Greece Unit 12/8 - 1/15

All Hail Mighty Greeks! We have begun our study of Ancient Greece. To accomplish this labor, we have divided into city-states in class. Our first task is to learn about Greek Mythology. This will involve learning the Olympian Gods, reading some myths, and becoming acquainted with some Greek monsters. Then we will learn the stories of the Greek Heroes, including Herakles (more commonly known by his Roman name, Hercules). We will compare the traditional story of Herakles Labors with the more recent Disney film version. After Christmas, we will study more about the city-states and their relations with each other, including wars and the Olympics. We will demonstrate what we have learned by putting together a newspaper from our city-states. Instructions and rubrics will be coming home after Christmas.

This is an exciting unit for kids and teacher alike! There is so much energy in the classroom. I have updated the resource links to the right for more research at home.

Egypt Books

We have been working on our Egypt books all week. Students should have 3-4 pages in some stage or another. We will be going to the computer lab next week on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If students do not need to use the computers, they will be allowed to work on their books in the labs on those days. Remember books are due next Friday, 11/13! Use the Online Resources to the right...

BrainPOP is temporarily unavailable while the school looks into renewing our license.

Ancient Egypt

Pyramids, pharaohs, and mummies, oh my! We have begun our unit on Ancient Egypt. This is Chapter 4 in the World History textbook (pgs 82-115). The classes are currently listening/reading a non-fiction book called Mummies, Tombs and Treasure by Lila Perl. It is an older book, but very good information. The students are completing a packet of comprehension questions every day as we read the chapter, and we are going over it together in class. The students are also working on a map of Egypt...maps that may be helpful for that assignment are on pgs 87, 98, and 108. The map assignment is available online at the Classwork webpage. To the right are some helpful websites that kids can visit for more information.

Our assessment for this unit (which we will begin next week and work on for 2- 2 1/2 weeks) will be a book on Ancient Egypt compiled by the students. We will do most of the work in class, but there may be some "crafty" things that get done at home. Instructions will be handed out next week.

Mesopotamia Unit

Ancient Sumerians invented the first writing system, the first irrigation system, and the wheel. Hammurabi had his laws carved in stone. The Babylonians also created the Hanging Gardens. Phoenician traders/sailors created the first alphabet and traveled all around the Mediterranean.

How did the geography of the Fertile Crescent affect civilization in that region? How do the achievements and inventions of Mesopotamia affect us today? How was the government of Sumeria developed? What role did the gods play in Sumerian life? See the links to the right for more information online...

Our test for Mesopotamia will be on Thursday, 10/15.

Early Man and Culture

We are currently studying the development of culture and early man. On Wednesday, we will be watching a Discovery Channel video about Otzi the Iceman. Thursday will probably be a review, and our assessment for this will likely be this Friday. This will cover material from Chapters 1 and 2 (pages 6-17 and 28-43).

Please make sure to get all assignments in, even if they are late. I need to be sure that you are getting all of the information (learning), and your work is the practice for your assessment. I will always take late work (except for the past the trimester - can't change that). It will count slightly less, but I will accept it.

School Year 2009-2010

We will start the year with some geography, map skills, and basic social studies vocabulary/concepts to help us as we progress. ( The "how to use this book pages", and Chapter 1) Notice that the World History textbook is online (see the Online Resources to the right). The username and password are on the top of the right-hand menu also. This is JUST like the book you have in class.

We will take a pre-test next week. This will not go on your grade, but will help me to measure your growth when we take the same test at the END of the year. It will cover the highlights of stuff we will learn this year. Again, it's not for a grade now, but at the end of the year, it will help me to see the things we learned (or didn't), and how well it stuck with you (or didn't). No worries!