Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Middle Ages - Why did we need castles and knights?

We have begun our study of the Middle Ages. This time period focuses on Europe, between 500 and 1400 CE (formerly AD). Without the raids from the Vikings in the north and the growth of Islam from the south and east, Europe would have developed very differently. After the glory of Rome, and the lack of civilization across what used to be the empire, only the Roman Catholic Church (the only Christian church at the time) provided structure and aid to most people. Feudalism and the manor system helped to organize, govern, and feed the people through what is known as the Dark Ages, but once the threats of Islam and the Vikings were reduced, Western Europe flourished and towns rose up at the crossroads. Chapters 17 and 18 in your World History book need to be read, and feel free to explore the other resources available here.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Rome

We have begun our study of Rome. The students will be doing most of their learning in class, but they have been assigned a 3-D map which will be mostly homework. They have a partner for the map project, which is not due until Wed., March 6th. We will allow some time in class to work together, but the majority of the project will have to be done outside of class. Partners should have exchanged information with each other in order to make contact easier.
Instructions have been linked above, and use the online resources to help as well! All have been updated...

Friday, January 18, 2013

Greeks, Hellenes, and demos of the poleis

Our study of ancient Hellas (Greece, to the Greeks) has begun. The banners in our room look amazing! Students have taken up the identities of ancient Hellenes with name tags and polis groups. They have created binders of information and have personal Greek Academy notebooks.

This is an interactive unit, with simulations in place to help students "live" like Ancient Greeks in order to help them learn the ideas. We will do an Assembly (simulating government), temple-building (don't throw away those toilet paper or paper towel rolls for the next week!), theater, and the Olympics. There will be a short, introductory information quiz (Tuesday) and a longer, more meaningful assessment at the end.

I will update the Resources links soon!