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.

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...

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!

Ancient Egypt - Alligators, Hippopotamuses, & Mummies, Oh My!

I hope you are enjoying learning about Ancient Egypt. By this point, you should have some good background in the subject. Don't forget to count Mummies, Tombs, and Treasure by Lila Perl on your Reading List as a nonfiction (informational) book. You should have read about 1/2 of Chapter 4 (pgs 86-113).

If you need the Egypt Book Instructions, click here.
If you need the Egypt Book Glossary page, click here.
If you need the Egypt Book Pages, click here.
If you need the Egypt Book Rubric, click here.
If you need a copy of the Egypt map, click here.
If you need a copy of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, click here.
If you need pages for the cover or any inside decorations, click here.

I will update the links on the right to help you find Egypt information.

May your life be long and Ma'at judge your heart lighter than a feather...

Meso(between)Potamia(rivers)

We're on to Mesopotamia, also known as the Fertile Crescent! These people would not have called themselves that...it is a Greek word (see ROOTS above) that means "between the rivers". I have updated the links to the right for websites that have interesting or helpful information on the G.R.A.P.E.S. of Mesopotamia...

Thoughts for the new school year...

Geography is how we "understand" our location. There are 2 ways to look at it: 1) absolute - which is precisely where you are, including GPS latitude and longitude, and 2) relative - yep, what it's like or next to, just like your family. How are you like your family members? How does that describe you? Think about Utah...we could say it's bigger than Missouri and smaller than New Mexico. But does that tell you everything you need to know? You might be older than your sister but younger than your brother. We could say it's east of Nevada and west of Colorado...you might live between your two best friends. How do those things define who we are?

Museum...title soon coming

Period 2 is working on our museum. For an example of what your process paper might look like, click here. It's unfinished, but it gives you an idea of what I'm looking for.
Good luck! I think that the Graphics group and the Publicity group need to get together early next week to combine ideas, as do the Floor Design and Logistics groups.

Museum for Period 2

2nd period...please read over this post and give some thought to our museum. You may comment to this post.
Exibition Theme

• Change over time
• Revolution
• How did we get here?
• My favorite invention
• My favorite time period
• My favorite historical figure
• Heroes or Villains?
• Greatest Victory or Greatest Blunder?
• 
  

from 1500 - 1950 ? no Greece, Rome, Egypt...

? must include: ?

timeline

short essay/process paper

physical artifacts/reproductions

photographs/pictures/

primary sources

secondary sources

original material

artistic/scientific connection

Displays

Publicity

Links:

http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/downloads/mclass.pdf

http://www.teachgreece.org/Study_Guides/Classroom_Museum/index.htm

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/collect/crecla/crecla02.htm

http://www.joshualawrence.com/wp/?p=27

http://tahwindows.com/classroom_museum_2009.pdf

http://edubuzz.org/museums/making-a-classroom-museum/

http://www.metmuseum.org/learn/for-educators

Black Death Period 6

Read the World History Book, (online) pages 540 - 545. Complete the map assignment (both sides), using maps on pages 531, 544, and the map link listed in Period 2's post.  Turn in the map when you are finished, and you can find more information on the Black Death in the Period 2 post.

Black Death Period 2

In order for history not to repeat itself, we need to understand the causes and effects of certain turning points. The Black Death (or Black Plague, or Bubonic Plague) was one of those turning points for Middle Ages Europe. Please use the following websites to research about the plague, as well as the packet that you received. You must complete the map in the packet to be turned in. Additionally, you should comment on this blog and answer these questions:

1) Imagine that you are a doctor during the Black Plague...what advice would you give to your patients?

2) Imagine you are a victim of the Black Plague...would you rather survive or die of the disease? Why?

If you go to the Brain Pop movie, you will have to sign in...

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/blackdeath/

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm

http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html

http://www.medicinenet.com/plague/article.htm

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Black_Plague.pdf

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/science/medicine/plague.htm

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-diseases/plague-article/

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/fling/plague/index.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml

The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is one of the most exciting units we learn all year! There is way more information than we could ever manage in class...feel free to spend some time looking around with the Online Resources to the right. Have some fun learning!

Run!!!! The Vikings are here....

For today, I'd like you to click here. You will use this site as a starting point for some additional Viking Research. At the end of our class period today, you will be required to turn in:
1) One complete thought (in sentence form) that explains an additional fact you learned through today's research. For example: "Vikings were known for their round shields, which they used as a defensive and offensive weapon.  They had a center metal "cup" which protected the hand, and at least one metal bar across the back to use for a hand-hold."

2) A cite for that source:
Viking Age Arms and Armor Viking Shields (name of page)
 http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_shields.htm (web address)

You may write this by hand, or type it onto a Word document.

Roman Unit

We begin our Rome unit on 1/17 with a pretest on Chapters 10 & 11. We will do a variety of activities with this unit, and it will take 3-4 weeks to complete. Students are encouraged to preview the chapters and "test out", earning the ability to design their own study of Rome.

Greece and Christmas

We are in the middle of our study of Ancient Greece. Students have read the background information in the World History Book from Chapters 8 and 9.  They have been working on writing a newspaper (every student is responsible for an article and a "fun" piece). We will continue our work on that after Christmas, but if you want to do some research or writing over the break, please do so! Resources for Ancient Greece are listed in the column to the right.

Information on Ancient Israel

Chapter 7 in the World History book (see right for login, password, and link) pages 202-219. 

There are also links in the Online Resources list to the right for more information...

History, Archaeology, and the Stone Ages

The students did really well on their Geography Unit tests overall. We have begun our study of history, archaeology, and early man this week. We will spend the next couple of weeks learning how historians and archaeologists work, and some of the early parts of human history. There will be a short assessment at the end of this unit, but it will be open book, so we will not pretest on this topic. I have added links to the Resources list that may assist students in learning more at home.

Geography

I am getting here a little behind the times this unit. Usually, I update this at the beginning of a unit, highlighting new links in the resources bar, and letting you know what chapter in the book we are using as a resource.
For our Geography unit, we have not used the book very much, because much of the information is scattered. You can look at pages H14-15, H18-21, and Chapter 1, Section 2 pages 12-17. Also, if you want to see examples of the 2 main kinds of maps, check the atlas, pages R4-5. All of this is available online, go to the World History Book Login link at the top of the Online Resources list, and use the Username and Password I've provided in the top right corner of this blog page.  I am also moving up some links to geographical websites - some with games, some with cool information! Study hard for the test this Friday - I know you'll all do great!

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a fascinating time in history...it really influenced the world we live in today. There is too much to talk about all in class. I have put some sites in the list to the right... EXPLORE NEW IDEAS (be a Renaissance student!). Also, lots of really interesting people...

Extra Credit

Take the coat of arms design we make for class and... make a shield, or banner, or family patent. You can make a shield with cardboard or tagboard, covered in foil or not, painted or colored, decoupaged. You could make a banner (that would fly in battle or above your home or tent) with the design on paper or even on cloth.
The amount of points will depend on the amount of work, time and attention to detail, and possible accuracy if you use the resources on the blog! Due by April 15.

Middle Ages - Medieval Times

Chapters 17 and 18 in our World History book are about the Middle Ages.