudalism - Pair and Share: You'll get fifteen minutes to work in groups of 4 - two from Europe and 2 from Japan. Here's a comparison and contrast sheet.

.

"Cool" Site of the Day: I suppose you are sitting there, wondering to yourself, if a knight and a samurai had fought, "Who would win?" I present the answer for those of you interested in such things... The Medieval European Knight vs.The Feudal Japanese Samurai.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, April 20th

Please continue in Chapter 13 by reading Section 3, "The Age of Chivalry," for tomorrow.

Remember to continue working with your Current Events Logs. You need to be completing three of those per week.

We'll be spending the better part of the next two weeks on Chapters 13 and 14 on the Middle Ages in Europe. Topics from the Vikings, feudalism, the Crusades, castles, the Church to the Hundred Years War and the Black Plague will be covered. After that, a quick chapter on Africa will wrap up the unit.

"The Middle Ages: Dark Ages, Age of Faith, Age of Feudalism, or a Golden Age?" - This is the title of a document-based introduction to this period. We'll have you do two things with this. (No, you don't have to write an essay this time either.) First, we'll give you some time to work through this activity as an introduction. Second, you'll select one of the four "labels" for the time period. Later in the unit, we'll have a discussion where each "label" will be defended and discussed as a sort of summary.

The Early Middle Ages: Our goal together today will be to cover the events that bring us up to the emergence of feudalism throughout Europe. We'll look at that development tomorrow.

The two dominant events for today: The rise of the Germanic Kingdoms under Charlemagne and the Age of Invasions.

Charlemagne and the Germanic Kingdoms

Europe in 500

• disruption of trade
• downfall of cities
• population shifts
• decline of learning
• loss of common language

Rise of the Franks
Clovis - King adopts Christianity, unites Franks (511)
Church influence grows -

• monasteries - rules by Benedict and Scholastica
• Pope's secular influence grows

Carolingian Dynasty emerges - (751 to 987)

• Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer)
• Pepin the Short named "king by the grace of God" by pope
• leaves power to sons Carloman and Charles (aka Karl and Charlemagne)

Charlemagne (rules 771 - 814)
expands Frankish rule
reunites Western Europe
encouraged learning
800 - crowned "Holy Roman Emperor" by Pope Leo III

Treaty of Verdun - three grandsons divide empire
helps pave way for feudalism

Age of Invasions (about 800 - 1000 CE)

Vikings attack from the north
Magyars (nomads from Hungary) invaded, took slaves
Muslims strike from the south

Europeans turned to local rulers for support - feudalism

HOMEWORK for tomorrow:  Thursday, April 19th

Please read 13.2, "The Age of Chivalry," for tomorrow.

Today will be a quick introduction to the civilizations of Japan, Southeast Asia and Korea. We'll stress a few major points, but then we'll give you a chance to get into more detail in our "Show and Tell" portion of the class...

I'll bold terms for which I think you are responsible in this brief "outline."

Japan

geography

Shinto - early religion - kami

Yamato Emperors

Buddhism accepted by rulers - 700s (mixes with Shinto)
Prince Shotuko (607 CE) - cultural borrowing from China

Heian Period - (794 - 1185)

nobility enjoyed ritual and artistry
Tale of Genji - first novel - Lady Murasaki in 11th century

fuedalism - power of central government weakens

local lords raise private armies
samurai warriors follow Bushido code

Kamakura Shogunate - Minamoto family claims power as shogun in 1192

shogun - similar to military dictator - hold real power over puppet emperor
* pattern will continue until 1868
Kamakura defeat two naval invasions by Kublai Khan - 1274 and 1281

Southeast Asia

geography

influences from India and China

Khmer Empire - peaks about 1200 CE in modern Cambodia
* Angkor Wat - massive temple complex honoring Vishnu

Dai Viet - kingdom forms when Vietnam breaks from China - 939
* heavy influence from China and Buddhism

Korea

geography

early influences from China

Silla kingdom defeats rivals to control peninsula - 600s CE
Koryu Dynasty gains control from 935 to 1392
* maintained heavy influences from China and Buddhism
* Mongols invade - demand heavy tribute

Choson Dynasty will take power in 1392 - rule for more than 500 years

"Show and Tell" - I miss the old days of doing this when I was in school, so we've got a more "high-tech" version of it for you. I selected five topics from these two sections. For each, I have identified two web sites. (You might also use others.) Basically, your group will have five minutes in which to share information about one of these following topics.

Your topic will be one of these:

• Shinto - indigenous religion of Japan
• The Tale of Genji - the world's first novel
• The Samurai and the Bushido code
• Angkor Wat - temple complex in Cambodia
• Korean Art

Your task: You'll have five minutes to "show and tell." The projector is yours to use. Assume that, rather than taking diligent notes, we'll be watching and listening. Give us a couple major points, but be sure we're getting something to see as well. I'll post the time schedule on the board.

Here are some starting links...

Shinto - Religion & Ethics
Shinto - japan-guide.com

The Tale of Genji - online version with images from UNESCO
The Tale Of Genji - a photographic guide

The Samurai Archives - Japanese History Page
Bushido and the Samurai

Angkor - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Angkor What? - a tourist guide

Korean Art - Metropolitan Museum
Korean Art - Musuem of Fine Arts, Boston

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, April 18th

It is still just reading. For tomorrow, please read Chapter 13, Section 1 ("Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms").

Nice job with the jigsaw groups. We can start there and move forward with continuing our look at the Mongols...

The Mongols - The Basics: You are probably familiar with these from the reading, but here's a list of specifics that you should know regarding the Mongols.

Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khan)
Khanate
Golden Horde
Tatar Yoke
Pax Mongolica
Kublai Khan
Yuan Dynasty
Marco Polo

Mini-Trial - The People v. Chinggis Khan Assume that the International Criminal Court has brought Genghis Khan to trial for crimes against humanity. With the aid of the handout I'll provide you, consider whether you would prosecute or defend him on the following charges.

• Mass murder
  
• Intentional destruction of property
  
• Blackmail and/or extortion
  
• Germ warfare
  
• Forced relocation

NOTE: It is certainly appropriate to consider both the standards of the time, as well as any mitigating circumstances in deciding whether "guilt" should be placed on Chinggis.

Wrapping Up - The Discussion I'm curious about your thoughts on the following questions:

• Who was of greater historical significance: Chinggis Khan or Alexander the Great?
  
  
• If forced to choose one, were the Mongols "fiends from hell" or "culture brokers?" (The first label comes from an English historian and the last from a Persian merchant.)
  
  
• Which is more difficult: creating an empire or effectively ruling it?
  
  
• Has warfare become more or less humane since the time of the Mongols?
  
  
• Can we learn anything about tolerance and diversity from the Mongol experience?
  
  
• In what ways have the lessons we've done confirmed, modified and/or disproved your earlier impressions of the Mongols?

HOMEWORK for next session: Tuesday, April 17

You'll be asked to read Chapter 12, Section 4 - "Feudal Powers in Japan" for Tuesday. The quiz for that will be fill-in-the-blank.

You will receive a copy of the Chapter 12, Section 5 - "Kingdoms of Southeast Asia and Korea" quiz to complete at home. It should back tomorrow. It is a true/false quiz.

Don't forget about your Current Events Logs.

Our topic for the next two days will be the Mongols. We'll look at how they built and governed their empire(s) today, and we'll focus on their impact next session. Given the wide variety of sources and perspectives on the Mongols, this is also a good time for us to do some practice using and interpreting primary and secondary documents.

The Mongols - The Introduction: We'll do one or two brief introductory activities to get things going with the Mongols.

SITE OF THE DAY: The Mongols in World History

The Mongols - The Jigsaw: I assume you've worked in groups like this before. Basically, you and two others will become "experts" on one of 6 readings. You'll decide as a group how to answer several questions on a handout. Then, we'll make up "jigsaw" groups featuring one expert on each of the six readings. You'll work through the rest of the questions in your group.

Once we get organized, we'll take 15-20 minutes in the "expert" group, and then we'll form the jigsaw groups.

1.1 - What Were the Mongol People Like in the 12th and 13th Centuries?
1.2 - What Was the Mongol Leader, Chinggis Great Khan, Really Like?
1.3 - How Did Chinggis Turn a Pastoral Nomadic Society Into an Efficient War Machine?
1.4 - What Was it Like to Live in the Mongol Homeland?
1.5 - Mongol Technology: Highly Effective Low Tech
1.6 - Shamans, Heaven, and the Ideology of Conquest

Here's a copy of the "The Mongols - Jigsaw Activity" handout that you will need to complete the questions.

The Mongols - Assessing the Impact:

Quotes, quotes, quotes: Here are four quotes from the later part of the 13th century. Read through them and decide which of them you believe to be the most and least accurate. Be prepared to explain why.

• Persian historian: "They came, burnt, killed, plundered, and left."
  
  
• Persian historian Juvaini: "In the Muslim countries devastated by Chinggis Khan, not one in a thousand of the inhabitants survived."
  
  
• Muslim chronicler Ghazi: "Under the reign of Chinggis Khan, all the countries ... enjoyed such peace that a man might have journeyed form the land of the sunrise to the land of sunset with a golden platter upon his head without suffering the least violence from anyone."
  
  
• Adviser to Kublai Khan: "I have heard that one can conquer the empire on horseback, but one cannot govern it on horseback." [This is also recorded as, "The Mongol empire has been won from the saddle, but it could not be ruled from the saddle."]

Next time, we'll take a look at the impact of the Mongols on the history of the world and the areas where their empire spread. We will also hold a brief trial for Chinggis Han (or Genghis Khan, if you prefer.)

Mini-Trial - The People v. Chinggis Khan Assume that the International Criminal Court has brought Genghis Khan to trial for crimes against humanity. With the aid of the handout I'll provide you, consider whether you would prosecute or defend him on the following charges.

• Mass murder
  
• Intentional destruction of property
  
• Blackmail and/or extortion
  
• Germ warfare
  
• Forced relocation

NOTE: It is certainly appropriate to consider both the standards of the time, as well as any mitigating circumstances in deciding whether "guilt" should be placed on Chinggis.

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, April 16th

You should be reading Chapter 12, Section 3 for the quiz on Monday. It will be multiple-choice.

Please also read the handout "Judging the Mongols," and prepare to either prosecute or defend Chinggis at our mock trial on Monday.

Remember that you need to be completing your Current Events Log. There should be at least three entries for Week #1 (April 8th - 14th) by the time you arrive for class on Monday.

We'll briefly touch base on the section from Chapter 11 on the Turks and review the first section from Chapter 12 on Tang and Song China. Tomorrow, we'll begin our closer look at the Mongols and their empire.

"Not-So-Current Events": We'll try a variation of the usual assignment here. You and a partner (or you alone) will select one important development/ accomplishment/ event from Section 12.1. We'll give you fifteen minutes to prepare your event. (The book is your obvious starting point, but some of you may also find the Internet to be useful.)

You need to do this:

• Clearly identify what the development/ accomplishment/ event is that you are covering.
• Provide us with three relevant and important pieces of information about your choice
• Explain to us the importance and/or significance of your choice in both its immediate and larger context

By the way, this skill will be very useful as we begin to work on writing "identifications," which are a common history test question type. You and your partner (or you if you choose to work alone) can get five points for doing a good job on this.

Here are your choices:

Section 12.1: Tang and Song China

• Wendi and the Sui Dynasty
• Tang Taizong begins a dynasty
• Accomplishments of the Tang
• The Tang lose power
• Song Dynasty restores China
• Science and technology
• Agriculture and trade
• Poetry and art
• Women and society

Observations from Travelers: Although far from perfect, the writings of travelers to many of the areas we are studying provide an important historical perspective on these regions. You'll get a copy of one of four accounts. You'll be asked to quickly read it, and we can then discuss interesting things you find, as well as consider any potential bias or inaccuracy that you discover.

The four sources are:

• Student Handout 1.1 - Excerpt from Ibn Fadlan: Observations on the Vikings and Russians (Tenth Century)
• Student Handout 1.2 - The Travels of Ibn Jubayr (twelfth century)
• Student Handout 1.3 - From Marco Polo, The Travels (13th century)
  
• Student Handout 1.4 - Excerpt from Chen Pu, A Record of Musings on the Eastern Capital of the Song Empire [Hanzhou] (thirteenth century)
  

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Friday, April 13th

Your in-class quiz tomorrow will be on Section 12:2, "The Mongol Conquests." That quiz will be matching.

Nice job with the debate yesterday.

Kievan Rus (aka the early Russian Empire) will be primary topic for today. You will want a copy of this Kievan Rus/ Mongols note-taking guide in order to maximize your understanding of this material. (Yes, I borrowed this directly from when I used to use it in Regional Studies with 9th graders... I'll try to be more original in the future.)

"Not-So-Current Events": We'll try a variation of the usual assignment here. Trios of you will select one important development/ accomplishment/ event from Section 11.3. We'll give you fifteen minutes to prepare your event. (The book is your obvious starting point, but some of you may also find the Internet to be useful.)

You need to do this:

• Clearly identify what the development/ accomplishment/ event is that you are covering.
• Provide us with three relevant and important pieces of information about your choice
• Explain to us the importance and/or significance of your choice in both its immediate and larger context

By the way, this skill will be very useful as we begin to work on writing "identifications," which are a common history test question type.

Here are your choices:

Section 11.3: Turkish Empires Rise in Anatolia

• Rise of the Seljuks
• Seljuk Dynasty
• Seljuks and the Crusades
• Seljuks and the Mongols

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, April 12th

Please read Section 12:1, "Tang and Song China."

Don't forget your Current Events Log. You are required to complete that activity three times per week. For our purposes, let's say that the week runs from Sunday through Saturday.

The Byzantine Empire: We'll try a couple of different things today.

The four main points to watch for today (more notes on the last blog entry):

• The rule and accomplishments of Justinian
• Constantinople and its significance
• The split within the Church
• The fall of Constantinople
  
  
  The Debate:  Since the Enlightenment of the 1700s, the Byzantine Empire has been identified by historians as something distinct from the Roman Empire. Many would suggest that would not be accurate, that the Byzantines were a continuation of the Roman Empire in the East. We'll debate this.
  
  Resolved:  The Roman Empire did not fall in 476, but in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople.
  

You were asked to do four things to prepare for our debate. We'll give you fifteen minutes at the top:

• Take notes as you listen to the Introduction of the 12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of The Byzantine Empire by Lars Brownworth podcast. 
• Complete the DBQ and be prepared to share relevant information from that.
  
• Consider the information in Chapter 11, Section 1 and look for arguments to support your side of the debate. 
• Fourth, check out the pictures of Constantinople  
  

Think about differences or similarities in terms of religion, politics, economics, language, culture, architecture, law, and geography as you scan this chapter. 


HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, April 11th

Please read 11.3 ("Turkish Empires Rise in Anatolia") for tomorrow. The quiz will be fill-in-the-blank.

We'll start off with finishing up any material on Islam. There's time to take any questions or consider any additional topics.

Your main focus for today will be on the Byzantine Empire. Hopefully, you got a chance to do the reading and get the basics down. We're back to the "other" half of the Roman Empire, the Greek-speaking section to the east of Rome. You probably remember that Constantine shifted the capital to Byzantium (later Constantinople) in 330 CE. The empire survives for another thousand years.

You'll start with the reading quiz on the Byzantine Empire.

The Byzantine Empire: We'll try a couple of different things today. Initially, I have another DBQ that we'll have you work on for a while. (Don't worry, we won't do these every day. I just have several good ones that fit in these lessons.)

The four main points to watch for today:

• The rule and accomplishments of Justinian
• Constantinople and its significance
• The split within the Church
• The fall of Constantinople

Justinian and his rule (527-565)
- reconquers Roman lands
- creates the Justinian Code
- builds Constantinople into "The City"
- plague of Justinian hits (542 -> 700 CE)

Constantinople: The text does a good job showing the significance and majesty of the city. Here are some interesting pictures of Constantinople taken by the professor about whom you will read below. Spend some time checking these out.

The split within the Church: in 1054, a long developing conflict resulted in the "Great Schism." Here, Christianity was officially split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Let's figure out both the underlying and immediate causes of this split. Make sure you understand these terms: patriarch, icon, excommunication.

The fall of Constantinople: Your text makes it clear that the Byzantine Empire faced centuries of attack and warfare from groups ranging from the Persians to the Russians to the Turks. As the empire shrank, it centered around Constantinople. Finally, in 1453, the Ottoman Turks took the city. The Byzantine Empire gave way to that of the Ottomans.

12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of The Byzantine Empire by Lars Brownworth

The website above has created a bit of an Internet sensation. As this New York Times article explains, the work of an obscure history professor about a relatively obscure topic in history has become of the most frequently listened to podcasts of any type.

The Debate:  Since the Enlightenment of the 1700s, the Byzantine Empire has been identified by historians as something distinct from the Roman Empire. Many would suggest that would not be accurate, that the Byzantines were a continuation of the Roman Empire in the East. We'll debate this.

Resolved:  The Roman Empire did not fall in 476, but in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople.

In order to prepare for this debate, you are going to do a few things.  First, listen to the Introduction of the podcast linked above. (It's almost 14 minutes.)  This podcast is an introduction to a series of interesting lectures about the history of the Byzantine Empire. Listen on your own or with a friend.

You should do four things to prepare for our debate:

• Take notes as you listen to the podcast. 
• Complete the DBQ and be prepared to share relevant information from that.
  
• Consider the information in Chapter 11, Section 1 and look for arguments to support your side of the debate. 
• Fourth, check out the photographs linked above. 
  

Think about differences or similarities in terms of religion, politics, economics, language, culture, architecture, law, and geography as you scan this chapter. 

You will have some class time to prepare for your side of the debate.

HOMEWORK for next session - Tuesday, April 10th

Please make sure that you read 11.2 ("The Russian Empire") for tomorrow. The quiz will be multiple choice.

Be prepared for your role in the debate.

We'll take 10 minutes to let you get organized, but then we'll get started with the two groups.

First, the group responsible for Section 2, "Islam Expands," and DBQ #6, "Spread of Islamic Civilization," will be addressing this question: How did Islamic civilization spread so widely and so quickly?

Second, the group responsible for Section 3, "Muslim Culture," and DBQ #7, "Islamic Culture: Its Contributions to World Culture," will be addressing this question: What were the most important Islamic contributions to world culture and knowledge?

As a reminder, each group will be expected to do the following:

• Introduce us to the most important points and information from the section in the textbook. (You might think in terms of five central points or something like that.)
• Discuss the specific documents you were assigned and explain how they link to the "big question" and what they can teach us.
• Develop a position on the "big question" that you can communicate effectively to us. (You might think of this as "talking an essay" to us that addresses your particular issue.

Each group can receive up to 10 points.

How did Islamic civilization spread so widely and so quickly?

Section 2 - "Islam Expands"
DBQ #6 - "Spread of Islamic Civilization"

Defining terms: caliph, jihad, "rightly guided," Umayyads, Shi'a, Sunni, Sufi, Abbasids

Key events:
632: death of Muhammad
632-634: Abu-Bakr rules as caliph

Umar, Uthman and Ali rules as caliphs

661: Ali is assassinated
Umayyads rule - shift to Damascus
732 - Muslims defeated at Battle of Tours (200 miles from Paris)
750 - Abbasids take control of empire - shift to Baghdad

What were the most important Islamic contributions to world culture and knowledge?

Section 3 - "Muslim Culture"
DBQ #7 - "Islamic Culture: Its Contributions to World Culture"

Defining terms: House of Wisdom

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, April 9th

We'll begin Chapter 11, so please read 11.1, "The Byzantine Empire." We'll have a matching quiz.

We'll continue a bit with the "introduction" today, but most of our time will be spent preparing for tomorrow's lesson. Basically, half of the class will work on one topic, and the rest on another. More below on that. By the way, according to the trusty Internet, we are in the year 1433 AH on the Islamic calendar.

Here's a quote to get us started...

"My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level. It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. . . . It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history."

from Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33.

Here's the complete and updated list of "The 100" from Hart's most recent edition of the book. 

Just because it's interesting, here's a different list from a recent book. The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television, and Movies Have Shaped Our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History

Remind me to also show you an interesting omission (or maybe you don't think it is one) in our textbook's coverage of Muhammad's return to Mecca.

We'll also do a quick review of the Five Pillars of Islam.

The Five Pillars of Islam:

• shahadah
• salat
• zakat
• sawm
• hajj

The Impact of Islam: There are two major topics we need to cover next - the spread of Islam and its significance in world history. Chapter 10 nicely divides those two topics between Section 2, "Islam Expands," and Section 3, "Muslim Culture." I also have a pair of DBQ (document based question) activities that are roughly divided the same way.

Here's how we are going to do this. First, we'll divide into 2 groups.

• One group will be responsible for Section 2, "Islam Expands," and DBQ #6, "Spread of Islamic Civilization." The main question you will be addressing: How did Islamic civilization spread so widely and so quickly?
  
  
• The other will be responsible for Section 3, "Muslim Culture," and DBQ #7, "Islamic Culture: Its Contributions to World Culture." The main question you will be addressing: What were the most important Islamic contributions to world culture and knowledge?

You'll have the rest of today to work on this. Thursday, we'll also give you ten minutes as a group at the beginning of the hour. Following that, we'll spend approximately 30 minutes on the material related to each of the two questions.

Your group will be expected to do the following in their consideration of the "big question" and its related issues.

• Introduce us to the most important points and information from the section in the textbook. (You might think in terms of five central points or something like that.)
  
• Discuss the specific documents you were assigned and explain how they link to the "big question" and what they can teach us.
  
• Develop a position on the "big question" that you can communicate effectively to us. (You might think of this as "talking an essay" to us that addresses your particular issue.
  
• Obviously, groups should use their time effectively, and I'd expect that everyone will make a contribution to the discussion on Thursday.

Each group can receive up to 10 points for their section of class tomorrow.

(Don't make this more than it is. We don't need PowerPoints and handouts. You can certainly get us what we need through use of the information in your text and the documents. If you want to do a little Internet research to round out your knowledge, that's fine, but what I have provided you should be the base.)

HOMEWORK for tomorrow- Thursday, April 5th

Obviously, you should be ready to help contribute to your group's effort tomorrow. We'll start with the 10:2/DBQ #6 group and then hear from the 10:3/DBQ #7 group.

In addition, finish reading Chapter 10 for class. You're assigned Section 10.3, "Muslim Culture," and the quiz will be true/false.

The Rise of Islam: Let's take a few minutes to discuss "first impressions" here...

• What are the ideas, descriptions, or images that immediately come to mind when the terms "Muslim" or "Islam" are used?
  
  
• If you are asked to name Muslims (either contemporary or historical), who comes to mind?
  
  
• Are the majority of stereotypes regarding Islam positive or negative? Why do you believe that is the case?
  
  
• Is the Western media fair in its coverage of Islam? Explain your position.

Defining terms: Muhammad, (pbuh), Muhammadanism (sic), Islam, Muslim, Allah

Today, I'll take you up through the establishment of Islam in Mecca under the leadership of Muhammad in the 7th Century of the Common Era.  At least some of this material is no doubt new to you, so I'd like you to take notes.  You should use either your computer or note paper as you are comfortable.

Defining terms: Bedouin, jinn, Mecca, Ka'aba, Khadijah, Hijrah, Yathrib (Medina), Qur'an (Koran), Five Pillars


Website of the Day:  Islam: Empire of Faith- This is a web site produced by PBS to accompany a video in their "Empires" series. It's really good. We'll watch an episode from this series later in the week.


HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, April 2nd

Continue reading Chapter 10 for class. You're assigned Section 10.2, "Islam Expands," and the quiz will be fill-in-the-blank. 

NOTE:  Given that we had 3 absences in our class of 14 on the first day, I shifted the schedule around. Normally, we'd watch this video during Lesson #3, but I thought doing it this way would help folks who were absent not get too far behind. I will email you all a link to this video excerpt, so you can watch it on your own if you would like.

>>>>>>>

As I mentioned, we'll take advantage of the fact that we have six more days this quarter than in Quarter 3 by adding some interesting activities and resources. Today, we'll watch a portion of a video from PBS' Empires series. I'll show you the portion of Islam: Empire of Faith up through the death of Muhammad.

Website of the Day: Islam: Empire of Faith- This is the web site produced by PBS to accompany this video from their "Empires" series. It's really good.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow- Tuesday, April 3rd

We need to get started on the reading in Chapter 10.  For tomorrow, make sure that you have read "The Rise of Islam."  It's Section 1, pages 263-268.  As you might guess, there will be a reading quiz. It will be multiple choice. (I know you have missed them...)

I suppose that today's blog entry will be the last to have "new" material for this quarter. Don't forget to get me the two "take-home" quizzes (8:3 and 9:3) if you have yet to do that.

The Americas: A Separate World - Chapter 9

We'll spend some time looking at the earliest civilizations of the Americas. I asked you to have a significant portion of your chart/matrix ready to go for today. Let's use that.

You can download another here if you need: Early American Civilizations

Here are the cultures where we will focus our attention:

• Olmec
• Zapotec
• Teotihuacan
• Chavin
• Moche
• Nazca

We'll see what themes and comparisons/contrasts we can draw here. First, let's look at the Mesoamerican civilizations, followed by those of the Andean mountains. Feel free to add detail to your own matrix as you see fit. I'll expect to hear from everyone at least once.

Once we've developed a better understanding of the American civilizations, it's time to compare them to the other areas that we have studied. "Afroeurasia" is a term used to refer to the land mass consisting of Africa, Europe and Asia. Basically, I want us to compare what we know about the Americas with what we know about the rest of the world. Of course, for those of you who like to keep things organized, here's a note guide for the Comparison of Empires and City-States: America and Afroeurasia.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, January 11th

Your portion of the "Two-Minute Drill" needs to be ready to go Wednesday. (You will have Thursday as a work day. You might want to do your DBQs that day.)

The objective portion of the Unit #2 Exam will be in class on Friday. The essay portion of the Unit #2 Exam is also due on Friday.

Here's the link to the Extra Credit - World History 9 films blog entry. If you are interested in doing this, I need your responses posted no later than the end of the day on Saturday, January 14th.

As you probably noticed, this is the last week of the quarter. We'll take our Unit #2 Exam on Friday of this week. No homework for the weekend! (See, that's a joke, because the quarter will be over...)

You'll have time to prepare, work on your essay if needed and do your DBQs on Thursday, and we'll finish up with the objective portion on Friday. (You'll find the essay choices on the previous blog entry.)

Two-Minute Reviews - We will again spend some time on Wednesday reviewing for the multiple choice portion of Friday's Unit #2 Objective Exam.

The Americas: A Separate World - Chapter 9

I'm guessing that much of the material in Section 1 is information with which you are familiar. We won't spend much time there, but we can take any questions. Instead, we'll spend some time looking at the earliest civilizations of the Americas. You will work to gather some information today, and we'll make comparisons with other areas that we have studied tomorrow.

Here are the cultures where we will focus our attention:

• Olmec (Mesoamerica - largely in book)
• Zapotec (Mesoamerica - largely in book)
• Teotihuacan (Mesoamerica - not in book)
• Chavin (Andean - somewhat in book)
• Moche (Andean - briefly in book)
• Nazca (Andean - briefly in book)

You are free to use both your textbook and the Internet to find information to complete this Early American Civilizations matrix. You'll also get a blank map of the region on which you can mark important locations, such as where each group lived. You're welcome to work in groups of up to three people on this task. I'll expect that your matrix and map are ready to share at Tuesday's class.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Tuesday, January 11th

Please finish your reading (for the quarter) by completing Chapter 9 tonight. We'll have a quiz in class tomorrow on Chapter 9, Section 2. I will give you a copy of the quiz for Chapter 9, Section 3 that you can complete at home. Please bring that back tomorrow as well.

Both your map and handout on the Empires and City-States of the Americas (800 BCE - 500 CE) should be ready to go for class tomorrow.

Just a reminder that your "Fakebook" assignment is due today. Be sure I get that ASAP.

Your portion of the "Unit #2 Two-Minute Review" needs to be ready to go by Wednesday.

The objective portion of the Unit #2 Exam will be in class on Friday.

We'll spend today working on a variety of activities related to Africa. Initially, I'm interested in the preconceptions and first impressions you have/had regarding Africa, as well as whether reading in Chapter 8 has changed those thoughts in any way.

Second, we've got some activities to get at many of these ideas in more depth. Note that we largely dealing with populations that were not yet literate. That, of course, means we need to consider different types of evidence to deepen our understanding.

Drawing Conclusions from Evidence: You'll get a chance to look at textual, archaeological and linguistic evidence for the purpose of evaluating conclusions presented to you.

Ironworking in Africa: Here, we'll take a look at the concepts of innovation and diffusion as they relate to iron technologies in Africa. After you complete the map, we'll assess a statement I put up on the overhead.

A Commercial Revolution in Africa: You'll get a handout based on the "Commercial Revolution" that occurred in Africa between 300 BCE and 400 CE. You'll look at the trade based in Jenne (Djenne-Djeno in the textbook) and Rhapta. We'll discuss this after you work thorough it for a few minutes.

Going Bananas: In addition to practicing a new type of graphic organizer (the "foursquare"), we will look at how the introduction and spread of a new crop (bananas) affected life in Africa. Your "foursquare" graphic organizer should contain at least one idea about how the spread of bananas affected each of the four corners AND one idea about how each of the four corners affected the spread of banana cultivation. We can talk about the impacts you identified as well.

The Kingdom of Aksum: The final section of the chapter that you were not asked to read for today deals with the kingdom of Aksum. Here are a couple of links. We'll take a few minutes to browse them, and then I'll ask for comments on things you found surprising, interesting, etc. In addition, see if you can draw any conclusions about life in Aksum from looking at the resources.

Aksum - UNESCO World Heritage Centre This designation means that Aksum is recognized as a site of major cultural and historical importance by the United Nations. (Clicking on the "Gallery" tab will get you some pictures. You can also read about what's happening in terms of archaeological work at the site.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art:

• African Christianity in Ethiopia - You can click on the images to make them larger.
• The Monumental Stelae of Aksum - This has information and images about the famous obelisks of Aksum.

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, January 9th

Please read 9.1 ("The Earliest Americans") for Monday's class. There will be a reading quiz.

You received the 8:3 quiz to compete as a take-home assignment. I should get that back from you no later than Monday.

Your "Fakebook" page should be ready for me to view on Monday.

The Unit #2 Exam information is posted on a separate entry. We'll do the Unit #2 Review on Wednesday. Thursday will be a work day. (It'll be a good time to do your DBQs.) On Friday you will both have your essay due and take the multiple choice portion of the exam.

We'll have the Unit #2 Exam information available tomorrow.

This first item is a carry-over from first time I taught this course four years ago, but you might be interested. Basically, as part of Minnesota's 150th anniversary as a state in 2008, the Minnesota Historical Society came up with a list of 150 "things" that have shaped Minnesota: MN150 (It's the alphabetical list of the items that were featured at the Minnesota Historical Society's exhibit.) I'll be honest. I was surprised by how many items were completely new to me...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We'll wrap up our look at the Conrad-Demarest Model in the "big groups." "India" will have time to walk us through the model as it pertains to the Mauryan and Gupta Empires. Following that, "China" will walk us through the Han Empire. This will be our final look at the material.

With the remaining time, I'll be interested in your feedback and opinions on these questions:

• How well do these empires fit the model established by Conrad and Demarest?
• Given the criteria established by Conrad and Demarest, how effective were these empires?
• Which of the empires do you feel had the greatest accomplishments? Why?
• Does having a model like this help in studying a subject like this? Why or why not?
• What ways, if any, do you believe the model could be changed and/or improved?
• If you were to apply this model to modern America, what conclusions would you draw?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We'll spend the next two days working on a variety of activities related to Africa. Initially, I'm interested in the preconceptions and first impressions you have/had regarding Africa, as well as whether reading in Chapter 8 has changed those thoughts in any way.

Second, I've got several maps so that we can take a look at the geography of Africa. Draw upon what you know and what you read, as well as what you see. We'll look to identify some of the dominant geographical features, as well as make inferences about how they may have affected the development of Africa and the course of its history.

Terms to know: Sahara, Sahel, savanna

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

You can use any remaining time to continue working on your "Fakebook" projects. (You can access all the information back on Lesson #28.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, January 7th

Continue your reading in Chapter 8 with Section 2. ("Migration") Tomorrow's quiz will be fill in the blank. (You'll receive the 8:3 quiz to compete as a take-home assignment. I'd like it back no later than Monday.)

Remember that your "Fakebook" assignment is due on Monday.

We'll continue our look at the Indian and Chinese empires of Chapter 7 today.

In you need one, you should download a Conrad - Demarest Comparison of Empires matrix. People will be expected to have "their" column finished up today. (If you want a copy with the notes from Rome filled in, here's a copy of the matrix with Rome.

First, we'll give you about thirty minutes in your groups to make sure you are all familiar with all of the material for "your" area.

Next, we'll have you "teach" each other on a one-to-one basis. Pair up with someone from the "other" group. The "India" person has five minutes to give the "China" person an overview of what they know about the Mauryan and Gupta Empires. Following that, we'll reverse roles for five minutes so our China "expert" can share what they've learned about the Han Empire.

We'll wrap things up in the "big groups." "India" will have ten minutes to walk us through the Conrad - Demarest model as it pertains to the Mauryan and Gupta Empires. Following that, "China" will walk us through the Han Empire.

With the remaining time, I'll be interested in your feedback and opinions on these questions:

• How well do these empires fit the model established by Conrad and Demarest?
• Given the criteria established by Conrad and Demarest, how effective were these empires?
• Which of the empires do you feel had the greatest accomplishments? Why?
• Does having a model like this help in studying a subject like this? Why or why not?
• What ways, if any, do you believe the model could be changed and/or improved?
• If you were to apply this model to modern America, what conclusions would you draw?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, January 5th

Begin reading Chapter 8 with Section 1. Tomorrow's quiz will be multiple choice.

Remember that your "Fakebook" assignments will be due on Monday, Janaury 9th.

We'll use what we've learned about Rome to make some comparisons with the early empires of India and China. To do that, we'll introduce a historical model.

Examining Empires: The Conrad-Demarest Model
Anthropologists Geoffrey Conrad and Arthur Demarest are probably most well-known for their studies of early American civilizations. In their work, they have described a model for empires that bears their names. The Conrad-Demarest Model describes the conditions that the authors feel are necessary for an empire, as well as the factors that can lead to its downfall. We're going to look at Rome and the early empires of India and China to see how well they fit the model. Later, we'll attempt to determine what we can learn from the model about other empires.

First, let's see how what we know about Rome fits the model. Here is a description of the Conrad-Demarest Model that you will be using. Work on your own or in small groups to try to match as many of these specific characteristics and factors with information from our study of Rome. I'll give you a while to do this, and then we'll discuss what we've found.

To record key points from our discussion you should download a Conrad - Demarest Comparison of Empires matrix.

Next, we'll divide into two groups: India and China. Chapter 7 will be very useful for your work today. If you are "India," you'll be looking at the Mauryan and Gupta Empires. "China" will be looking at the Han Empire. (NOTE: The India group can look at both empires: Mauryan and Gupta. Maybe mark information "M" of "G" so you know which empire you are talking about.)

Your job is to find information that fits with the criteria from the model. Jot down relevant notes from the material on "your" empire(s). We'll see where you are at as the hour comes to a close. We'll do more with this information tomorrow in class.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, January 4th

Remember that you received all three of the Chapter 7 reading quizzes to take home with you over break. That means you won't have an "in-class" quiz tomorrow either.

Don't forget about your "Fakebook" assignment that will be due on Monday, January 9th. (The blog entry for Lesson #28 has the information for this assignment.)

Welcome back. We'll start today out with the "Latin Phrases" quiz. Then, we can recap the "decline and fall" material, as well as take a quick look at a handout I forgot to give you last time.

Today, let's try to assess Rome's impact on world history. I always try to keep our focus on the "So what?" type of questions. In other words, "What is important for us to know?" "Why should we know it?" In that spirit, we'll close by looking at the lasting impact of Rome. As a group, I want us to come up with the "Top Ten Legacies of Ancient Rome." You've no doubt got a lot of ideas. In addition, here's an article called "The Legacy of Rome." We'll give you ten minutes to work on this, alone or in a group, and then we'll see what you come up with.

Finally, we'll bring this up to today and talk about whether this has anything to do with the modern United States. Here's the "big question":

Is the United States an "empire" in decline?

Let's consider some of the reasons established in this The Fall of the Roman Empire handout. For each category, try to think of parallels/ differences between Rome and the United States of today.

• Decline in Morals and Values
• Public Health
• Political Corruption
• Unemployment
• Inflation
• Urban decay
• Inferior Technology
• Military Spending

If the United States and the Roman Empire are comparable, do you believe were are destined to suffer the same fate? Why or why not?

If time permits, we can examine some possible solutions to the problems you may have identified.

You can use any remaining time to get started on the "homework" below.

HOMEWORK for next session - Tuesday, January 3rd

I'm going to give you all three of the Chapter 7 reading quizzes to take home with you. That means you won't have an "in-class" quiz either Tuesday or Wednesday when we return. You'll be much better prepared for class on Tuesday, January 3rd if you have read the chapter and completed the three quizzes by then.

Don't forget about your "Fakebook" assignment that will be due on Monday, January 9th. (The blog entry for Lesson #28 has the information for this assignment.)

We'll finish up our look at Rome today and tomorrow. Today's focus will be on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

No, you don't need to know this list, but you might find it interesting to scroll through this list of the "210 Reasons for the Decline of Rome." The list is the basis of a book written by Alexander Demandt, a German professor. (No, I don't know what some of them mean either...)

The Decline and Fall of Rome: We'll continue today by having you pair up with one partner (if you'd like), and spending 15 minutes working on a DBQ (document-based questions) activity on the fall of Rome. Whether you are finished or not at that time, we'll get back together to brainstorm our list of causes for the decline and fall of Rome.

You'll get assigned to one of four groups: economic causes, military causes, political causes or social causes. You need to pull together ideas from the reading and DBQ activity, as well as other things you know/ suspect. You can also consult this The Fall of the Roman Empire handout. 

We'll have you list your ideas on the whiteboard. I've also got a couple overheads to help us make sense of Rome's eventual fall in 476 CE.

Finally, we'll bring this up to today and talk about whether this has anything to do with the modern United States. Here's the "big question": Is the United States an "empire" in decline?

Let's consider some of the reasons established in the handout linked above. For each category, try to think of parallels/ differences between Rome and the United States of today.

• Decline in Morals and Values
• Public Health
• Political Corruption
• Unemployment
• Inflation
• Urban decay
• Inferior Technology
• Military Spending

If the United States and the Roman Empire are comparable, do you believe were are destined to suffer the same fate? Why or why not?

If time permits, we can examine some possible solutions to the problems you may have identified.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, December 16th

You'll have your "Latin Phrases Still Used Today" quiz.

I'll ask you to read the very short "Ancient Roman Life" handout.

Don't forget about your "Fakebook" assignment that will be due on Monday, January 9th.

We'll start out today with your 6:4 reading quiz.

THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY: As with the other great religious traditions that we have examined, I'm guessing that the class has a wide variation in its familiarity with the early history of Christianity. While your own beliefs may range widely, it's clearly important to take a look at major events in the birth and spread of what has become the world religion with the greatest number of followers.

We'll work through two major topics today.

• Jesus' Life and Teachings
• The Spread of Christianity

Jesus' Life and Teachings: Together, we'll piece together the historical record as it exists regarding the figure Jesus of Nazareth. In addition, we'll attempt to figure out what it was about his message that was compelling to its followers.

NOTE: At the turn of the millennium, a group of artists met to consider a "newer" face for Jesus that they believed would be more historically accurate. You can see the image they produced here.

From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians- PBS Frontline
This is a good site where you can find a number of references and links related to the early years of Christianity.

The Spread of Christianity: Let's consider how what begin as a small group of Jewish followers grew to be the dominant and official religion of the Roman Empire.

• Paul's contributions
  
• Peter's journey to Rome
  
• Rebellion in Judea - 66 CE (Temple destroyed in 70 CE), Masada in 73 CE, Diaspora
  
• Persecution by Rome
  
• Constantine's conversion - Edict of Milan (313 CE) legalizes Christianity
  
• 380 CE - Theodosius makes Christianity Rome's official religion

GREECE AND ROME THROUGH "FAKEBOOK"

Ms. Murr came up with this one, and her class last quarter seemed to enjoy it. We'll give it a try. (If you enjoy it, be sure to give her props. If you hate it, blame me.)

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, December 15th

Please read Section 5, "The Legacy of Rome." (It's pp. 178 - 183 in your textbook.) The quiz will be multiple choice.

Your "Fakebook" assignment will be due on Monday, January 9th.

Caesar Augustus on Trial: We'll begin the day with our large-group discussion/ mock "trial" of Octavian, or Augustus Caesar, if you prefer. To get started, each side has ten minutes to meet together to think about arguments that benefit their side.

Here are the charges against Augustus:

• overthrowing the Roman Republic
• usurping (weakening) the rights of Roman citizens
• illegally establishing the Roman Empire with himself as Emperor

We will allow each side five minutes in which to present their "opening" arguments, beginning with the prosecution. After that, we'll allow people to speak/ ask questions as they are ready. This may be a graded discussion, so I'd like to hear at least two good comments from each of you.

As the hour closes, or as the discussion wears down, we'll "vote" on the charges. You can vote your own opinion at this point, rather than the one forced by your side.

I'm not sure exactly how long the trial will take, but I've got a couple things for us to check out as well. There are some neat resources on the web related to things we've been studying.

Rome Reborn: This is the name of the most ambitious computer model of an ancient city ever created. It is designed to give you a look at the city near its peak in the summer of 320 CE. Rome Reborn will be shown to tourists in Italy near the ruins of many of these sites. I've linked several articles below. (The initial link above is for the actual project itself.) You can find short video clips and pictures from the project in these links. It's worth browsing around.

• "Ancient Rome reborn in virtual reality"
  
• "Rome reborn" - Smithsonian Magazine
  
• "Photo Gallery: Ancient Rome Reborn in 3-D" - National Geographic

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, December 14th

Please read Section 4, "The Fall of the Roman Empire." (It's pp. 173 - 176 in your textbook.) The quiz will be matching.

The short quiz on Latin Phrases will be Friday. (I described the format more on yesterday's blog.)

Today, we'll highlight some of the key events as Rome moves from Republic to Empire...

Here's an interesting series of maps that show the growth of Rome during the time period we are covering today. (You can click on the right arrow below the map to move forward in time.) Census Figures: Roman Citizens is also kind of an interesting chart.

Section I - The Roman Republic

Origins of Rome:
geography's impact
Latins, Greeks, Etruscans - early settlers

The Early Republic
patricians v. plebeians
Twelve Tables
Government - We talked about the structure last time. Today, I'm interested in your views on its strengths and weaknesses. I have several questions for you.
Roman Army (This is a very thorough site in you're interested in learning more about the military.)

The Roman Republic - The Structure: We'll do some comparisons with what you know about our own government. For each of the following, add what we know about the Roman Republic. In addition to what you read in your text, this Roman Republic Constitution might be helpful. (Note: Rome never had a written constitution, but this document shows what one might have looked like given their laws and traditions.)

Executive:
USA: president, 4 year terms - chief executive, commander-in-chief
Rome:

Legislative:
USA: Senate of 100 members, 6 year terms - make laws, advise on foreign policy
House of Representatives with 435 members, 2 year terms - make laws, revenue bills
Rome:

Judicial:
USA: Supreme Court with nine justices appointed for life - highest court, hears appeals cases
Rome:

Legal Code:
USA: Constitution
Rome:

Rome Spreads Its Power
Rome conquers Italy
Rome's commercial network
War with Carthage

• First Punic War (264-241 BCE) - Rome wins Sicily, controls western Mediterranean
• Second Punic War (218-202 BCE) - Hannibal marches toward Rome; Scipio counterattacks
• Third Punic War (149-146 BCE) Carthage burned, made a Roman province

The Rise and Fall of Julius Caesar

• What economic, social and political problems faced the Republic?
  
• What happened to reformers like the Gracchi brothers?
  
• Why was the military becoming a threat to Rome?

Julius Caesar:
60 BCE - joins forces with Crassus and Pompey
59 BCE - elected counsul, First Triumvirate formed
58 - 50 BCE - conquers Gaul as its governor
49 BCE - Caesar crosses the Rubicon River, fights Pompey
46 BCE - returns to Rome as dictator
March 15, 44 BCE - Caesar is assassinated

Questions for Discussion:

• Was the assassination of Julius Caesar justified?
• Are there tyrants who are simply too dangerous to live?
• Is assassination ever justified?

43 BCE - Second Triumvirate formed (Octavian, Lepidus, Mark Antony)
31 BCE - Octavian defeats Mark Antony & Cleopatra at Battle of Actium
27 BCE - Augustus Caesar formally becomes Emperor
27 BCE - 180 CE - Pax Romana or "Roman peace"

Augustus and the Roman Empire: Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the Roman Empire. We'll kick that off by placing Augustus Caesar on trial on a variety of charges. We'll do this in "large group" format, but you'll each be assigned to a side, and you'll all be expected to speak. I have a packet of background information and source material to give you. Your job is to look through that for support for "your" side before tomorrow's class.

Tomorrow, Emperor Augustus will "stand trial" on the following charges:

• overthrowing the Roman Republic
• usurping (weakening) the rights of Roman citizens
• illegally establishing the Roman Empire with himself as Emperor

This will technically be more a "discussion" than a "mock trial," but we will consider half of you as the prosecution and half as the defense. You'll vote together as a jury, but you get to say what YOU think there, not your assigned side. Be sure you know whether you are "prosecution" or "defense" before you leave.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Tuesday, December 13th

Continue your reading in Chapter 6 with Section 3, "The Rise of Christianity." (pp. 168 - 172) The quiz will be true/false.

Please read through the documents in the "Octavian Augustus and the Formation of the Roman Empire" packet we handed out. Remember that you will be assigned a "side," so you should look for evidence that supports either position.

You'll have a short quiz on the Latin Phrases handout on Friday. Assume that you will be asked to match 10 with their definitions. You will also be asked to "fill in the blanks" with the appropriate phrase from a word bank. For example, "When Silly Billy through the clock out of the window, he said, 'Look, _______.'" "Tempus fugit" would be the best answer there. ("Time flies.") You will have a phrase bank, but there might be more than 10 choices to go with the 10 sentences.

We're shifting west from the Greeks to begin our look at the Romans. They will come to dominate life and culture around the Mediterranean Sea for centuries. Along with the Greeks, they will leave a strong and lasting impact on our modern lives. We'll start with the Greek Geography Quiz and the Bio-Poems...

Greek Bio-Poems:
Aeschylus
Aesop
Alexander
Archimedes
Aristotle
Euclid
Herodotus
Homer
Pericles
Philip II
Plato
Sappho
Socrates
Solon
Sophocles
Thucydides

Roman Chronology: This activity is designed to help you learn the basic chronology on Ancient Rome, both as a republic and as an empire. It's simple. Work in a group of about 3-4. You'll get a set of 25 events on slips of paper. Your job is to work together to place them in the correct chronological order. Once you think you have them correct, me know. I will check them. If you have them almost completely correct, I'll give you each a copy of the actual chronology in correct order, with the accurate dates to keep as a resource. If you have mistakes, you'll keep working.

The Roman Republic - The Primary Sources: Once your group successfully completes the chronology activity, you'll be directed to two of the five primary sources listed below. Your job is to take a look at the primary source you are assigned and be prepared to help us learn more about Ancient Rome through understanding these sources. (You'll need to scroll through down the web page to find your source. Believe me, it's there...)

Legendary founding of Rome (753 BCE)
The rape of Lucretia (509 BCE)
The Laws of the Twelve Tables (449 BCE)
Polybius: Rome at the End of the Punic Wars [History: Book 6] An Analysis of the Roman Government
Polybius: Rome at the End of the Punic Wars [History: Book 6] Rome and Carthage Compared

The Roman Republic - The Structure: We'll do some comparisons with what you know about our own government. For each of the following, add what we know about the Roman Republic. In addition to what you read in your text, this Roman Republic Constitution might be helpful. (Note: Rome never had a written constitution, but this document shows what one might have looked like given their laws and traditions.)

Executive:
USA: president, 4 year terms - chief executive, commander-in-chief
Rome:

Legislative:
USA: Senate of 100 members, 6 year terms - make laws, advise on foreign policy
House of Representatives with 435 members, 2 year terms - make laws, revenue bills
Rome:

Judicial:
USA: Supreme Court with nine justices appointed for life - highest court, hears appeals cases
Rome:

Legal Code:
USA: Constitution
Rome:

Latin phrases: We use a lot of Latin phrases and expressions yet today, so I have this Latin Phrases handout for you to complete. There are 30 phrases still used today. See how many you know, and then go back and figure out the rest. We'll go over these next class, so you should have them done...

Website of the Day: It's no Iron Maiden video, but here's the Roman Republic collection from the Timeline of Art History from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can read the text and click on the smaller images at the top to learn more about them.

HOMEWORK for next session - Tuesday, December 14th

Please read pp. 160 - 165, "The Roman Empire." It's Section 2 in Chapter 6 of your textbook. The quiz will be fill in the blank.

You should also turn in your 6:1 quiz that was a take-home if you have not already done so.

You should have the Latin Phrases handout completed for Monday. We'll take a short quiz on them on Wednesday of next week.

We'll start with the reading (5:5) and Greek Roots quizzes.

Athens and Philosophy: We'll finish this up from yesterday...

• I've got a series of overheads to show you on the pre-Socratics. (Don't take notes, just watch.)
• We'll take a look at Socrates.
• We'll introduce several of Plato's works: The Republic and the "Allegory of the Cave."
• We'll look at Aristotle's contributions.

Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Empire: We'll make sure that you have the basics down on the spread of this vast empire. After that, we'll try to assess its legacy.

Song of the Day: Perhaps some of you have heard of Iron Maiden. I'm not really a fan, but they were a heavy metal group most famous in the '70s and '80s. It seems they sang a song with the appropriate title, "Alexander the Great." (Check out the link for the lyrics...) Even better, here's a You Tube video of the song.

Greek Bio-Poems: Here's a chance for you to do a little bit different type of writing. We'll see if you can complete these yet in class. You're going to compose a bit of "poetry" for us. You will select a famous Ancient Greek from a list. Then, using the Greek Bio-poem Format, you will compose an informative, yet poetic, tribute to that person. The form is pretty self-explanatory. 

Here's a list of the figures.

Aeschylus
Aesop
Alexander
Archimedes
Aristotle
Euclid
Herodotus
Homer
Pericles
Philip II
Plato
Sappho
Socrates
Solon
Sophocles
Thucydides

HOMEWORK for next session - Friday, December 9th

Please read Chapter 6, Section 1 ("The Roman Republic") on pages 155 - 159 in your textbook. The quiz will be multiple choice, and you'll be taking it home with you to complete.

Your Greek Geography Quiz will take place tomorrow.

At the top, we'll make sure you are feeling comfortable with the Greek geography items. We'll also see what you came up with from the Pericles' Funeral Oration activity.

Back to the "Golden Age of Athens" -

First, we'll take up the idea of democracy in Ancient Greece. Take a look at The Democratic Experiment by Professor Paul Cartledge when you finish your quiz. At least read that "page," and browse some others if you have time.

A reminder of key developments:

Draco:

• 621 BC develops legal code based on the idea that all Athenians were equal under the law

Solon - Comes to power around 594 BC:

• Bans debt slavery - Prevents the dominance of the aristocracy
• Organized all citizens into four social classes
• Top three classes could hold office and all citizens could participate in the assembly

Cleisthenes - Comes to power in 508 BC

• Reduce the power of the aristocrats
• Increased the power of the assembly
• Created the Council of Five Hundred

Pericles

• Increased the number of public officials who were paid
• Direct democracy
  

My questions for you:

• How democratic was the democracy of Athens?
• What advantages did it have over modern democracies? What disadvantages? 
• Are we a democracy today? Why or why not?
• In what ways (if any) should the democracy of America be more like that of Athens?
  

Athens and Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

• I've got a series of overheads to show you on the pre-Socratics. (Don't take notes, just watch.)
• We'll take a look at Socrates.
• We'll introduce several of Plato's works: The Republic and the "Allegory of the Cave."
• We'll look at Aristotle's contributions.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, December 8th

Please read Chapter 5, Section 5 in your textbook. "The Spread of Hellenistic Culture" is found on pages 146 - 149. The quiz will be matching.

Your Greek Roots quiz will be tomorrow. (No in-class reading quiz for Friday, but you will have the Greek Geography quiz that day... I will also give you the 6.1 quiz to take home with you on Thursday evening.)

There are a number of different ways we could take today's lesson. In order to give you a flavor for the "Golden Age of Athens," we'll try several activities. Remember that you have two short quizzes this week (Greek Roots on Thursday. Greek Geography on Friday).

Think of today as Persian War to Pericles to Peloponnesian War...


The Persian Wars (490 - 479 BCE)

Cause: Athens aids rebels in Ionia against Persia

Key Events:

Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) - 25,000 Persians v. 10,000 Athenians
   Pheidippides: "Rejoice, we conquer"

Thermopylae and Salamis (480 BCE) - Xerxes sends huge invasion
   300 Spartans hold pass at Thermopylae
   (Here's a thoughtful article about the film.)
Debate over defending Athens - Themistocles urges evacuation
   Greeks win naval battle at Salamis

Delian League forms - drive out Persians
   Clears way for Golden Age of Athens

"The Age of Pericles" - As you read, Pericles was perhaps the central figure in Athens during this time period. Early in the war against Sparta, he delivers his "Funeral Oration," a speech that is recognized among history's greatest. We'll have you take a look at an excerpt from this speech, and you'll look for examples of two prominent Greek values: arete and eunomia. Here are the two documents that you need for this.

• Pericles handout
• Pericles' "Funeral Oration"
  

If you find the speech at all interesting, I'd recommend looking at
Dr. J's Illustrated Pericles' Funeral Oration. This is a professor's "guided tour" of the speech. I found it very helpful in understanding the wider context of the speech.

The Peloponnesian War - (431 - 404 BCE)

WHO: Athens and Sparta
WHAT: Fought the Peloponnesian War
WHERE: One guess: Greece. (Largely on the Peloponnesus...)
WHEN: 431 - 404 BCE
WHY: Resentment of Athenian power and wealth; a long rivalry
WHAT HAPPENS:

• Pericles delivers his "Funeral Oration."
• Plague strikes Athens early in the war, killing about 1/3 of population.
• Fighting continues over the next several decades, both on land and at sea.
• Athens eventually surrendered in 404 BCE. Its empire is now gone.

Cool site of the day: Here's The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization. This is from the PBS series, Empires. There's neat stuff here, including a great time line and some animations, etc. Check it out.


HOMEWORK for next class - Wednesday, December 7th

Please read Chapter 5, Section 4 in your textbook. It's "Alexander's Empire." (pp. 142 - 145.) The quiz will be true/false.

You have two additional quizzes this week: Greek Roots (Thursday) and Greek Geography (Friday). Each is worth 10 points.

Greek Geography: I'll give you a map of Greece and the surrounding region. On Friday, we'll take a quiz on the 20 features below. This time, I won't provide you with another map, but the quiz map will be the same as the one you receive today. I'll give you a word bank, and they'll be divided into categories as below.

Cities: There will ALSO be descriptions of the significance of each city.
Athens
Corinth
Delphi
Knossos
Marathon
Mycenae
Salamis
Sparta
Thebes
Troy

Places:
Crete
Macedonia
Mt. Olympus
Peloponneses
Thermopylae

Bodies of Water:
Aegean Sea
Black Sea
Gulf of Corinth
Ionian Sea
Mediterranean Sea

We'll take a look at two very different lifestyles that emerged in Greece. We'll compare and contrast life in Sparta and Athens. However, before the hour ends, these two rivals will band together to face off against our old friend Darius and his Persian Empire in the Persian Wars.

First, let's build those vocabularies by taking a look at your Greek Roots... We'll go through these quickly to make sure you can both define them and use them in an appropriate word.

Second, your newly found vocabulary should help you with these terms. Let's make sure we are on the same page with these terms that we've already come across in the reading.

arete
polis
acropolis
agora
monarchy
aristocracy
oligarchy
tyrant
democracy
helot
hoplite
phalanx

Third, we'll also give you an additional handout on one of these two groups. You'll have a few minutes to read it before our discussion.

Life in Athens and Sparta:

• If you were a young teenage girl of the citizen class, in which city-state would you rather live? Why?
• If you were a boy of the citizen class, in which would you rather live? Why?
• If you were a young soldier, in which would you rather live? Why?
• If you were a slave, in which would you rather live? Why?
• If you were an artist, in which would you rather live? Why?
• If you were a very wealthy person of the citizen class, in which would you rather live? Why?
• In which do you find more similarities to modern America? Why?

It's important to remember that these two cities could work together when needed. Here's one of those times. Let's spend about 10 minutes with:

The Persian Wars (490 - 479 BCE)

Cause: Athens aids rebels in Ionia against Persia

Key Events:

Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) - 25,000 Persians v. 10,000 Athenians
   Pheidippides: "Rejoice, we conquer"

Thermopylae and Salamis (480 BCE) - Xerxes sends huge invasion
   300 Spartans hold pass at Thermopylae (Here's a thoughtful article about the film.)
Debate over defending Athens - Themistocles urges evacuation
   Greeks win naval battle at Salamis

Delian League forms - drive out Persians
   Clears way for Golden Age of Athens

Cool site of the day: Here's The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization. This is from the PBS series, Empires. There's neat stuff here, including a great timeline and some animations, etc. Check it out.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, December 7th

Please read Chaper 5, Section 3 ("Democracy and Greece's Golden Age") for tomorrow. It is pages 134 -139 in your textbook. The quiz will be fill in the blank.

Your Greek Roots quiz will be on Thursday.

We'll hit the ground running and start Unit #2 today. Our early focus will be on the Ancient Greeks and Romans. We'll close the unit with a look at what's going on around the rest of the world in the early centuries of the "Common Era." This unit will take us through the remainder of the quarter, so you can expect one more unit exam, very similar to the Unit #1 Exam, during that week the quarter ends in mid-January.

Unit #1 Exam: We can quickly go through the multiple choice. I do need these returned to me to keep.(Plus, I need to actually enter the grades on PowerSchool...) We'll go over the procedure for doing test corrections to improve your score if you were below 70%.

ANCIENT GREECE We'll spend the next five or so days on one of the most influential civilizations from world history. We'll start with a little concept mapping to see where you are coming from. Following that, we'll see how the Mycenaens, Minoans and Dorians each helped set the stage in Ancient Greece. You'll be able to complete the Chapter 5, Section 1 reading quiz as a take-home.

Athens and Sparta - You'll be given a reading on the two most famous of the Greek city-states:  Athens or Sparta. You'll be asked to complete a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two. On Monday, we'll participate in a discussion based on the two city-states. You'll be asked to consider questions such as these:

• If you were a young teenage girl of the citizen class, in which city-state  would you rather live? Why?
  
• If you were a boy of the citizen class, in which would you rather live? Why?
  
• If you were a young soldier, in which would you rather live? Why?
  
• If you were a slave, in which would you rather live? Why?
  
• If you were an artist, in which would you rather live? Why?
  
• If you were a very wealthy person of the citizen class, in which would you rather live? Why?
  
• In which do you find more similarities to modern America? Why?
  

Greek Roots: You may have done related activities in other classes, but we will take a look at the tremendous influence the Greeks have had upon the development of our language. Between prefixes, word roots and suffixes, a significant percentage of the words we use have their origins with the Greeks. We'll give you a little time today to work on your own or with a partner on the Greek Roots handout. This should be completed by tomorrow's class, and we'll take a quick quiz on Wednesday.

Greek Mythology: I'll be honest. I've never been particularly interested in Greek and Roman mythology. If, however, you are, here's a very informative website: Greek Gods. You can browse as much as you'd like...

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, December 5th

Please complete the Chapter 5, Section 1 reading and quiz you were given.

Please read Chapter 5, Section 2 ("Warring City-States") from your textbook. It's pages 127-133, and your quiz will be multiple choice.

Your "Greek Roots" sheet should be completed and ready for discussion.

Be sure you have read "Athens" or "Sparta" and are ready to participate in a discussion.

Today is the objective portion of the exam. There are 60 multiple choice questions. There are also several document-based questions that are worth a total of 10 points. (If you don't finish those in class, you may take them with you to finish up.)

Notice that you also get a chance to have input into your "Participation" grade for this unit. You'll be asked to read some criteria and evaluate yourself. (I also have input into this, so don't feel like it is all in your hands.) Notice that my definition of "participation" is more than "discusses a lot." I think you can be a very strong participant even if you are not a frequent talker. I'd encourage you to think about your listening habits, readiness for lessons, computer usage, attitude, etc. as well in evaluating yourself.

HOMEWORK for next session - Thursday, December 1st

We'll first turn our attention in Unit #2 to the Greeks and Romans.

If you get a chance, you could read Chapter 5, Section 1 ("Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea") in your textbook. That's pages 123 - 126. I will give you the reading quiz tomorrow, and you may take it home to complete over the long weekend.

Remember that your Unit #5 Essay is due to me no later than at your arrival for class on Monday.

Today is pretty straight-forward. We'll try the "Two-Minute Drill" to aid you in preparing for the Unit #1 Exam. Remember, you each have a chance to contribute to our overall understanding of the material that we have studied so far this year. (These are worth 5 points each.) Here's a list of the sections in the order that we'll cover them:

If you would like, you can download a copy of the chapters/sections as they appear below. It might help you organize the information from today. (Remember that the Unit #1 Study Guide was also handed out previously AND linked to yesterday's blog entry.)


WORLD HISTORY: PATTERNS OF INTERACTION

UNIT 1: Beginnings of Civilization (4 million BC - 200 BC)

Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World (Prehistory - 2500 BC)
1 Human Origins in Africa
x Earth Calendar
2 Humans Try to Control Nature
3 Civilization

Chapter 2: Early River Civilizations (3500 BC - 450 BC)
1 City-States in Mesopotamia
2 Pyramids on the Nile
3 Planned Cities on the Indus
4 River Dynasties in China

Chapter 3: People and Ideas on the Move (2000 BC - 250 BC)
1 The Indo-Europeans
2 Hinduism and Buddhism Develop
3 Seafaring Traders
4 The Origins of Judaism

Chapter 4: First Age of Empires (1570 BC - 200 BC)
1 The Egyptian and Nubian Empires
2 The Assyrian Empire
3 The Persian Empire
4 The Unification of China

You're free to ask me questions and do whatever sort of review that you think would be helpful with any remaining time.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, November 30th

The objective part of the Unit #1 Exam will be on Wednesday. It will consist of 60 multiple-choice questions. There will also be several document-based questions to answer.

Your Unit #1 Essay is now due no later than at your arrival for class on Monday. (I will certainly take them earlier than that if you are done.)

Reminders about the upcoming Unit Exam #1:

Unit #1 Review Guide: Here's another copy if you have misplaced your original one.

Unit #1 Geography:  In most years, I've given a quiz on geography at the end of this unit. This year, we'll simply do it as an in-class actvity.

Essay meeting groups: If you've already chosen your essay for Thursday, great. If not, look back at the options and at least decide which one is most likely to be your choice. We'll give you time to meet with the others in the class thinking of doing the same question. You can "compare notes," brainstorm ideas and/or ask any questions that you have.

Two-Minute Drill: We'll wrap up the unit with these on Tuesday. Remember that you have no more than TWO (maybe three) minutes to help us review the section that you chose to be responsible for.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, November 29th

"Your" portion of the Unit #1 "Two-Minute" Review will be "due" Tuesday, and it is worth a maximum of five points. Remember, you only get a maximum of two/three minutes...

The objective part of the Unit #1 Exam will be on Wednesday. It will consist of 60 multiple choice questions as well as several document-based questions.

The Unit #1 Essay will be written due upon your arrival to class on Thursday.

We can take any questions about the upcoming Unit Exam #1:

Two-Minute Drill: We'll wrap up the unit with these on Tuesday. Remember that you have no more than TWO (maybe three) minutes to help us review the section that you chose to be responsible for.

The Unification of China: We'll take a look at several features related to China's unification today. Remember that the Zhou Dynasty ruled China for more than 8 centuries, from 1027 to 256 BCE. In the last years of the empire, rival warlords considered themselves independent. This led to constant warfare and conflict called the "Warring States Period."

Several key philosophical and ethical systems emerged during the Zhou Dynasty:

Confucianism: Confucius, or K'ung Fu-tzu (Master Kung) was born in 551 B.C.E. in the province of Lu. Here is a collection of quotes from Confucius.

* What were the key ideas of Confucius?
* How did Confucius influence China?

Daoism: While some question if he ever was a "real" person, Laozi is credited with founding Daoism. The Dao De Jing ("The Way of Virtue") is the classic work which outlines Daoist philosophy. We'll take a look at some excerpts. If you're ready to sign up, you can check out the Center for Daoist Studies.

* What were the key ideas of Daoism?
* How did Daoism influence China?

Legalism: The political thinkers who favored a powerful and strict government were know as Legalists. They frequently censored opposing ideas, and they severely punished those who failed to carry out their duties.

* What were the key ideas of Legalism?
* How did Legalism influence China?

I Ching: You might also be interested in checking out the I Ching,or "The Book of Changes." The oracles were designed to help people lead a happy and fulfilling life. Play around with this a bit.

The Qin Dynasty: During the short period known as the Qin Dynasty, Shi Huangdi forever changed the course of China's future. Accomplishments of his reign in the third century BCE include:

• doubling the size of China
  
• ending internal resistance
  
• "strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches"
  
• centralization: roads, currency, writing
  
• Great Wall of China
  
• burial tomb - site of terracotta warriors

By 202 BCE, the Qin Empire has been replaced by the Han Dynasty, one of China's longest.

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, November 28th

The Unit #1 Objective Exam will be on Wednesday, November 30th. Your Unit #1 Essay will be due on Thursday, December 1st. (That will be written out of class.)

"Your" portion of the Unit #1 "Two-Minute" Review will be "due" Tuesday, and it is worth a maximum of five points. Remember, you only get a maximum of two/three minutes...

On a separate entry, you'll find additional information about the Unit #1 Exam scheduled for the the week after Thanksgiving.  On the Wednesday after we return, you'll take the objective portion of the test. That means multiple choice and some document-based questions.  

First Age of Empires: If you have not already, you should download a First Age of Empires "matrix" for Chapter 4. As you know, the chapter deals with "The First Age of Empires." We'll cover China separately tomorrow, but this guide walks you through the main points from Sections 1, 2, and 3. You may work with one partner if you'd like, but everyone should have their own matrix to serve as notes.

Later in the hour, we'll talk about what you have found. We'll look for main themes and bigger ideas.


HOMEWORK for next session - Tuesday, November 22nd

Please finish your reading for Unit #1 with Section 4 of Chapter 4, "The Unification of China." (pp. 104-109)  Your reading quiz will be true/false.

I know there's been a lot of material related to religion this week, so we can take any questions on Hinduism, Buddhism, or Judaism at the top. (Christianity and Islam will also be appearing before too long...)

On Monday, you'll receive information about the format for the Unit #1 Exam. That will take place the week after Thanksgiving.

Today's focus will be on the earliest empires and their accomplishments. You will work on the First Age of Empires "matrix" for Chapter 4. As you know, the chapter deals with "The First Age of Empires." We'll cover China separately, but this guide walks you through the main points from Sections 1, 2, and 3. You may work with one partner if you'd like, but everyone should have their own matrix to serve as notes. (We'll spend some time Monday working on and discussion this as well.)

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, November 21st

Please read Section 3 of Chapter 4, "The Persian Empire." (pp. 99 - 103)  Your reading quiz will be fill-in-the-blank.

The "First Age of Empires" handout you downloaded today will be checked as homework on Tuesday.

We'll touch base in terms of both the Minoans and the Phoenicians.  You remember them as the "Seafaring Traders" in the text section you read for Tuesday.  I want us to derive lists of five particular "things" you should know/remember about each of the two groups.

Next, we'll take fifteen minutes to do an in-class writing assignment. If you would like to type, it is available here.

The Origins of Judaism- Chapter 3, Section 4 probably contained more specific names and ideas than most we have read so far.  Below is a list of concepts that I think you should be familiar with after reading it.  We'll work through them together to see where you are at...

Palestine / Canaan
Torah
Abraham
covenant
Moses
Exodus
Ten Commandments
Jews - Judaism
Kingdom of Israel
Saul, David, Solomon
Israel / Judah
Babylonian Captivity


Monday, you'll receive additional information about the Unit #1 Exam scheduled for the the week after Thanksgiving.  You will an out of class essay.  (You be able to choose from a list of possible questions that you receive Monday.)  On the other, you'll take the objective portion of the test.  That means multiple choice and some document-based questions.   


HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, November 22nd

Make sure you have read Chapter 4, Section 2 ("The Assyrian Empire") for tomorrow's class. We'll be back to multiple choice for the quiz format.

We'll shift our primary focus to Buddhism today. We'll briefly mention another religion that breaks off from Hinduism, Jainism; but we'll spend more time with Buddhism.

Why do groups break from Hinduism in the 6th century BCE?

Defining terms: Jainism, Mahavira, ahimsa

The Life of the Buddha:

Defining terms: Siddhartha Gautama, "The Four Passing Sights," ascetic, "Great Awakening," bodhi tree, "Sermon in the Deer Park"

What is Buddhism?

Defining terms: Middle Path, Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana (Tibetan)

The Four Noble Truths:

Defining terms: dukkha, tanha

* All life is dukkha.
* The cause of dukkha is tanha.
* Ending tanha will end dukkha.
* The way to ending tanha is through following the Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path:

* Right Views
* Right Intent
* Right Speech
* Right Conduct
* Right Livelihood
* Right Effort
* Right Mindfulness
* Right Concentration

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, November 17th

For Thursday, please read Section 1 in Chapter 4, "The Egyptian and Nubian Empires," (pp. 89 - 94) from your textbook. The quiz will be matching.

Before we get into Buddhism at all, let's turn our attention to a couple of other things.

• Let's wrap up the Hinduism introduction.
• Second, let's take any questions you have on the religion.

Today, we'll turn our attention to two faiths which break off from the Hindu tradition. We'll briefly mention one, Jainism; but we'll spend some time with the other, Buddhism.

Why do groups break from Hinduism in the 6th century BCE?

Defining terms: Jainism, Mahavira, ahimsa

The Life of the Buddha:

Defining terms: Siddhartha Gautama, "The Four Passing Sights," ascetic, "Great Awakening," bodhi tree, "Sermon in the Deer Park"

What is Buddhism?

Defining terms: Middle Path, Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana (Tibetan)

The Four Noble Truths:

Defining terms: dukkha, tanha
* All life is dukkha.
* The cause of dukkha is tanha.
* Ending tanha will end dukkha.
* The way to ending tanha is through following the Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path:

* Right Views
* Right Intent
* Right Speech
* Right Conduct
* Right Livelihood
* Right Effort
* Right Mindfulness
* Right Concentration

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, November 16th

For Wednesday, please read Section 4 in Chapter 3, "The Origins of Judaism," (pp. 77 - 82) from your textbook. The quiz will be true/false.

Section 3.2, which you were asked to read for today, deals with development of two of the world's major religious traditions, Hinduism and Buddhism. We'll talk a look at Hinduism today, and Buddhism will be our major topic for tomorrow (or Wednesday, depending on how it goes).

What is Hinduism?

Defining terms: Hindu, Sanatana Dharma, henotheism, Aryans, Dravidians

The Hindu World View:

Defining terms: Brahman, atman, reincarnation, moksha, samsara, karma, dharma, bhakti

Caste System:

Defining terms: jatis, Vedas, Purusha

• Brahmins- "mouth," intellectual-priestly class
  
• Kshatriyas- "arms," nobility-warrior class
  
• Vaishyas- "legs," merchant-administrator class
  
• Shudras- "feet," servant-laborer class

• Panchamas- "Untouchables"
  

The Hindu Pantheon:

Defining terms: Trimurti, avatars

The Hindu Trimurti:

• Brahma
• Vishnu
• Shiva
  

Hindu Sacred Literature:

Defining terms: Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, November 15th

Please read Chapter 3, Section 3 ("Seafaring Traders") for class tomorrow. The quiz will be fill in the blank.

You'll have your last pair of presentations tomorrow to the 3rd graders. My daughter and a couple of others told me they were enjoying them, so keep up the good work.

Hope my absence yesterday didn't mess things up too much. All is better on the home front. Both kids back in school.

Today is set aside for the "in-class" presentations. These are obviously important in helping you all learn the material from Chapter 2, as well as giving you a chance to practice for tomorrow.

We'll go in the order they appear in the text:  Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, China.

I'll be able to evaluate a number of the components from the rubric today, but you won't receive a "final" grade until after we have you present to the 3rd graders.

Homework for tomorrow - Friday, November 11th:

We'll start on Chapter 3. Please read Section 1, "The Indo-Europeans" (pp. 61 - 65). Tomorrow's quiz will be matching.

Obviously, you should do anything else you need to do to be ready for the presentations tomorrow. We'll do a pair of presentations during the first part of the block. (The following two will be on TUESDAY, not Monday.)

We'll start the class period out by getting prepared to present to two groups of third graders. Good luck with those.

We'll look at Chapter 3 next week, but we'll finish up the week with a couple of different things.

You were asked to read Chapter 3, Section 1, "The Indo-Europeans" for today. I'd like to spend about few minutes with you creating a "concept map." Let's see if we can develop a minimum of 15 items stemming from the concept of "Indo-Europeans."

Next, I've got a list of geographic locations from Unit #1 that I'd like you to know. We will take a quiz next Thursday. I'll make sure you see a copy of the actual map that I will use for the quiz, so there shouldn't be any real surprises.

Finally, you can talk some Current Events if time permits.

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, November 14th

Read Chapter 3, Section 2, "Hinduism and Buddhism Develop" (pp. 66 - 71). This is a longer section, and the quiz will be multiple choice again.

You will have Geography Quiz #1 on Thursday, November 17th.

NOTE: I am at home today with a sick daughter. You have the block to work on the presentations that will take place (for our class) tomorrow. Please by cooperative and try to get some good work done. Thanks.

>>>>>>

REMINDER: Don't forget that your first writing assignment is due today. If you have those ready, please print them out and turn them in. The assignment is explained on Lesson #4's blog entry, and you can also access that video on "How to Write a Paragraph" if you have yet to watch that. (NOTE: I added a second option for you for the paragraph. It is the same one the other class is using. You can do EITHER of the two.)

We'll again get you the time today to work in preparation the presentations. Things seemed to go pretty smoothly yesterday. Remember that each group should have a copy of the scoring rubric, and I will be happy to try and answer any questions.

On Thursday, we'll "journey" to the early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. You will present to each other. Then, on Friday and Tuesday, you'll present several times to different groups of third graders. You can improve and refine your presentation along the way.

You have a handout with the specific things for which you will be held responsible. It is up to you and the others in your group to divide things up. All group members will be expected to contribute, and all should speak during the actual presentation.These will be between 10 and 15 minutes long.

RESOURCES THAT SHOULD BE HELPFUL:

One requirement for the presentation is the use of the library databases.  I would recommend that you look at some of these:

• World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras
  
• Daily Life Through History
  
• Gale World History Collection

Also, you must turn in a bibliography for this project.  Please use the Noodlebib program that is linked under NoodleTools on the library website.  You will need to create an account and a new "project."  Once you do this, you can choose to create a bibliography for your project.  This will help you to put together correct citations for all of your sources.

The Timeline of Art History from The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be a great resource for you, both on this project and throughout the year.

Homework for tomorrow - Thursday, November 10th

Everyone should Chapter 2, Section 4, "River Dynasties in China." (pp. 50 - 55) The quiz will be true/false.

All four groups should be ready to do their presentations for classmates on Thursday. Remember that you will present twice on Friday and twice on Tuesday to different groups of 3rd graders.

We'll get you most of the time today to work in preparation the presentations. Things seemed to go pretty smoothly yesterday. Remember that each group should have a copy of the scoring rubric, and I will be happy to try and answer any questions.

On Thursday, we'll "journey" to the early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. You will present to each other. Then, on Friday and Tuesday, you'll present several times to different groups of third graders. You can improve and refine your presentation along the way.

You have a handout with the specific things for which you will be held responsible. It is up to you and the others in your group to divide things up. All group members will be expected to contribute, and all should speak during the actual presentation.These will be between 10 and 15 minutes long.

RESOURCES THAT SHOULD BE HELPFUL:

One requirement for the presentation is the use of the library databases.  I would recommend that you look at some of these:

• World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras
  
• Daily Life Through History
  
• Gale World History Collection

Also, you must turn in a bibliography for this project.  Please use the Noodlebib program that is linked under NoodleTools on the library website.  You will need to create an account and a new "project."  Once you do this, you can choose to create a bibliography for your project.  This will help you to put together correct citations for all of your sources.

The Timeline of Art History from The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be a great resource for you, both on this project and throughout the year.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, November 9th

You should read Section 3, "Planned Cities on the Indus" (pp. 44 - 49), which is the next section in Chapter 2. The quiz will be fill in the blank.

Finally, you should be doing "your part" in getting ready for your group's presentation.

• Thursday: Presentations in class
• Friday/Tuesday: Presentations for 3rd graders

Don't forget that your first writing assignment is due tomorrow. It is explained on Lesson #4's blog entry, and you can also access that video on "How to Write a Paragraph" if you have yet to watch that. (NOTE: I added a second option for you for the paragraph. It is the same one the other class is using. You can do EITHER of the two.)

Welcome back. Today, I'm planning to give you the majority of the time to work on your Early River Valley Civilizations "presentations" that are coming up later in the week. Don't panic. You have most of today, all of tomorrow, and part of Wednesday to work on this in class for the most part.

On Thursday, we'll "journey" to the early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. You will present to each other. Then, on Friday and Tuesday, you'll present several times to different groups of third graders. You can improve and refine your presentation along the way.

I have a handout for you that lets you know the specific things for which you will be held responsible. It is up to you and the others in your group to divide things up. All group members will be expected to contribute, and all should speak during the actual presentation.These will be between 10 and 15 minutes long.

>>>>>>

Cool Site of the Day: The Timeline of Art History from The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be a great resource for you, both on this project and throughout the year.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, November 8th.

Please read Section 2, "Pyramids of the Nile" (pp. 35 - 41) for tomorrow. We'll be back to multiple choice for the quizzes.

Don't forget that your first writing assignment is due on Wednesday. It is explained on Lesson #4's blog entry, and you can also access that video on "How to Write a Paragraph" if you have yet to watch that. (NOTE: I added a second option for you for the paragraph. It is the same one the other class is using. You can do EITHER of the two.)

Of course, you should be doing "your part" in getting ready for your group's presentation.

Civilization emerges: We'll begin considering the question of just what makes a human society a "civilization" today.

Since you did so well with your "mental maps," we'll return to art for a bit today. I'll give you a piece of paper on which you will draw what "civilization" means to you. We'll simply have you draw, not use any words on the drawing itself.

Next, we'll develop a "concept map" for the term, hopefully giving us a working definition that will get us through the next few lessons. (Scholars typically attribute five characteristics to a group in order for it to be a civilization.)

Civilization - The Discussion: We'll make this a graded discussion. All of your names will go on the board. You need to make two (or more) contributions during the discussion to get full credit. (5 points possible.) I'll determine if what you say counts as a "contribution." You'll see a check next to your name after you've made a "contribution." Two is what you want.

Here are the questions to help shape our conversation: (Feel free to add others as well...)

* How would you define "civilization" in the modern world? What about "civilized?"

* Is it possible to be a "civilization" and yet not be civilized?

* Are there groups today that you would consider not "civilized?" Who are they? What are the implications of that label?

* Today, do we use the terms "civilized" and "uncivilized" too loosely or incorrectly?

* What is a person or group if they are not "civilized?"

Paragraph writing assignment - We'll also introduce your first short writing assignment today. We will work in World History 9/10 to improve your expository writing skills, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to practice writing.  For next Wednesday, answer either ONE of the following questions/prompts in a 10 to 15 sentence paragraph.

What was the most significant impact of the Agricultural Revolution?

OR

Assume you are a member of a nomadic hunter/gathering group of about 50 people living somewhere near an early agricultural village. You spend some time visiting this village, and you then return home.  Make a recommendation to your group on whether or not to adopt this agricultural lifestyle.  Be sure to justify your recommendation with evidence and analysis.

The video that you were asked to watch last night provides more information that should help in completing this assignment. Be sure to watch it if you have yet to do so.  You might want to consult the grading rubric for this assignment. 

>>>> Cool sites for the day...

Mesopotamia - The British Museum: This had a lot of neat things to check out. You can browse items related to Sumer from arguably the greatest museum in the world.

Cuneiform writing: This is an interesting site from the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Of course, I know you are all dying to Write Like a Babylonian...

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, November 6th 

Read the first section in Chapter 2, "City-States in Mesopotamia." (pp. 29-34) This quiz will be matching.

Your first paragraph writing assignment will be due on Wednesday, November 7th. It is described above.

We will definitely talk current events at various times during the class, and you'll even get a periodic assignment related to them. We'll get to that later, but feel free to raise an issue if you think we should be talking about it...

Any follow-up thoughts on the "Earth's Calendar" activity? (Remind me to make sure we're all clear on a couple terms: BC/AD v. BCE/CE, dating of centuries, etc.)

The Agricultural Revolution: We'll continue with our look at the "big picture" with the rise of agriculture beginning about 10,000 years ago. There's a  curriculum called "World History For Us All" that's available online from the people at San Diego Statue University. I've borrowed some materials from that to work with today for a bit.

First, you might find their introductory film, "History of the World in Seven Minutes," interesting.

Next, we'll examine some handouts with both primary and secondary sources of information from early agricultural societies. Consider these handouts as you do the following in a group of 3 or 4:

• Draw one or more conclusions about early agricultural settlements in terms of:
  
  - political organization
  - economic organization
  - social organization
  - systems of ideas
  
  Be ready to explain WHY your group reached each conclusion that it did.
  
  
• Consider what questions you would like to answer but cannot based on this evidence.
  
  
• Assume you are a member of a nomadic hunter/gathering group of about 50 people living somewhat near this early agricultural village. You spend some time trading in this village, and you then return home. We'll discuss both the advantages and disadvantages found in shifting to this settled way of life. Be prepared to make a recommendation to your group on whether or not to adapt this lifestyle.
  
  
• Consider the following statement: "The invention of farming had such a negative impact on the natural environment that humans should never have done it. They would have been better off remaining hunters and gatherers." What do YOU think?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, November 4th

Read Chapter 1, Section 3 - "Civilization" (pp. 19 - 23). Your quiz will be True/False.

Please watch another fine MPA video production:  "How to Write a Paragraph." We'll be making us of this tomorrow in class.

We'll begin with the reading quiz and follow that up by talking a bit about some "strategies" for success. I'm also interested in beginning a dialogue about proper computer usage in this class as well.

Earth calendar: I've always thought that this was an interesting way to look at time. Imagine that all of the earth's history is condensed into a single calendar year. Now, let's see where you believe some important events in the earth's history would fall during that "year." For example, an event you think happened in the very beginning would be January 1. An event that you think happened half way through earth's history would be July 1, etc. I'll give you a calendar for you to mark your guesses as to these when these events would happen.

A. Earth formed
B. Oldest rocks (sedimentary)
C. 1st life forms (stromatolites)
D. Oxygen in atmosphere
E. 1st fossils (hard skeletons)
F. 1st dinosaurs
G. 1st primates
H. Extinction of the dinosaurs
I. Neanderthal man
J. Historical record begins (Sumeria)
K. Establishment of United States
L. Life of a 9th grader begins (15 years)

"Meet the Hominids" This should be a pretty painless way to be sure that we are all on the same page regarding key groups of hominids and/or human ancestors. You're going to be assigned to one of the following five groups:

• Australopithecines
  
• Homo habilis
  
• Homo erectus
  
• Neanderthal
  
• Cro-Magnon

Your task is simple. You'll have about ten minutes to figure out answers to the following questions. You'll then share these with the rest of the class. (Not all questions apply to all groups equally.) You should be able to answer all of these from Section 1, "Human Origins in Africa," but you can also consult search the internet if you have time.

• What does your "name" mean?
  
• Approximately when did you live?
  
• Where did you live?
  
• What important advancements did you make?
  
• Why are you important to an understanding of World History?

You can use a "Meet the Hominids" matrix to aid in taking notes.

Congratulations. You may now return to your status as Homo sapiens. Remember, that is us - "thinking man/woman." That will make it easier for you to complete tonight's homework...

World History Sites of the Day: I'll often link things I find interesting. Otzi ("The Iceman") is a very complete "mummy" from about 5000 years ago that was discovered in the Alps. He has undergone extensive testing, and scientists have learned a lot about the man and his times.

South Tyrol Museum of Archaelogy - Oetzi / Otzi the "Iceman" This is the museum where he "lives."
"Deciphering the Origin, Travels of "Iceman" - National Geographic

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Thursday, November 3rd

Read Chapter 1, Section 2 - "Humans Try to Control Nature" from your textbook. (pp. 14-18) Your quiz will be fill-in-the-blank.

Welcome to World History 9.  You are beginning a two-year sequence in World History.  This year, we'll take you past Columbus' arrival in the Americas.  In tenth grade, the story will continue through the Enlightenment and the American Revolution up to the present.

This is the course blog.  It is vital that you check the blog for each class period.  It will often contain links or information we are using in class.  It will also be where you can find your daily homework.  At times, you'll be asked to make comments on the blog as well.  Get used to it, since we will be using it virtually every day. (We'll save the appropriate computer usage conversation for tomorrow.  I'll be watching, and I want you to be thinking about what you think would be fair guidelines.)


There are a couple things I'd like us to get to today:

"ABC" Brainstorm - This is pretty straight forward.  You'll get a handout and ten minutes to complete as much as you can.  "World History" is the topic that goes in the top box.  You see if you can come up with an relevant item (person, place, event, idea) for each letter of the alphabet.  We'll talk about your ideas for a bit, and then I'll have you turn them in to give me a feel for where people are at in terms of World History background.

Perspective -  We're going to have you draw "mental maps" of the world.  I'll give you ten minutes to do as much as you can.  In addition to sketching in the world's landmasses, please try to indicate the following.

• five physical features
• five political features (cities, countries, etc.)
• five economic features (natural resources, trade goods, etc.)
• five scientific/ technological features (inventions, ideas)
• five cultural features (works of art, literature, music, religion)
• five world historical features (people, events, processes, etc.)
• five "movements" (use arrows to show people, disease, trade, etc.)

No, there's no grade depending on how good your map is.  You will get credit for effort, and you'll have a chance to do this again later in the quarter.  Be sure your name is on them, as you will turn them in.

Downloading materials -  We'll make use of a number of websites and other online resources over the course of the class.  I'd like you to create a new folder (call it something like World History 9) and download these two particular resources into this folder.  (You do not need to print them out at this point, and you should NOT print them on the school's printers.)

• Go to Ethics in Education and download Ethics Workbook I SE (student edition).
  
  
• Go to Students Friend.com and download Part I, Prehistory through 1500.  (I'd recommend scrolling down and using the "Part 1, Prehistory through 1500, v.3.1.7 - MS Word" link.)

Daily reading quizzes: You can expect a short and, hopefully, straight-forward quiz at the start of class each day a reading assignment is due. I will rotate through the following four types of quizzes. All quizzes will be worth five points.

• Multiple choice (10 questions)
• Fill-in-the-Blank (10 questions)
• True-False (10 questions)
• Matching (10 items)

Homework for tomorrow: Wednesday, November 2nd

Read "Human Origins in Africa" from World History:  Patterns of Interaction. (Chapter 1, Section 1, pp. 5 - 11)  You will have a multiple choice reading quiz.

Watch this short video - "How to Read Your Textbook." It is about ten minutes long. Ms. Murr and I are working on putting together a number of these. Spend an additional ten minutes browsing through the textbook.  Look at the features in the front, as well as those that accompany the chapters.  Think about how you can make effective use of this book over the next two years.

The Unit #3 Review will take place on Friday, May 6th. The Unit #3 Exam will take place on Monday, May 9th and Tuesday, May 10th. More information will follow on the format yet this week.

Chivalry (and more) in Medieval Literature: Below are links to on-line versions (or excerpts) of several works of medieval literature. We'll take ten minutes and browse one or more, looking for specific examples of chivalry and other important values of the time. Keep track of a couple interesting ideas to share with the class.

• The Song of Roland - Anonymous (20th c. translation)
• Canterbury Tales - "The Knight's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer
• The Tales of King Arthur's Court - collected by the Camelot Project at the University of Rochester
• Tales from "The Robin Hood Project" - another University of Rochester group

Church things you should know that I don't have a clever way to teach you...(aka Section 13.4) So, before we get to the Crusades, we should make sure you are clear on some of the ideas related to the Church and its power in the medieval period.

We'll clarify and take any questions on:

• sacraments
• canon law

excommunication
interdict

• Otto the Great - Holy Roman Empire
• lay investiture

Henry IV v. Pope Gregory VII - 1077
Concordat of Worms - 1122 - compromise on investiture

Medieval Art and Architecture: If you were absent, we need to get you assigned to one of these... Otherwise, the directions were posted yesterday.

These are worth 10 points. Assume you have a maximum of five minutes.

Gothic Cathedrals
Canterbury Cathedral (England)
Chartres (France)
Cologne Cathedral (Germany)
Notre Dame de Paris (France)
Reims (France)
Sainte Chappelle (technically a chapel, not cathedral) - (France)
Westminster Abbey (technically a church, not cathedral) - (England)

Castles
Bojnice (Slovakia)
Chateau de Vincennes (France)
Eilean Donan (Scotland)
Tower of London (England)
Warwick Castle (England)

Art and Museums (focus on Medieval collection)
The Cloisters (branch of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art)
illuminated manuscripts
Louvre (Paris)
National Gallery (London)

COOL (in a being very thorough and scholarly sort of way) SITE OF THE DAY #1: The Crusades - Internet Medieval Sourcebook For those of you looking ahead to the Crusades and those of you who love primary sources...

COOL SITE OF THE DAY #2: The Saint John's Bible - This is a pretty interesting and ambitious project undertaken by Minnesota's own Saint John's University. Browse to see examples of the work.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, April 27th

Please continue reading in Chapter 14 by completing Section 2, "Changes in Medieval Society." (If you skipped it, be sure to read the "Different Perspectives" on page 386.)

Your Current Events are due tomorrow.

Your part of our Medieval Art and Architecture tour should be ready to go for Thursday.

Today's plan is again simple.  You'll take the multiple choice portion of the exam. There are 60 questions. You will also start/complete your DBQs today as well.

You can do the extra credit up through the weekend. Here's a link to the Extra Credit Option.

Please talk to me if there's anything we still need to take care of from this quarter.


HOMEWORK for next session

There is none. See you in early April...

Today's plan is simple.  You'll write your essay.  Remember that you are allowed up to 150 words of notes.  Those must be printed out, and you must turn them in along with your essay.  

If you would like to do so, you can start/complete your DBQs today as well. That's your choice.


HOMEWORK for Friday, January 14th

Tomorrow is the Unit #2 Objective Exam.  That's it.  Quarter over after that.  Sniff.  Sniff.  Bring Klennex, because I'll probably be tearing up all day...

You can do the extra credit up through the weekend. Here's a link to the Extra Credit Option.

Here's the Unit #2 Review/Study Guide if you need another copy.

Here's the Unit #2 "Two-Minute Review" that I will be projecting on the board. (I'd download this since I filled in notes on the last couple sections for you.)

You should turn in (by email or by printing out) your Current Events #2. I'd also take any of the "take-home" quizzes you still have.

We'll tackle the "Two-Minute Drill" to aid you in preparing for the Unit #2 Exam. Remember, you each have a chance to contribute to our overall understanding of the material that we have studied so far this year. (These are worth 5 points each.) Here's a list of the sections in the order that we'll cover them:

WORLD HISTORY: PATTERNS OF INTERACTION

UNIT 2: New Directions in Government and Society (2000 BC - AD 800)

Chapter 5 Classical Greece (2000 BC - 300 BC)
1 Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea
2 Warring City-States
3 Democracy and Greece's Golden Age
4 Alexander's Empire
5 The Spread of Hellenistic Culture

Chapter 6 Ancient Rome and Early Christianity (500 BC - AD 500)
1 The Roman Republic
2 The Roman Empire
3 The Rise of Christianity
4 The Fall of the Roman Empire
5 Rome & the Roots of Western Civ.

Chapter 7 India and China Establish Empires (400 BC - AD 550)
1 India's First Empires
2 Trade Spreads Religions and Culture
3 Han Emperors in China

Chapter 8 African Civilizations (1500 BC - AD 700)
1 Diverse Societies in Africa
2 Migration
3 The Kingdom of Aksum

Chapter 9 The Americas: A Separate World (40,000 BC - AD 700)
1 The Earliest Americans
2 Early Mesoamerican Civilizations
3 Early Civilizations of the Andes


HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Thursday, January 13th

We've got the Unit #2 Exam coming up tomorrow and Friday. You know exactly what the format will look like, so you should have an idea of what sort of preparation will be most useful for you. REMEMBER, you can bring in up to 150 words of notes tomorrow to help with the essay. You can find the essay choices back a couple of entries.

THURSDAY: Essay
FRIDAY: Objective

We'll begin today by finishing up yesterday's final activity. We'll have you share your "Settling Down" stories. I'll create groups of five, and you'll take turns telling your stories. Remember that we're looking for maybe a minute from each of you. Feel free to talk about any of the questions you looked at.

Going Bananas: In addition to practicing a new type of graphic organizer (the "foursquare"), we will look at how the introduction and spread of a new crop (bananas) affected life in Africa. Your "foursquare" graphic organizer should contain at least one idea about how the spread of bananas affected each of the four corners AND one idea about how each of the four corners affected the spread of banana cultivation. We can talk about the impacts you identified as well.

A Commercial Revolution in Africa: I've got one more, relatively brief exercise for you. You'll get a handout based on the "Commercial Revolution" that occurred in Africa between 300 BCE and 400 CE. You'll look at the trade based in Jenne (Djenne-Djeno in the textbook) and Rhapta. We'll discuss this after you work thorough it for a few minutes.

The Kingdom of Aksum: The final section of the chapter that you were not asked to read for today deals with the kingdom of Aksum. Here are a couple of links. We'll take a few minutes to browse them, and then I'll ask for comments on things you found surprising, interesting, etc. In addition, see if you can draw any conclusions about life in Aksum from looking at the resources.

Aksum - UNESCO World Heritage Centre This designation means that Aksum is recognized as a site of major cultural and historical importance by the United Nations. (Clicking on the "Gallery" tab will get you some pictures. You can also read about what's happening in terms of archaeological work at the site.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art:

• African Christianity in Ethiopia - You can click on the images to make them larger.
• The Monumental Stelae of Aksum - This has information and images about the famous obelisks of Aksum.

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, January 10th

Please begin your reading in the final chapter of the quarter with Chapter 9, Section 1. ("The Earliest Americans") The quiz will be matching.

You should return the Chapter 8, Section 3 "take-home" quiz on Monday.

Your second, and final, batch of current events is due on Wednesday, January 12th. You may select either news stories or editorials. You can download the template from the blog entries for the first couple days of the week.

We'll finish up our look at Rome today and our first day back. We'll use the graffiti posts to do a quick review activity after we return. Today's focus will be on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

No, you don't need to know this list, but you might find it interesting to scroll through this list of the "210 Reasons for the Decline of Rome." The list is the basis of a book written by Alexander Demandt, a German professor. (No, I don't know what some of them mean either...)

The Decline and Fall of Rome: We'll continue today by having you pair up with one partner (if you'd like), and spending 20 minutes working on a DBQ (document-based questions) activity on the fall of Rome. Whether you are finished or not at that time, we'll get back together to brainstorm our list of causes for the decline and fall of Rome.

You'll get assigned to one of four groups: economic causes, military causes, political causes or social causes. You need to pull together ideas from the reading and DBQ activity, as well as other things you know/ suspect. You can also consult this The Fall of the Roman Empire handout. 

We'll have you list your ideas on the whiteboard. I've also got a couple overheads to help us make sense of Rome's eventual fall in 476 CE.

We probably won't get back to this until after break...

Finally, we'll bring this up to today and talk about whether this has anything to do with the modern United States. Here's the "big question": Is the United States an "empire" in decline?

Let's consider some of the reasons established in the handout linked above. For each category, try to think of parallels/ differences between Rome and the United States of today.

• Decline in Morals and Values
• Public Health
• Political Corruption
• Unemployment
• Inflation
• Urban decay
• Inferior Technology
• Military Spending

If the United States and the Roman Empire are comparable, do you believe were are destined to suffer the same fate? Why or why not?

If time permits, we can examine some possible solutions to the problems you may have identified.

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, January 3rd

Your Roman Graffiti posts should be made by the time we return from break.

Please read the first section in Chapter 7. There will be a fill-in-the-blank quiz on the day we return.

I'll ask you to read the very short "Ancient Roman Life" handout.

We'll quickly finish up the Unit #1 "Two-Minute" Review before the Unit #1 Essay Exam.

Unit #1 Essay Exam - Questions and Format - The actual essay will be written, by hand or word-processed, in class today. You should be prepared for a five-paragraph essay. That means that you should include an introduction (with a clear thesis statement), three body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. (Note that the questions lend themselves to such a format. That is on purpose.)

There is no specified length requirement, but I would suggest that most essays end up being the equivalent of between 1 1/2 and 2 pages if they are hand-written. Any shorter and you are probably not giving the different portions of the question enough attention and depth. It is tough to go much longer given the limited class time. Remember that the questions are not designed for you to tell us everything you have learned. Focus on what the question is requiring you to do.

You may bring in a sheet of paper with up to 150 words on it. (You do not need to count the words in the actual question itself in that total...) Whether you hand write or word-process, that paper should be printed out in advance of class. Under no circumstances can you bring in your actual essay, only 150 words. If you choose to hand-write, I will provide you with paper for that. If you choose to word-process, there will be specific instructions about closing other applications, sitting in particular locations, etc.

Unit #1 Essay Questions: You will choose ONE of the following questions to answer in class.

A. Geography certainly played a significant role in the development of early civilizations. Using examples from various early river civilizations, identify three specific geographic factors and explain their importance in the development of early civilizations. Compared to these early civilizations, do you think geographic factors play more or less or a role in our world of today? Why?

B. Three religious traditions that remain among the "Big Five" of the modern world emerged during the time period we studied in Unit I. For each of the three, identify and explain what beliefs and other factors you believe helped that faith grow to become a world religion lasting more than two thousand years. Which of the three do you believe has the greatest impact in our modern world? Why?

C. The rise and fall of empires will be a theme we return to again and again in World History. Using examples from the "First Age of Empires," identify and explain three factors that you believe are common in the rise and/or fall of empires. Do you believe the United States is beginning a period of decline? Why or why not?

Homework for tomorrow- Thursday, December 2nd:

We'll have the Unit #1 Objective Exam on Thursday. There are both multiple choice and document-based questions. You are not allowed any notes for this portion of the exam.

Welcome back. Today, I'm planning to give you the majority of the time to work on your "presentations" that are coming up later in the week. Don't panic. You have today and tomorrow to work on this in class for the most part.

On Wednesday, we'll "journey" to the early civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt. On Thursday, we'll continue to the east and stop in India and China. By the time we are done, we'll have both learned a good deal about 4 specific regions, but we'll also be in a better position to make generalizations and draw conclusions about what factors help civilizations to grow and prosper.

I have a handout for you that lets you know the specific things for which you will be held responsible. It is up to you and the others in your group to divide things up. All group members will be expected to contribute, and all should speak during the actual presentation.

There are several features of geography/ world history that we will introduce you to as well today.

First, many of you may be familiar with the "Five Themes of Geography." (pp. xxxii - xxxiii in the text.)

Next, we'll take a look at eight "Themes of World History." (pp. xxx - xxxi in your text.)

Cool Sites of the Day: The Timeline of Art History from The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be a great resource for you, both on this project and throughout the year.

OK, it is not particularly cool, but The Five Themes of Geography page from National Geographic might help you think about those ideas.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, November 9th.

Please read Section 2, "Pyramids of the Nile" (pp. 35 - 41) for tomorrow. We'll be back to multiple choice for the quizzes.

Additionally, I'd like you to refer back to the The Ethics Workbook I: World History that we downloaded on the first day. I'd like you to read through Chapter 1, "Ancient Egypt" (pp. 6 - 9) before Wednesday. You do not need to formally write out answers to these questions, but be prepared to discuss them in class. (They are fair game for exam questions, but they would not be on the reading quizzes.) Take a few notes on your thoughts or do whatever you feel will adequately prepare you for the conversation.

Of course, you should be doing "your part" in getting ready for your group's presentation.

We'll tackle the "Two-Minute Drill" to aid you in preparing for the Unit #2 Exam. Remember, you each have a chance to contribute to our overall understanding of the material that we have studied so far this year. (These are worth 5 points each.) Here's a list of the sections in the order that we'll cover them:

WORLD HISTORY: PATTERNS OF INTERACTION

UNIT 2: New Directions in Government and Society (2000 BC - AD 800)

Chapter 5 Classical Greece (2000 BC - 300 BC)
1 Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea
2 Warring City-States
3 Democracy and Greece's Golden Age
4 Alexander's Empire
5 The Spread of Hellenistic Culture

Chapter 6 Ancient Rome and Early Christianity (500 BC - AD 500)
1 The Roman Republic
2 The Roman Empire
3 The Rise of Christianity
4 The Fall of the Roman Empire
5 Rome & the Roots of Western Civ.

Chapter 7 India and China Establish Empires (400 BC - AD 550)
1 India's First Empires
2 Trade Spreads Religions and Culture
3 Han Emperors in China

Chapter 8 African Civilizations (1500 BC - AD 700)
1 Diverse Societies in Africa
2 Migration
3 The Kingdom of Aksum

Chapter 9 The Americas: A Separate World (40,000 BC - AD 700)
1 The Earliest Americans
2 Early Mesoamerican Civilizations
3 Early Civilizations of the Andes

THE ETHICS WORKBOOK I: WORLD HISTORY
Chapter 4 Ancient Greece
Chapter 7 Ancient Rome
Chapter 8 Christianity and Islam (First half only)

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Thursday, January 14th

We've got the Unit #2 Exam coming up tomorrow and Friday. You know exactly what the format will look like, so you should have an idea of what sort of preparation will be most useful for you. REMEMBER, you can bring in up to 150 words of notes tomorrow to help with the essay. You can find the essay choices here.

THURSDAY: Essay
FRIDAY: Objective

I suppose that today's blog entry will be the last to have "new" material for this quarter. Thanks for putting up with me this second time through World History 9. I've enjoyed it.

The Americas: A Separate World - Chapter 9

We'll spend some time looking at the earliest civilizations of the Americas. I asked you to have a significant portion of your chart/matrix ready to go for today. Let's use that.

You can download another here if you need: Early American Civilizations

Here are the cultures where we will focus our attention:

• Olmec
• Zapotec
• Teotihuacan
• Chavin
• Moche
• Nazca

We'll see what themes and comparisons/contrasts we can draw here. First, let's look at the Mesoamerican civilizations, followed by those of the Andean mountains. Feel free to add detail to your own matrix as you see fit. I'll expect to hear from everyone at least once.

Once we've developed a better understanding of the American civilizations, it's time to compare them to the other areas that we have studied. "Afroeurasia" is a term used to refer to the land mass consisting of Africa, Europe and Asia. Basically, I want us to compare what we know about the Americas with what we know about the rest of the world. Of course, for those of you who like to keep things organized, here's a note guide for the Comparison of Empires and City-States: America and Afroeurasia.

.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, January 9th

Your portion of the "Two-Minute Drill" needs to be ready to go Wednesday.

The essay portion of the Unit #2 Exam will be in class on Thursday.
The objective portion of the Unit #2 Exam will be in class on Friday.

As you probably noticed, this is the last week of the quarter. We'll take our Unit #2 Exam on Thursday and Friday of this week. No homework for the weekend! (See, that's a joke, because the quarter will be over...)

You'll take the essay portion of the exam on Thursday, and we'll finish up with the objective portion on Friday. You'll find the essay choices on the previous blog entry.

Two-Minute Reviews - We will again spend some time on Wednesday reviewing for the multiple choice portion of Friday's Unit #2 Objective Exam. I have a list of all the sections we've read, plus some other key topics we covered. You'll be asked to sign up for exactly one of those items. On Wednesday, we'll spend a bit of time on each of these. You decide what to do. You might say, "Here are the top five things..." You might ask the group questions, etc. You can be creative, but be sure that you are being helpful... We'll sign up before you leave today.

The Americas: A Separate World - Chapter 9

I'm guessing that much of the material in Section 1 is information with which you are familiar. We won't spend much time there, but we can take any questions. Instead, we'll spend some time looking at the earliest civilizations of the Americas. You will work to gather some information today, and we'll make comparisons with other areas that we have studied tomorrow.

Here are the cultures where we will focus our attention:

• Olmec (Mesoamerica - largely in book)
• Zapotec (Mesoamerica - largely in book)
• Teotihuacan (Mesoamerica - not in book)
• Chavin (Andean - somewhat in book)
• Moche (Andean - briefly in book)
• Nazca (Andean - briefly in book)

You are free to use both your textbook and the Internet to find information to complete this Early American Civilizations matrix. You'll also get a blank map of the region on which you can mark important locations, such as where each group lived. You're welcome to work in groups of up to three people on this task. I'll expect that your matrix and map are ready to share at Tuesday's class.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Tuesday, January 12th

Please finish your reading (for the quarter) by completing Chapter 9 tonight. We'll have a quiz in class tomorrow on Chapter 9, Section 2. I will give you a copy of the quiz for Chapter 9, Section 3 that you can complete at home. Please bring that back tomorrow.

Both your map and handout on the Empires and City-States of the Americas (800 BCE - 500 CE) should be ready to go for class tomorrow.

Your portion of the "Two-Minute Drill" needs to be ready to go by Wednesday.

The essay portion of the Unit #2 Exam will be in class on Thursday.
The objective portion of the Unit #2 Exam will be in class on Friday.

We'll begin today by finishing up yesterday's final activity. We'll have you share your "Settling Down" stories. I'll create groups of five, and you'll take turns telling your stories. Remember that we're looking for maybe a minute from each of you. Feel free to talk about any of the questions you looked at.

Going Bananas: In addition to practicing a new type of graphic organizer (the "foursquare"), we will look at how the introduction and spread of a new crop (bananas) affected life in Africa. Your "foursquare" graphic organizer should contain at least one idea about how the spread of bananas affected each of the four corners AND one idea about how each of the four corners affected the spread of banana cultivation. We can talk about the impacts you identified as well.

A Commercial Revolution in Africa: I've got one more, relatively brief exercise for you. You'll get a handout based on the "Commercial Revolution" that occurred in Africa between 300 BCE and 400 CE. You'll look at the trade based in Jenne (Djenne-Djeno in the textbook) and Rhapta. We'll discuss this after you work thorough it for a few minutes.

The Kingdom of Aksum: The portion of the chapter that you were not asked to read for today deals with the kingdom of Aksum. Here are a couple of links. We'll take a few minutes to browse them, and then I'll ask for comments on things you found suprising, interesting, etc. In addition, see if you can draw any conclusions about life in Aksum from looking at the resources.

Aksum - UNESCO World Heritage Centre This designation means that Aksum is recognized as a site of major cultural and historical importance by the United Nations. (Clicking on the "Gallery" tab will get you some pictures. You can also read about what's happening in terms of archaeological work at the site.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art:

• African Christianity in Ethiopia - You can click on the images to make them larger.
• The Monumental Stelae of Aksum - This has information and images about the famous obelisks of Aksum.

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, January 11th

Please begin your reading in the final chapter of the quarter with Chapter 9, Section 1. ("The Earliest Americans") The quiz will be matching.

You should return the Chapter 8, Section 3 quiz on Monday.

Your second, and final, batch of current events is due on Wednesday, January 13th. Current Events #2 should consist of four events that match the following categories. You may select either news stories or editorials. You can find the instructions for Current Events here.

This is a carry-over from last time I taught this course two years ago, but you might be interested. Basically, as part of Minnesota's 150th anniversary as a state in 2008, the Minnesota Historical Society came up with a list of 150 "things" that have shaped Minnesota: MN150 (It's the alphabetical list of the items that were featured at the Minnesota Historical Society's exhibit.) I'll be honest. I was surprised by how many items were completely new to me...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We'll spend today and tomorrow working on a variety of activities related to Africa. Initially, I'm interested in the preconceptions and first impressions you have/had regarding Africa, as well as whether reading in Chapter 8 has changed those thoughts in any way.

Second, I've got several maps so that we can take a look at the geography of Africa. Draw upon what you know and what you read, as well as what you see. We'll look to identify some of the dominant geographical features, as well as make inferences about how they may have affected the development of Africa and the course of its history.

Terms to know: Sahara, Sahel, savana

Third, we've got some activities to get at many of these ideas in more depth. Note that we largely dealing with populations that were not literate. That, of course, means we need to consider different types of evidence to deepen our understanding.

Drawing Conclusions from Evidence: You'll get a chance to look at textual, archaeological and linguistic evidence for the purpose of evaluating conclusions presented to you.

Ironworking in Africa: Here, we'll take a look at the concepts of innovation and diffusion as they relate to iron technologies in Africa. After you complete the map, we'll assess a statement I put up on the overhead.

Settling Down: This time, we're looking at the transition from hunter-gathering to agriculture. Your task for tomorrow is to be ready to speak for about 90 seconds and two minutes about "your" story as outlined in the handouts. (This does not need to be written out word-for-word, and you may certainly refer to your notes and answers.) You'll give your "speech" to a small group of classmates.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, January 8th

Continue your reading in Chapter 8 with Section 2. ("Migration") Tomorrow's quiz will be fill in the blank.

Your second, and final, batch of current events is due on Wednesday, January 13th. Current Events #2 should consist of four events that match the following categories. You may select either news stories or editorials. You can find the instructions for Current Events here.

We'll finish our look at the Indian and Chinese empires of Chapter 7 today.

In you need one, you should download a Conrad - Demarest Comparison of Empires matrix. People were asked to have "their" column finished for today.

Our main task today is to learn about the empires of Chapter 7. We'll go about this in a couple of ways.

First, we'll have you "teach" each other on a one-to-one basis. Pair up with someone from the "other" group. The "India" person has five minutes to give the "China" person an overview of what they know about the Mauryan and Gupta Empires. Following that, we'll reverse roles for five minutes so our China "expert" can share what they've learned about the Han Empire.

Next, we'll work in the "big groups." "India" has fifteen minutes to walk us through the Conrad - Demarest model as it pertains to the Mauryan and Gupta Empires. Following that, "China" will walk us through the Han Empire.

With the remaining time, I'm interested in your feedback and opinions on these questions:

• How well do these empires fit the model established by Conrad and Demarest?
• Given the criteria established by Conrad and Demarest, how effective were these empires?
• Which of the empires do you feel had the greatest accomplishments? Why?
• Does having a model like this help in studying a subject like this? Why or why not?
• What ways, if any, do you believe the model could be changed and/or improved?
• If you were to apply this model to modern America, what conclusions would you draw?
  
  

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, January 7th

Begin your reading in Chapter 8 with Section 1. ("Diverse Societies in Africa") Tomorrow's quiz will be multiple choice.

Your second, and final, batch of current events is due on Wednesday, January 13th. Current Events #2 should consist of four events that match the following categories. You may select either news stories or editorials. You can find the instructions for Current Events here.

Download a Current Events #2 template here. I. Europe (or any part of)
II. China or India
III. Africa (or any part of)
IV. The Americas (NOT primarily the United States)

Here's a link to the Extra Credit option for those of you who are interested...

To start, let's look at the pair of sections from The Ethics Workbook I: World History that we have twice delayed. First, we'll take a look at Chapter 7 on "Ancient Rome," with its emphasis on Stoicism. Next, we'll consider the "Christianity" section of Chapter 8.

Next, let's try to assess Rome's impact on world history. I always try to keep our focus on the "So what?" type of questions. In other words, "What is important for us to know?" "Why should we know it?" In that spirit, we'll close by looking at the lasting impact of Rome.

As a group, I want us to come up with the "Top Ten Legacies of Ancient Rome." You've no doubt got a lot of ideas. In addition, here's an article called "The Legacy of Rome." We'll give you ten minutes to work on this, alone or in a group, and then we'll see what you come up with. 

Finally, we'll bring this up to today and talk about whether Rome's fate has anything to do with the modern United States. Here's the "big question": Is the United States an "empire" in decline?

If the United States and the Roman Empire are comparable, do you believe were are destined to suffer the same fate? Why or why not?

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, January 4th, 2010!!!

Enjoy your vacation. All I need you to do, assuming you are caught up on everything, is to start your reading in Chapter 7. There WILL be a reading quiz on Section 1 ("India's First Empires") on Monday. It will be fill-in-the-blank.

We'll start out today with your reading quiz and the Latin Phrases quiz.

The Ethics Workbook I - World History - I asked you to take a look at Chapter 7, "Ancient Rome" for today. (It's pages 50 - 53.) Let's see what you thought about some of the ideas.

THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY: As with the other great religious traditions that we have examined, I'm guessing that the class has a wide variation in its familiarity with the early history of Christianity. While your own beliefs may range widely, it's clearly important to take a look at major events in the birth and spread of what has become the world religion with the greatest number of followers.

We'll work through two major topics today.

• Jesus' Life and Teachings
• The Spread of Christianity

Jesus' Life and Teachings: Together, we'll piece together the historical record as it exists regarding the figure Jesus of Nazareth. In addition, we'll attempt to figure out what it was about his message that was compelling to its followers.

NOTE: At the turn of the millennium, a group of artists met to consider a "newer" face for Jesus that they believed would be more historically accurate. You can see the image they produced here.

From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians- PBS Frontline
This is a good site where you can find a number of references and links related to the early years of Christianity.

The Spread of Christianity: Let's consider how what begin as a small group of Jewish followers grew to be the dominant and official religion of the Roman Empire.

• Paul's contributions
  
• Peter's journey to Rome
  
• Rebellion in Judea - 66 CE (Temple destroyed in 70 CE), Masada in 73 CE, Diaspora
  
• Persecution by Rome
  
• Constantine's conversion - Edict of Milan (313 CE) legalizes Christianity
  
• 380 CE - Theodosius makes Christianity Rome's official religion

HOMEWORK for next class: Thursday, December 17th

Please read Section 5, "The Legacy of Rome." (It's pp. 178 - 183 in your textbook.) The quiz will be multiple choice.

Read the FIRST PART of Chapter 7 in The Ethics Workbook I: World History. I need you to get through the Christianity section, so that's pages 54 through 61. (We'll get back to Islam and the few remaining chapters next quarter we are together.)

Your two "graffiti" entries are due to be posted to the correct blogs by the start of class time on Friday. The sign-up sheet is up front for anyone who needs it.

Caesar Augustus on Trial: We'll begin the day with our large-group discussion/ mock "trial" of Octavian, or Caesar Augustus, if you prefer. To get started, each side has ten minutes to meet together to think about arguments that benefit their side.

Here are the charges against Augustus:

• overthrowing the Roman Republic
• usurping (weakening) the rights of Roman citizens
• illegally establishing the Roman Empire with himself as Emperor

We will allow each side five minutes in which to present their "opening" arguments, beginning with the prosecution. After that, we'll allow people to speak/ ask questions as they are ready. This may be a graded discussion, so I'd like to hear two good comments from each of you.

As the hour closes, or as the discussion wears down, we'll "vote" on the charges. You can vote your own opinion at this point, rather than the one forced by your side.

I'm not sure exactly how long the trial will take, but I've got a couple things for us to check out as well. There are some neat resources on the web related to things we've been studying.

Rome Reborn: This is the name of the most ambitious computer model of an ancient city ever created. It is designed to give you a look at the city near its peak in the summer of 320 CE. Rome Reborn will be shown to tourists in Italy near the ruins of many of these sites. I've linked several articles below. (The initial link above is for the actual project itself.) You can find short video clips and pictures from the project in these links. It's worth browsing around.

• "Ancient Rome reborn in virtual reality"
  
• "Rome reborn" - Smithsonian Magazine
  
• "Photo Gallery: Ancient Rome Reborn in 3-D" - National Geographic

Roman "graffiti": I toyed with the idea of another bio-poem assignment, but we'll try this instead. In Ancient Rome, there is a rich tradition of public graffiti. These inscriptions and drawings were found carved on walls, tombs and other public places. Sometimes clever, often vulgar, these writings allowed "regular" citizens a chance to praise, criticize or mock others, or perhaps just brag about themselves. Here's an online exhibition of graffiti found at Ostia, a former seaport near Rome that has been well-preserved. (The images will "glow" after a second or two on each slide. Click with the arrow buttons near the top.)

I figure that the blog is the 21st century equivalent of the wall as a "host" for graffiti. You'll be limited to words only, but you're going to compose graffiti on two topics, posting them on the blog that will be set up for this. In each case, you will be limited to 75 words. You can be creative, but you need to be sure that you are conveying useful information about your topics. One topic will be a person. (Here, I'd suggest focusing on important contributions, significance, major strengths/flaws, etc.) The other will be a "thing" that was part of life in the Roman Empire. (Here, we need to know what it is and why we should care about it.) You'll choose your two topics in class, and these are due to be posted to the appropriate blog entries before class time on Friday.

A couple notes: These are primarily a review device, but I'd encourage you to have a little fun with it. Don't let your creativity get in the way of giving us some good information, but you can certainly take shots at your figure or whatever. Don't be vulgar, and don't plagiarize. (If I choose to Google any of your phrases and they appear to be lifted directly from another source, you will get a zero for the assignment.)

Here's the list of "Famous Romans":
Caligula
Calpurnia
Cato
Cicero
Cincinnatus
Cleopatra
Constantine
Diocletian
Gracchus Brothers
Horace
Livy
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Brutus
Mark Antony
Nero
Pompey
Romulus
Scipio
Tacitus
Trajan
Virgil

Here's the list of "Roman Things":
Aeneid
aqueducts
Capitoline Hill
Circus Maximus
Colosseum
Forum
gladiator
gravitas
latifundia
Legion
mos maiorum
mosaics
Ostia Antica
Palatine Hill
Pantheon
patricians
Pax Romana
plebeians
Pompeii
Tiber River
Via Appia

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, December 16th

Please read Section 4, "The Fall of the Roman Empire." (It's pp. 173 - 176 in your textbook.) The quiz will be matching.

You should read Chapter 7, "Ancient Rome," (pp. 50-53) from The Ethics Workbook I: World History.

The short quiz on Latin Phrases will be Wednesday. (I described the format more on yesterday's blog.)

Your "graffiti" should be posted by Friday's class time under the appropriate blog entry that will be created. Remember, you are limited to no more than 75 words for either of your required entries. Creativity is applauded, but your content must also be appropriate and useful...

Today, we'll highlight some of the key events as Rome moves from Republic to Empire...

Here's an interesting series of maps that show the growth of Rome during the time period we are covering today. (You can click on the right arrow below the map to move forward in time.) Census Figures: Roman Citizens is also kind of an interesting chart.

Section I - The Roman Republic

Origins of Rome:
geography's impact
Latins, Greeks, Etruscans - early settlers

The Early Republic
patricians v. plebeians
Twelve Tables
Government - We talked about the structure last time. Today, I'm interested in your views on its strengths and weaknesses. I have several questions for you.
Roman Army (This is a very thorough site in you're interested in learning more about the military.)

Rome Spreads Its Power
Rome conquers Italy
Rome's commercial network
War with Carthage

• First Punic War (264-241 BCE) - Rome wins Sicily, controls western Mediterranean
• Second Punic War (218-202 BCE) - Hannibal marches toward Rome; Scipio counterattacks
• Third Punic War (149-146 BCE) Carthage burned, made a Roman province

The Rise and Fall of Julius Caesar

• What economic, social and political problems faced the Republic?
  
• What happened to reformers like the Gracchi brothers?
  
• Why was the military becoming a threat to Rome?

Julius Caesar:
60 BCE - joins forces with Crassus and Pompey
59 BCE - elected counsul, First Triumvirate formed
58 - 50 BCE - conquers Gaul as its governor
49 BCE - Caesar crosses the Rubicon River, fights Pompey
46 BCE - returns to Rome as dictator
March 15, 44 BCE - Caesar is assassinated

Questions for Discussion:

• Was the assassination of Julius Caesar justified?
• Are there tyrants who are simply too dangerous to live?
• Is assassination ever justified?

43 BCE - Second Triumvirate formed (Octavian, Lepidus, Mark Antony)
31 BCE - Octavian defeats Mark Antony & Cleopatra at Battle of Actium
27 BCE - Augustus Caesar formally becomes Emperor
27 BCE - 180 CE - Pax Romana or "Roman peace"

Augustus and the Roman Empire: Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the Roman Empire. We'll kick that off by placing Augustus Caesar on trial on a variety of charges. We'll do this in "large group" format, but you'll each be assigned to a side, and you'll all be expected to speak. I have a packet of background information and source material to give you. Your job is to look through that for support for "your" side before tomorrow's class.

Tomorrow, Emperor Augustus will "stand trial" on the following charges:

• overthrowing the Roman Republic
• usurping (weakening) the rights of Roman citizens
• illegally establishing the Roman Empire with himself as Emperor

This will technically be more a "discussion" than a "mock trial," but we will consider half of you as the prosecution and half as the defense. You'll vote together as a jury, but you get to say what YOU think there, not your assigned side. Be sure you know whether you are "prosecution" or "defense" before you leave.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Tuesday, December 15th

Continue your reading in Chapter 6 with Section 3, "The Rise of Christianity." (pp. 168 - 172) The quiz will be true/false.

Please read through the documents in the "Octavian Augustus and the Formation of the Roman Empire" packet we handed out. Remember that you were assigned a "side," so you should look for evidence that supports that position.

You'll have a short quiz on the Latin Phrases handout on Wednesday. Assume that you will be asked to match 10 with their definitions. You will also be asked to "fill in the blanks" with the appropriate phrase from a word bank. For example, "When Silly Billy through the clock out of the window, he said, 'Look, _______.'" "Tempus fugit" would be the best answer there. ("Time flies.") You will have a phrase bank, but there might be more than 10 choices to go with the 10 sentences.

We're shifting west from the Greeks to begin our look at the Romans. They will come to dominate life and culture around the Mediterranean Sea for centuries. Along with the Greeks, they will leave a strong and lasting impact on our modern lives.

Roman Chronology: This activity is designed to help you learn the basic chronology on Ancient Rome, both as a republic and as an empire. It's simple. Work in a group of about 4 . You'll get a set of 25 events on slips of paper. Your job is to work together to place them in the correct chronological order. Once you think you have them correct, me know. I will check them. If you have them almost completely correct, I'll give you each a copy of the actual chronology in correct order, with the accurate dates to keep as a resource. If you have mistakes, you'll keep working.

The Roman Republic - The Primary Sources: Once your group successfully completes the chronology activity, you'll be directed to two of the five primary sources listed below. Your job is to take a look at the primary source you are assigned and be prepared to help us learn more about Ancient Rome through understanding these sources. (You'll need to scroll through down the web page to find your source. Believe me, it's there...)

Legendary founding of Rome (753 BCE)
The rape of Lucretia (509 BCE)
The Laws of the Twelve Tables (449 BCE)
Polybius: Rome at the End of the Punic Wars [History: Book 6] An Analysis of the Roman Government
Polybius: Rome at the End of the Punic Wars [History: Book 6] Rome and Carthage Compared

The Roman Republic - The Structure: We'll do some comparisons with what you know about our own government. For each of the following, add what we know about the Roman Republic. In addition to what you read in your text, this Roman Republic Constitution might be helpful. (Note: Rome never had a written constitution, but this document shows what one might have looked like given their laws and traditions.)

Executive:
USA: president, 4 year terms - chief executive, commander-in-chief
Rome:

Legislative:
USA: Senate of 100 members, 6 year terms - make laws, advise on foreign policy
House of Representatives with 435 members, 2 year terms - make laws, revenue bills
Rome:

Judicial:
USA: Supreme Court with nine justices appointed for life - highest court, hears appeals cases
Rome:

Legal Code:
USA: Constitution
Rome:

Latin phrases: We use a lot of Latin phrases and expressions yet today, so I have this Latin Phrases handout for you to complete. There are 30 phrases still used today. See how many you know, and then go back and figure out the rest. We'll go over these next class, so you should have them done...

Website of the Day: It's no Iron Maiden video, but here's the Roman Republic collection from the Timeline of Art History from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can read the text and click on the smaller images at the top to learn more about them.

HOMEWORK for nest session: Monday, December 14th

Please read pp. 160 - 165, "The Roman Empire." It's Section 2 in Chapter 6 of your textbook. The quiz will be fill in the blank.

You should have the Latin Phrases handout completed for Monday. We'll take a short quiz on them on Wednesday of next week.

We'll start with the reading and geography quizzes.

REMINDER: Your Ancient Greece Bio-Poem should be posted by tomorrow. 

Since our discussion wandered a bit on democracy yesterday, we didn't get to look at some of the questions/issues from Ethics in Education. We'll do that now.

Athens and Philosophy:

• I've got a series of overheads to show you on the pre-Socratics. (Don't take notes, just watch.)
• We'll take a look at Socrates.
• We'll introduce several of Plato's works: The Republic and the "Allegory of the Cave."
• We'll look at Aristotle's contributions.

Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Empire: We'll make sure that you have the basics down on the spread of this vast empire. After that, we'll try to assess its legacy. Your bio-poems will be helpful with that.

Song of the Day: Perhaps some of you have heard of Iron Maiden. I'm not really a fan, but they were a heavy metal group most famous in the '70s and '80s. It seems they sang a song with the appropriate title, "Alexander the Great." (Check out the link for the lyrics...) Even better, here's a You Tube video of the song.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, December 11th

Please read Chapter 6, Section 1 ("The Roman Republic") on pages 155 - 159 in your textbook. The quiz will be multiple choice.

Your Greek Bio-Poem should be posted on the correct entry by tomorrow as well.

We'll start today with the two quizzes: your reading quiz on 5.4 and the Greek Roots quiz. I'll have keys available for both, and you can take them in whichever order that you prefer...

Back to the "Golden Age of Athens" -

First, we'll take up the idea of democracy in Ancient Greece. Take a look at The Democratic Experiment by Professor Paul Cartledge when you finish your quizzes. At least read that "page," and browse some others if you have time.

My questions for you:

• How democratic was the democracy of Athens?
• What advantages did it have over modern democracies? What disadvantages? 
• Are we a democracy today? Why or why not?
• In what ways (if any) should the democracy of America be more like that of Athens?
  

Second, Let's talk (finally) about Chapter 4 - Ancient Greece from Ethics in Education.

Third, we'll make sure that you understand the basic outline of the Peloponnesian War.

WHO: Athens and Sparta
WHAT: Fought the Peloponnesian War
WHERE: One guess: Greece. (Largely on the Peloponnesus...)
WHEN: 431 - 404 BCE
WHY: Resentment of Athenian power and wealth; a long rivalry
WHAT HAPPENS:

• Pericles delivers his "Funeral Oration."
• Plague strikes Athens early in the war, killing about 1/3 of population.
• Fighting continues over the next several decades, both on land and at sea.
• Athens eventually surrendered in 404 BCE. Its empire is now gone.

HOMEWORK for Thursday, December 9th:

Please read Chapter 5, Section 5 in your textbook. "The Spread of Hellenistic Culture" is found on pages 146 - 149.

Your Greek Bio-Poem is due by Friday's class time. You should post it as a comment on the approrpriate blog entry.

There are a number of different ways we could take today's lesson. In order to give you a flavor for the "Golden Age of Athens," we'll try several activities after our opening discussion. Remember that you have two short quizzes this week (Greek Roots on Wednesday. Greek Geography on Thursday). After that, we'll look more closely at the role of democracy as well as the contributions of the famous philosophers: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

Ancient Greece: Chapter 4 in The Ethics Workbook I: World History

Greek Bio-Poems: You're going to compose a bit of "poetry" for us. You will select a famous Ancient Greek from a list. Then, using the Greek Bio-poem Format, you will compose an informative, yet poetic, tribute to that person. The form is pretty self-explanatory. This needs to be completed and posted before Friday's class begins, and you will post them as "comments" to the blog entry I create called "Greek Bio-Poems." (Please "preview" your comment so that it looks correct before submitting.) These are worth 10 points.

Here's a list of the figures.

Aeschylus
Aesop
Alexander
Archimedes
Aristotle
Aristophanes
Aspasia
Cleisthenes
Demosthenes
Epicurus
Euclid
Herodotus
Homer
Pericles
Philip II
Plato
Pythagoras
Sappho
Socrates
Solon
Sophocles
Thales
Themistocles
Thucydides
Zeno

"The Age of Pericles" - As you read, Pericles was perhaps the central figure in Athens during this time period. Early in the war against Sparta, he delivers his "Funeral Oration," a speech that is recognized among history's greatest. We'll have you take a look at an excerpt from this speech, and you'll look for examples of two prominent Greek values: arete and eunomia. Here are the two documents that you need for this.

• Pericles handout
• Pericles' "Funeral Oration"
  

If you find the speech at all interesting, I'd recommend looking at
Dr. J's Illustrated Pericles' Funeral Oration. This is a professor's "guided tour" of the speech. I found it very helpful in understanding the wider context of the speech.

Topics for next session: The Peloponnesian War, the philosophers, and democracy...

HOMEWORK for next class: Wednesday, December 9th

Please read Chapter 5, Section 4 in your textbook. It's "Alexander's Empire." (pp. 142 - 145.) The quiz will be true/false.

You have two additional quizzes this week: Greek Roots (Wednesday) and Greek Geography (Thursday). Each is worth 10 points.

Your "Greek Bio-Poem" must be posted as a "comment" on the correct blog entry before the start of Friday's class.

We'll take a look at two very different lifestyles that emerged in Greece. We'll compare and contrast life in Sparta and Athens. However, before the hour ends, these two rivals will band together to face off against our old friend Darius and his Persian Empire in the Persian Wars.

First, let's build those vocabularies by taking a look at your Greek Roots... We'll go through these quickly to make sure you can both define them and use them in an appropriate word.

Second, your newly found vocabulary should help you with these terms. Let's make sure we are on the same page with these terms that we've already come across in the reading.

arete
polis
acropolis
agora
monarchy
aristocracy
oligarchy
tyrant
democracy
helot
hoplite
phalanx

Third, we'll also give you an additional handout on one of these two groups. You'll have a few minutes to read it before our discussion.

Life in Athens and Sparta:

• If you were a young teenage girl of the citizen class, in which city-state would you rather live? Why?
• If you were a boy of the citizen class, in which would you rather live? Why?
• If you were a young soldier, in which would you rather live? Why?
• If you were a slave, in which would you rather live? Why?
• If you were an artist, in which would you rather live? Why?
• If you were a very wealthy person of the citizen class, in which would you rather live? Why?
• In which do you find more similarities to modern America? Why?

It's important to remember that these two cities could work together when needed. Here's one of those times. Let's spend about 10 minutes with:

The Persian Wars (490 - 479 BCE)

Cause: Athens aids rebels in Ionia against Persia

Key Events:

Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) - 25,000 Persians v. 10,000 Athenians
   Pheidippides: "Rejoice, we conquer"

Thermopylae and Salamis (480 BCE) - Xerxes sends huge invasion
   300 Spartans hold pass at Thermopylae (Here's a thoughtful article about the film.)
Debate over defending Athens - Themistocles urges evacuation
   Greeks win naval battle at Salamis

Delian League forms - drive out Persians
   Clears way for Golden Age of Athens

Cool site of the day: Here's The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization. This is from the PBS series, Empires. There's neat stuff here, including a great timeline and some animations, etc. Check it out.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, November 30th

Please read Chaper 5, Section 3 ("Democracy and Greece's Golden Age") for tomorrow. It is pages 134 -139 in your textbook. The quiz will be fill in the blank.

I delayed it once, but I'd like you to have read Chapter 4 ("Ancient Greece") in The Ethics Workbook I: World History for tomorrow.

Your Greek Roots quiz will be on Wednesday. I'm moving the Greek Geography quiz back to THURSDAY so you'll know the significance of more of the cities before the quiz.

We'll hit the ground running and start Unit #2 today. Our early focus will be on the Ancient Greeks and Romans. We'll close the unit with a look at what's going on around the rest of the world in the early centuries of the "Common Era." This unit will take us through the remainder of the quarter, so you can expect one more unit exam, very similar to the Unit #1 Exam, during that week the quarter ends in mid-January.

Unit #1 Exam: I don't have the essays ready to return (and won't for a couple days), but I will give you back the Unit #1 Objective Exam. We can quickly go through the multiple choice. I do need these returned to me to keep.(Plus, I should grade the DBQs...)

I'm also curious, now that we have finished a unit, if there are any suggestions people have for how you'd like to see things handled differently. (Not doing any homework or eating pizza all hour are NOT options...) Seriously, however, this is only my second time through with the course, so you may well have insights that have not occurred to me.

ANCIENT GREECE We'll spend the next five or so days on one of the most influential civilizations from world history. We'll start with a little concept mapping to see where you are coming from. Following that, we'll see how the Mycenaens, Minoans and Dorians each helped set the stage in Ancient Greece.

Greek Geography: I'll give you a map of Greece and the surrounding region. On Tuesday, we'll take a quiz on the 20 features below. This time, I won't provide you with another map, but the quiz map will be the same as the one you receive today. I'll give you a word bank, and they'll be divided into categories as below.

Cities:
Athens
Corinth
Delphi
Knossos
Marathon
Mycenae
Salamis
Sparta
Thebes
Troy

Places:
Crete
Macedonia
Mt. Olympus
Peloponneses
Thermopylae

Bodies of Water:
Aegean Sea
Black Sea
Gulf of Corinth
Ionian Sea
Mediterranean Sea

Greek Roots: You may have done related activities in other classes, but we will take a look at the tremendous influence the Greeks have had upon the development of our language. Between prefixes, word roots and suffixes, a significant percentage of the words we use have their origins with the Greeks. We'll give you a little time today to work on your own or with a partner on the Greek Roots handout. This should be completed by tomorrow's class, and we'll take a quick quiz on Wednesday.

Greek Mythology: I'll be honest. I've never been particularly interested in Greek and Roman mythology. If, however, you are, here's a very informative website: Greek Gods. You can browse as much as you'd like...

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, December 7th

Please read Chapter 5, Section 2 ("Warring City-States") from your textbook. It's pages 127-133, and your quiz will be multiple choice.

Your "Greek Roots" sheet should be completed and ready for discussion.

Please have Chapter 5, "Ancient Greece, from The Ethics Workbook I: World History read for Monday's class as well.

You'll have your Greek Geography (Tuesday) and Greek Roots (Wednesday) quizzes next week. They are worth 10 points each.

We'll quickly finish up the Unit #1 "Two-Minute" Review before the Unit #1 Essay Exam.

Unit #1 Essay Exam - Questions and Format - The actual essay will be written, by hand or word-processed, in class today. You should be prepared for a five-paragraph essay. That means that you should include an introduction (with a clear thesis statement), three body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. (Note that the questions lend themselves to such a format. That is on purpose.)

There is no specified length requirement, but I would suggest that most essays end up being the equivalent of between 1 1/2 and 2 pages if they are hand-written. Any shorter and you are probably not giving the different portions of the question enough attention and depth. It is tough to go much longer given the limited class time. Remember that the questions are not designed for you to tell us everything you have learned. Focus on what the question is requiring you to do.

You may bring in a sheet of paper with up to 150 words on it. (You do not need to count the words in the actual question itself in that total...) Whether you hand write or word-process, that paper should be printed out in advance of class. Under no circumstances can you bring in your actual essay, only 150 words. If you choose to hand-write, I will provide you with paper for that. If you choose to word-process, there will be specific instructions about closing other applications, sitting in particular locations, etc.

Unit #1 Essay Questions: You will choose ONE of the following questions to answer in class.

A. Geography certainly played a significant role in the development of early civilizations. Using examples from various early river civilizations, identify three specific geographic factors and explain their importance in the development of early civilizations. Compared to these early civilizations, do you think geographic factors play more or less or a role in our world of today? Why?

B. Three religious traditions that remain among the "Big Five" of the modern world emerged during the time period we studied in Unit I. For each of the three, identify and explain what beliefs and other factors you believe helped that faith grow to become a world religion lasting more than two thousand years. Which of the three do you believe has the greatest impact in our modern world? Why?

C. We are making an effort to understand the development of ethics over the course of World History. Using examples from three different cultures, identify and explain major advances in the understanding of ethical responsibilities and obligations that we have so far studied. Do you think we live in a more or less ethical age than the time periods we have so far studied. Why?

D. The rise and fall of empires will be a theme we return to again and again in World History. Using examples from the "First Age of Empires," identify and explain three factors that you believe are common in the rise and/or fall of empires. Do you believe the United States is beginning a period of decline? Why or why not?

Homework for tomorrow- Wednesday, December 2nd:

We'll have the Unit #1 Objective Exam on Wednesday. There are both multiple choice and document-based questions. You are not allowed any notes for this portion of the exam.

Today is pretty straight-forward. We'll try the "Two-Minute Drill" to aid you in preparing for the Unit #1 Exam. Remember, you each have a chance to contribute to our overall understanding of the material that we have studied so far this year. (These are worth 5 points each.) Here's a list of the sections in the order that we'll cover them:

WORLD HISTORY: PATTERNS OF INTERACTION

UNIT 1: Beginnings of Civilization (4 million BC - 200 BC)

Chapter 1: The Peopling of the World (Prehistory - 2500 BC)
1 Human Origins in Africa
x Earth Calendar
2 Humans Try to Control Nature
3 Civilization

Chapter 2: Early River Civilizations (3500 BC - 450 BC)
1 City-States in Mesopotamia
2 Pyramids on the Nile
3 Planned Cities on the Indus
4 River Dynasties in China

Chapter 3: People and Ideas on the Move (2000 BC - 250 BC)
1 The Indo-Europeans
2 Hinduism and Buddhism Develop
3 Seafaring Traders
4 The Origins of Judaism

Chapter 4: First Age of Empires (1570 BC - 200 BC)
1 The Egyptian and Nubian Empires
2 The Assyrian Empire
3 The Persian Empire
4 The Unification of China

THE ETHICS WORKBOOK I: WORLD HISTORY

Chapter 1 Ancient Egypt: Book of the Dead, Ma'at
Chapter 2 The Hebrews: Genesis, Deuteronomy
Chapter 3 Ancient Mesopotamia: Hammurabi's Code
Chapter 5 Ancient China: Confucius - Analects, Tales
Chapter 6 Ancient India: Ramayana

You're free to ask me questions and do whatever sort of review that you think would be helpful with any remaining time.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Tuesday, December 1st

The Unit #1 Essay will be written in class Tuesday, and the objective part of the Unit #1 Exam will be on Wednesday.

You can find the Unit #1 Exam Information here. REMEMBER, you can bring in up to 150 words of notes to help with the essay.

Reminders about the upcoming Unit Exam #1:

Document-Based Questions (DBQs): We can go over some sample questions. I'd say these are pretty easy ones, but they should give you a feel for the type of questions that will appear in that section of the exam.

Essay meeting groups: If you've already chosen your essay for next Tuesday, great. If not, look back at the options and at least decide which one is most likely to be your choice. We'll give you 5 minutes to meet with the others in the class thinking of doing the same question. You can "compare notes," brainstorm ideas and/or ask any questions that you have.

Two-Minute Drill: We'll wrap up the unit with these on Monday. Remember that you have no more than TWO (maybe three) minutes to help us review the section that you chose to be responsible for.

The Unification of China: We'll take a look at several features related to China's unification today. Remember that the Zhou Dynasty ruled China for more than 8 centuries, from 1027 to 256 BCE. In the last years of the empire, rival warlords considered themselves independent. This led to constant warfare and conflict called the "Warring States Period."

Several key philosophical and ethical systems emerged during the Zhou Dynasty:

Confucianism: Confucius, or K'ung Fu-tzu (Master Kung) was born in 551 B.C.E. in the province of Lu. Here is a collection of quotes from Confucius.

* What were the key ideas of Confucius?
* How did Confucius influence China?

Daoism: While some question if he ever was a "real" person, Laozi is credited with founding Daoism. The Dao De Jing ("The Way of Virtue") is the classic work which outlines Daoist philosophy. We'll take a look at some excerpts. If you're ready to sign up, you can check out the Center for Daoist Studies.

* What were the key ideas of Daoism?
* How did Daoism influence China?

Legalism: The political thinkers who favored a powerful and strict government were know as Legalists. They frequently censored opposing ideas, and they severely punished those who failed to carry out their duties.

* What were the key ideas of Legalism?
* How did Legalism influence China?

I Ching: You might also be interested in checking out the I Ching,or "The Book of Changes." The oracles were designed to help people lead a happy and fulfilling life. Play around with this a bit.

The Qin Dynasty: During the short period known as the Qin Dynasty, Shi Huangdi forever changed the course of China's future. Accomplishments of his reign in the third century BCE include:

• doubling the size of China
  
• ending internal resistance
  
• "strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches"
  
• centralization: roads, currency, writing
  
• Great Wall of China
  
• burial tomb - site of terracotta warriors

By 202 BCE, the Qin Empire has been replaced by the Han Dynasty, one of China's longest.

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, November 30th

The Unit #1 Essay will be written in class next Tuesday, and the objective part of the Unit #1 Exam will be on Wednesday.

"Your" portion of the Unit #1 "Two-Minute" Review will be "due" Monday, and it is worth a maximum of five points. Remember, you only get a maximum of two/three minutes...

You can find the Unit #1 Exam Information here.

On a separate entry, you'll find additional information about the Unit #1 Exam scheduled for the beginning of the week after Thanksgiving.  On the Tuesday after we return, you will write/type an in-class essay.  On Wednesday, you'll take the objective portion of the test.  That means multiple choice and some document-based questions.  

I forgot on Friday that I wanted to touch base in terms of both the Minoans and the Phoenicians.  You remember them as the "Seafaring Traders" in the text section you last week.  I want us to derive lists of five particular "things" you should know/remember about each of the two groups.

First Age of Empires: We'll download a First Age of Empires "matrix" for Chapter 4. As you know, the chapter deals with "The First Age of Empires." We'll cover China separately tomorrow, but this guide walks you through the main points from Sections 1, 2, and 3. You may work with one partner if you'd like, but everyone should have their own matrix to serve as notes.


HOMEWORK for next session - Tuesday, November 24th

Please finish your reading for Unit #1 with Section 4 of Chapter 4, "The Unification of China." (pp. 104-109)  Your reading quiz will be true/false.

Read Chapter 5 (yes, that's still a bit out of order) from "The Ethics Workbook I - World History" for Tuesday. It's on "Ancient China," and the main focus is on the work of Confucius.

We'll touch base in terms of both the Minoans and the Phoenicians.  You remember them as the "Seafaring Traders" in the text section you read for Tuesday.  I want us to derive lists of five particular "things" you should know/remember about each of the two groups.

The Origins of Judaism- Chapter 3, Section 4 probably contained more specific names and ideas than most we have read so far.  Below is a list of concepts that I think you should be familiar with after reading it.  We'll work through them together to see where you are at...

Palestine / Canaan
Torah
Abraham
covenant
Moses
Exodus
Ten Commandments
Jews - Judaism
Kingdom of Israel
Saul, David, Solomon
Israel / Judah
Babylonian Captivity

If there's any remaining time, we'll download a First Age of Empires "matrix" for Chapter 4. As you know, the chapter deals with "The First Age of Empires." We'll cover China separately, but this guide walks you through the main points from Sections 1, 2, and 3. You may work with one partner if you'd like, but everyone should have their own matrix to serve as notes. (We'll spend some time Monday working on this as well.)

Monday, you'll receive additional information about the Unit #1 Exam scheduled for the beginning of the week after Thanksgiving.  On the Tuesday after we return, you will write/type an in-class essay.  (You be able to choose from a list of possible questions that you receive Monday.)  On Tuesday, you'll take the objective portion of the test.  That means multiple choice and some document-based questions.   


HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, November 23rd

Please read Section 3 of Chapter 4, "The Persian Empire." (pp. 99 - 103)  Your reading quiz will be fill-in-the-blank.

Read Chapter 5 (yes, that's still a bit out of order) from "The Ethics Workbook I - World History" for Tuesday. It's on "Ancient China," and the main focus is on the work of Confucius.

We'll take a look at the origins of Judaism tomorrow. That will complete our look at Chapter 3.  Today we'll finish up Buddhism and get caught up on the "Ethics in Education" readings that you were asked to do. Your homework is, as usual, at the bottom of the blog entry. 

We'll start out with the reading and Unit #1 Geography Quizzes.

Next, let's go back to the material on yesterday's blog entry and talk about Buddhism a bit more.

I also asked you to take a look at Chapters 2, 3 and 6 from "The Ethics Workbook I - World History" by today's class. Let's talk about those for a bit.

Finally, you can click here to download a First Age of Empires "matrix" for Chapter 4. The chapter deals with "The First Age of Empires." We'll cover China separately, but this guide walks you through the main points from Sections 1, 2, and 3. You may work with one partner if you'd like, but everyone should have their own matrix to serve as notes. You should have this completed by next Tuesday.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Friday, November 20th

Make sure you have read Chapter 4, Section 2 ("The Assyrian Empire") for tomorrow's class. We'll be back to multiple choice for the quiz format.

The "First Age of Empires" handout you downloaded today will be checked as homework on Tuesday. 

Reminders: Your Current Events #1 assignment is due tomorrow. I also asked you to take a look at Chapters 2 and 3 from "The Ethics Workbook I - World History" for Wednesday's class.

We'll shift our primary focus to Buddhism today. We'll briefly mention another religion that breaks off from Hinduism, Jainism; but we'll spend more time with Buddhism.

Why do groups break from Hinduism in the 6th century BCE?

Defining terms: Jainism, Mahavira, ahimsa

The Life of the Buddha:

Defining terms: Siddhartha Gautama, "The Four Passing Sights," ascetic, "Great Awakening," bodhi tree, "Sermon in the Deer Park"

What is Buddhism?

Defining terms: Middle Path, Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana (Tibetan)

The Four Noble Truths:

Defining terms: dukkha, tanha
* All life is dukkha.
* The cause of dukkha is tanha.
* Ending tanha will end dukkha.
* The way to ending tanha is through following the Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path:

* Right Views
* Right Intent
* Right Speech
* Right Conduct
* Right Livelihood
* Right Effort
* Right Mindfulness
* Right Concentration

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, November 19th

For Thursday, please read Section 1 in Chapter 4, "The Egyptian and Nubian Empires," (pp. 89 - 94) from your textbook. The quiz will be matching

Please read Chapter 6 (yes, that's out of order) from "The Ethics Workbook I - World History" for Thursday's class. It's on "Ancient India," and the focus is on an excerpt from the Ramayana. Just read the story, you don't need to record everyone's dharma.

Remember, Geography Quiz #1 will be on Thursday. You should have the practice maps by now, and you will have a word bank for the quiz.

We'll finish up our introduction to Hinduism at the top, and then we'll shift our primary focus to Buddhism.

Today, we'll turn our attention to two faiths which break off from the Hindu tradition. We'll briefly mention one, Jainism; but we'll spend some time with the other, Buddhism.

Why do groups break from Hinduism in the 6th century BCE?

Defining terms: Jainism, Mahavira, ahimsa

The Life of the Buddha:

Defining terms: Siddhartha Gautama, "The Four Passing Sights," ascetic, "Great Awakening," bodhi tree, "Sermon in the Deer Park"

What is Buddhism?

Defining terms: Middle Path, Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana (Tibetan)

The Four Noble Truths:

Defining terms: dukkha, tanha
* All life is dukkha.
* The cause of dukkha is tanha.
* Ending tanha will end dukkha.
* The way to ending tanha is through following the Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path:

* Right Views
* Right Intent
* Right Speech
* Right Conduct
* Right Livelihood
* Right Effort
* Right Mindfulness
* Right Concentration

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, November 18th

For Wednesday, please read Section 4 in Chapter 3, "The Origins of Judaism," (pp. 77 - 82) from your textbook. The quiz will be true/false

Your Current Events #1 assignment is due tomorrow. I also asked you to take a look at Chapters 2 and 3 from "The Ethics Workbook I - World History" for Wednesday's class.

Please read Chapter 6 (yes, that's out of order) from "The Ethics Workbook I - World History" for Thursday's class. It's on "Ancient India," and the focus is on an excerpt from the Ramayana. Just read the story, you don't need to record everyone's dharma.

Remember, Geography Quiz #1 will be on Thursday. You should have the practice maps by now, and you will have a word bank for the quiz.

Section 3.2, which you were asked to read for today, deals with development of two of the world's major religious traditions, Hinduism and Buddhism. We'll talk a look at Hinduism today, and Buddhism will be our major topic for tomorrow.

What is Hinduism?

Defining terms: Hindu, Sanatana Dharma, henotheism, Aryans, Dravidians

The Hindu World View:

Defining terms: Brahman, atman, reincarnation, moksha, samsara, karma, dharma, bhakti

Caste System:

Defining terms: jatis, Vedas, Purusha

• Brahmins- "mouth," intellectual-priestly class
  
• Kshatriyas- "arms," nobility-warrior class
  
• Vaishyas- "legs," merchant-administrator class
  
• Shudras- "feet," servant-laborer class

• Panchamas- "Untouchables"
  

The Hindu Pantheon:

Defining terms: Trimurti, avatars

The Hindu Trimurti:

• Brahma
• Vishnu
• Shiva
  

Hindu Sacred Literature:

Defining terms: Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, November 13th

Please read Chapter 2, Section 3 ("Seafaring Traders") for class tomorrow. The quiz will be fill in the blank.

If you haven't already done so, please read Chapters 2 ("The Hebrews" and 3 ("Ancient Mesopotamia") in "The Ethics Workbook" for Wednesday's class.

Your Current Events #1 is due on Wednesday.

You will have Geography Quiz #1 on Thursday.

We'll look at Chapter 3 next week, but we'll finish up the week with a couple of different things.

First, I'd like to turn to "The Ethics Workbook." We'll begin our discussion of Chapter 1, "Ancient Egypt." In addition, we'll preview Chapter 2, "Hebrews."

Next, you were asked to read Chapter 3, Section 1, "The Indo-Europeans" for today. I'd like you to spend about ten minutes creating a "concept map." You can pair up if you'd like, but I'll expect a minimum of 15 items stemming from the concept of "Indo-Europeans."

Third, I've got a list of geographic locations from Unit #1 that I'd like you to know. We will take a quiz on Thursday. I'll make sure you see a copy of the actual map that I will use for the quiz, so there shouldn't be any real surprises.

Finally, you can turn your attention to Current Events #1. This is due next Wednesday. (Remember, this assignment is worth 20 points. There will be a deduction for late assignments.)

HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, November 16th

Read Chapter 3, Section 2, "Hinduism and Buddhism Develop" (pp. 66 - 71). This is a longer section, and the quiz will be multiple choice again.

Please read Chapter 3, "Ancient Mesopotamia" (pp. 15 - 20) in "The Ethics Workbook" for Tuesday's class. It will take you back to Hammurabi's law code.

You will have Geography Quiz #1 on Thursday, November 19th.

Today, we'll wrap up Chapter 2 by hearing the presentations by our India and China groups. Each group's work is worth 15 points, but remember that I can/will penalize individuals who display inappropriate behavior as audience members.

As time permits, we'll talk about the ideas from Chapter 1 on "Ancient Egypt" from The Ethics Workbook I: World History. (More likely, that will be tomorrow.)

Homework for tomorrow - Friday, November 13th:

We'll start on Chapter 3. Please read Section 1, "The Indo-Europeans" (pp. 61 - 65). Tomorrow's quiz will be matching.

I'd like you to continue reading in The Ethics Workbook I: World History. Please be through Chapter 2, "The Hebrews" by Monday. Again, I'm requiring you to read and think about the questions, but you don't need to write out answers. Simply jot down a note or two if there are things you want to remember for our discussion.

Your Current Events #1 assignment is due next Wednesday. All the information you need to complete that can be found on Lesson #6, including the template.

This is pretty straight-forward. Today, we'll hear the presentations by our Mesopotamia and Egypt groups. Obviously, I have high expectations in terms of audience behavior. Fooling around on your computer and/or not paying attention are simply not options. Each group's work is worth 15 points, but remember that I can/will penalize individuals who display inappropriate behavior as audience members.

Keep in mind that, in addition to learning about specific civilizations, we're learning about "civilization" as a whole. Think about comparisons and contrasts among the four regions. Try to make some generalizations and inferences on your own.

If time permits, we'll go back and explain the Current Events instructions from yesterday's blog entry. We'll talk tomorrow about the ideas from Chapter 1 on "Ancient Egypt" from The Ethics Workbook I: World History that you were originally asked to have read for today.

Homework for tomorrow - Thursday, November 12th

First off, of course, the India and China groups need to be sure they are ready to present Thursday.

Everyone should Chapter 2, Section 4, "River Dynasties in China." (pp. 50 - 55) The quiz will be true/false.

Your Current Events #1 assignment will now be due next Wednesday, November 18th. All the information you need to complete that can be found on Lesson #6, including the template that you can download.

I'd like you to continue reading in The Ethics Workbook I: World History. Please be through Chapter 2, "The Hebrews" by Monday. Again, I'm requiring you to read and think about the questions, but you don't need to write out answers. Simply jot down a note or two if there are things you want to remember for our discussion.

We'll get you most of the time today to work in preparation for tomorrow and Thursday's presentations. Things seemed to go pretty smoothly yesterday. Remember that each group should have a copy of the scoring rubric, and I will be happy to try and answer any questions.

Current Events: I'll take a few minutes today to introduce you to our first assignment related to current events. We'll do these several different ways in terms of what type of events you will choose, but the format is always going to be basically the same. Each event is worth five points, and you will do four on this first assignment. This batch of Current Events is due on Tuesday, November 17th. Please have them printed out.

Current events can be from an actual newspaper, a magazine, or an on-line news source. You do not turn in the actual articles, just your write ups. For Current Events #1, you should choose one current event fitting each of these four categories:

I. Five Themes of Geography: Choose a current event that you believe illustrates one or more of the 5 themes of geography (pp. xxxii - xxxiii in your text).
II. World History Themes: Choose a current event from outside the US illustrating any of the 8 themes of World History (pp. xxx - xxxi in your text).
III. River Valley Civilization update: Choose an appropriate current event from any of the four regions we are learning about this week.
IV. Editorial (any appropriate editorial, as opposed to a news story). Pick a topic that interests you.

Articles should be relatively recent, and they should be of significant news value. Stay away from sporting event reports, routine "man arrested for..." or accident stories, and others which will not allow you to express a thoughtful opinion. (For example, "It is too bad the kitty got hurt" is probably not a real thoughtful opinion.) Ask ahead of time if you wonder about whether a story is appropriate.

For each article, you will do the following. Obviously, you will need to read the article and think about your reaction. Be sure to follow the sample formatting exactly so that you see what is required.

• You will provide an appropriate citation for your article. (See formatting example.)
  
• You will summarize the article/ editorial by presenting three major facts/ arguments. Each should be in complete sentence form and in your own words.
  
• You will react to the story/ editorial by expressing your opinion on the event or issue. The opinion should be expressed in a minimum of three full sentences.

Formatting: I will provide you with a Current Events Template showing the correct format.

Resources: There are literally hundreds (probably thousands) of places where you can find articles. Any newspaper or magazine would be a place to start. If you would prefer to do your searching on-line, you might try some of these sources: CNN.com, The New York Times, GoogleNews, Foreign Policy, StarTribune. The MPA Library page also has a number of useful reference services and databases. 

Grading: This assignment is worth 20 points. There are five points possible for each of the four components. For each, they will be credited like this.

• 1 point: choosing an appropriate story (correct category, editorial v. news, timely, etc.)
  
• 1 point: formatting is exact (learning to follow an outline is part of the assignment)
  
• 1 point: summary of relevant facts is adequate (each of 3 should be full sentences in your own words)
  
• 2 points: opinion is relevant and thoughtful; appropriate length (3 sentences at a minimum)

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, November 11th:

First, you should be doing "your part" in getting ready for your group's presentation.

• Wednesday: Mesopotamia and Egypt
• Thursday: India and China

You should read Section 3, "Planned Cities on the Indus" (pp. 44 - 49), which is the next section in Chapter 2. The quiz will be fill in the blank.

Additionally, I'd like you to read through Chapter 1, "Ancient Egypt" (pp. 6 - 9) from The Ethics Workbook I: World History for tomorrow. You do not need to formally write out answers to these questions, but be prepared to discuss them in class.

Remember, Current Events #1 is due on Tuesday, November 17th.

Civilization emerges: We'll begin considering the question of just what makes a human society a "civilization" today.

Since you did so well with your "mental maps," we'll return to art for a bit today. I'll give you a piece of paper on which you will draw what "civilization" means to you. We'll simply have you draw, not use any words on the drawing itself.

Next, we'll develop a "concept map" for the term, hopefully giving us a working definition that will get us through the next few lessons. (Scholars typically attribute five characteristics to a group in order for it to be a civilization.)

Civilization - The Discussion: We'll make this a graded discussion. All of your names will go on the board. You need to make two (or more) contributions during the discussion to get full credit. (5 points possible.) I'll determine if what you say counts as a "contribution." You'll see a check next to your name after you've made a "contribution." Two is what you want.

Here are the questions to help shape our conversation: (Feel free to add others as well...)

* How would you define "civilization" in the modern world? What about "civilized?"

* Is it possible to be a "civilization" and yet not be civilized?

* Are there groups today that you would consider not "civilized?" Who are they? What are the implications of that label?

* Today, do we use the terms "civilized" and "uncivilized" too loosely or incorrectly?

* What is a person or group if they are not "civilized?"


Civilization in Sumer - We'll chat a bit about what you read and show you some additional things about this early civilization.

Terms to know: Mesopotamia, Fertile Crescent, Tigris, Euphrates, cuneiform, ziggurat, scribe

Mesopotamia - The British Museum: This had a lot of neat things to check out. You can browse items related to Sumer from arguably the greatest museum in the world.

Cuneiform writing: This is an interesting site from the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Of course, I know you are all dying to Write Like a Babylonian...

Early River Valley Civilizations: The musical group "Talking Heads" had a song from the 1980s called "Take Me to the River." We'll try to do the same next week with Chapter 2. You'll each "specialize" in one of the four sections from the chapter. More details on Monday. We'll do random draw to determine an order for choosing, and we'll limit any section to 5 people.

HOMEWORK for next session: Monday, November 9th -

Read the first section in Chapter 2, "City-States in Mesopotamia." (pp. 29-34) This quiz will be matching.

We will definitely talk current events at various times during the class, and you'll even get a periodic assignment related to them. We'll get to that next week, but feel free to raise an issue if you think we should be talking about it...

Any follow-up thoughts on the "Earth's Calendar" activity? (Remind me to make sure we're all clear on a couple terms: BC/AD v. BCE/CE, dating of centuries, etc.)

"Meet the Hominids" - Let's hear maybe two minutes or less from each of the groups.

The Agricultural Revolution: We'll continue with our look at the "big picture" with the rise of agriculture beginning about 10,000 years ago. There's a new curriculum called "World History For Us All" that's available online from the people at San Diego Statue University. I've borrowed some materials from that to work with today for a bit.

First, you might find their introductory film, "History of the World in Seven Minutes," interesting. If you want to access this on your own sometime, simply go the link above, find the video on the right side and click "play" under "video playback."

Next, we'll examine some handouts with both primary and secondary sources of information from early agricultural societies. Consider these handouts as you do the following in a group of 3 or 4:

• Draw one or more conclusions about early agricultural settlements in terms of:
  
  - political organization
  - economic organization
  - social organization
  - systems of ideas
  
  Be ready to explain WHY your group reached each conclusion that it did.
  
  
• Consider what questions you would like to answer but cannot based on this evidence.
  
  
• Assume you are a member of a nomadic hunter/gathering group of about 50 people living somewhat near this early agricultural village. You spend some time trading in this village, and you then return home. We'll discuss both the advantages and disadvantages found in shifting to this settled way of life. Be prepared to make a recommendation to your group on whether or not to adapt this lifestyle.
  
  
• Consider the following statement: "The invention of farming had such a negative impact on the natural environment that humans should never have done it. They would have been better off remaining hunters and gatherers." What do YOU think?

Civilization emerges: We'll look at a specific example tomorrow, but we'll begin considering the question of just what makes a human society a "civilization" today if we have time.

Since you did so well with your "mental maps," we'll return to art for a bit today. I'll give you a piece of paper on which you will draw what "civilization" means to you. We'll simply have you draw, not use any words on the drawing itself.

Next, we'll get back out the words and ask you to define "civilization" in your own words.

Third, we'll develop a "concept map" for the term, hopefully giving us a working definition that will get us through the next few lessons. (Scholars typically attribute five characteristics to a group in order for it to be a civilization.)

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, November 6th -

Read Chapter 1, Section 3 - "Civilization" (pp. 19 - 23). Your quiz will be True/False.

We'll begin with the reading quiz and follow that up by talking a bit about some "strategies" for success. I'm also interested in beginning a dialogue about proper computer usage in this class as well.

Earth calendar: I've always thought that this was an interesting way to look at time. Imagine that all of the earth's history is condensed into a single calendar year. Now, let's see where you believe some important events in the earth's history would fall during that "year." For example, an event you think happened in the very beginning would be January 1. An event that you think happened half way through earth's history would be July 1, etc. I'll give you a calendar for you to mark your guesses as to these when these events would happen.

A. Earth formed
B. Oldest rocks (sedimentary)
C. 1st life forms (stromatolites)
D. Oxygen in atmosphere
E. 1st fossils (hard skeletons)
F. 1st dinosaurs
G. 1st primates
H. Extinction of the dinosaurs
I. Neanderthal man
J. Historical record begins (Sumeria)
K. Establishment of United States
L. Life of a 9th grader begins (15 years)

"Meet the Hominids" This should be a pretty painless way to be sure that we are all on the same page regarding key groups of hominids and/or human ancestors. You're going to be assigned to one of the following five groups:

• Australopithecines
  
• Homo habilis
  
• Homo erectus
  
• Neanderthal
  
• Cro-Magnon

Your task is simple. You'll have about ten minutes to figure out answers to the following questions. You'll then share these with the rest of the class. (Not all questions apply to all groups equally.) You should be able to answer all of these from Section 1, "Human Origins in Africa," but you can also consult search the internet if you have time.

• What does your "name" mean?
  
• Approximately when did you live?
  
• Where did you live?
  
• What important advancements did you make?
  
• Why are you important to an understanding of World History?

You can use a "Meet the Hominids" matrix to aid in taking notes.

Congratulations. You may now return to your status as Homo sapiens. Remember, that is us - "thinking man/woman." That will make it easier for you to complete tonight's homework...

World History Sites of the Day: I'll often link things I find interesting. Otzi ("The Iceman") is a very complete "mummy" from about 5000 years ago that was discovered in the Alps. He has undergone extensive testing, and scientists have learned a lot about the man and his times.

South Tyrol Museum of Archaelogy - Oetzi / Otzi the "Iceman" This is the museum where he "lives."
"Deciphering the Origin, Travels of "Iceman" - National Geographic

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Thursday, November 5th

Read Chapter 1, Section 2 - "Humans Try to Control Nature" from your textbook. (pp. 14-18) Your quiz will be fill-in-the-blank.

Welcome to World History 9.  You are beginning a two-year sequence in World History.  This year, we'll take you past Columbus' arrival in the Americas.  In tenth grade, the story will continue through the Enlightenment and the American Revolution up to the present.

This is the course blog.  It is vital that you check the blog for each class period.  It will often contain links or information we are using in class.  It will also be where you can find your daily homework.  At times, you'll be asked to make comments on the blog as well.  Get used to it, since we will be using it virtually every day. (We'll save the appropriate computer usage conversation for tomorrow.  I'll be watching, and I want you to be thinking about what you think would be fair guidelines.)


There are a couple things I'd like us to get to today:

"ABC" Brainstorm - This is pretty straight forward.  You'll get a handout and ten minutes to complete as much as you can.  "World History" is the topic that goes in the top box.  You see if you can come up with an relevant item (person, place, event, idea) for each letter of the alphabet.  We'll talk about your ideas for a bit, and then I'll have you turn them in to give me a feel for where people are at in terms of World History background.

Perspective -  We're going to have you draw "mental maps" of the world.  I'll give you ten minutes to do as much as you can.  In addition to sketching in the world's landmasses, please try to indicate the following.

• five physical features
• five political features (cities, countries, etc.)
• five economic features (natural resources, trade goods, etc.)
• five scientific/ technological features (inventions, ideas)
• five cultural features (works of art, literature, music, religion)
• five world historical features (people, events, processes, etc.)
• five "movements" (use arrows to show people, disease, trade, etc.)

No, there's no grade depending on how good your map is.  You will get credit for effort, and you'll have a chance to do this again later in the quarter.  Be sure your name is on them, as you will turn them in.

Downloading materials -  We'll make use of a number of websites and other online resources over the course of the class.  I'd like you to create a new folder (call it something like World History 9) and download these two particular resources into this folder.  (You do not need to print them out at this point, and you should NOT print them on the school's printers.)

• Go to Ethics in Education and download Ethics Workbook I SE (student edition).
  
  
• Go to Students Friend.com and download Part I, Prehistory through 1500.  (I'd recommend scrolling down and using the "Part 1, Prehistory through 1500, v.3.1.7 - MS Word" link.)

Daily reading quizzes: You can expect a short and, hopefully, straight-forward quiz at the start of class each day a reading assignment is due. I will rotate through the following four types of quizzes. All quizzes will be worth five points.

• Multiple choice (10 questions)
• Fill-in-the-Blank (10 questions)
• True-False (10 questions)
• Matching (10 items)

Homework for tomorrow: Wednesday, November 4th

Read "Human Origins in Africa" from World History:  Patterns of Interaction. (Chapter 1, Section 1, pp. 5 - 11)  You will have a multiple choice reading quiz.

Spend an additional ten minutes browsing through the textbook.  Look at the features in the front, as well as those that accompany the chapters.  Think about how you can make effective use of this book over the next two years.