Vocabulary 2.2 (Continued...)

House Activity: At the start of the day (on Friday), all students participated in the House Scarecrow Contest. My house created an "Muhl-Athlete" scarecrow featuring a track/cross country uniform. It was really cool to walk around the school and see all of the different scarecrows. What a way to start the day!

We had short periods, for the most part, so most classes were able to use the time to finish up their vocabulary worksheets. We will spend the period discussing them on Monday. We also have to dedicate a few minutes to voting for student council. I did collect maps on Friday, but I am probably not going to have time to enter the grades this weekend. If you still owe me something, I will still accept it on Monday.

For those of you who celebrate Halloween, make sure that you do so safely! I hope you all are enjoying this really nice weekend...

Vocabulary 2.2

We began class today with a discussion about Sumerian city-states. When describing them, there are several different perspectives. Some students chose to write about them from a geographic standpoint, some focused on the physical make-up of the city, and yet others looked at the features that made them city-states. Either way, we all agreed that there are several possible responses.

We also took some time to begin thinking about a new set of vocabulary words:

empire (em pyr) n. many territories and peoples controlled by one government

Babylon (bab uh lahn) n. the capital of Babylonia; a city of great wealth and luxury

caravan (ka ruh van) n. a group of traders traveling together

bazaar (buh zahr) n. a market selling different kinds of goods

battering ram (bat ur ing ram) n. a powerful weapon with a wooden beam mounted on wheels

We will continue talking about these words in class tomorrow, but if you have any questions or comments please comment here.

Fertile Crescent Day 2

Today, students were given time to continue working on their maps of the Fertile Crescent. This was the last time we will be working on the map in class. I will collect the maps tomorrow from those who did not finish today. It is the responsibility of the student to complete the assignment if they were not able to get in finished in class. These maps will likely be the last grade of the first marking period.

Any student who owes me anything should be sure to get it turned in this week! There are still a few students who were absent when we completed the unit one assessment; it is their responsibility to see me for a pass to come to my room for lunch or 9th period to finish it up. There are also several students who were given alternative assignments which will be due on Friday of this week.

There will be NO extra credit given this marking period. I have accepted work late, gave students the opportunity to take retakes of assessments and quizzes, and have reminded them relentlessly. There are two days left to take care of getting caught up. Please post a comment here, send me an email, or see me in person if there are any questions.

Map of the Fertile Crescent (and surroundings)

Students spent the period today labeling and coloring a map of the Fertile Crescent (and the surrounding areas). They should be familiar with many places as well as the surrounding bodies of water. We will spend some more time in class working on the map tomorrow.

While students were working, I took the time to meet with each student individually to review their notebooks. Students are expected to keep a notebook or binder and are evaluated based on a rubric that I shared with them well in advance. I have a few more to evaluate so grades will probably not be entered until sometime tomorrow.

Intro to Sumer

Here are the three important concepts that you should be familiar with:

1. The Geography of Mesopotamia...
2. The Make-Up of Sumerian Cities...
3. The Sumerian Religion...

Mesopotamia is an area located within the Fertile Crescent which is known for its proximity to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It has great soil for growing crops and is located near the Persian Gulf which can be used to support commerce (or trade).

Sumer was NOT a city-state; it was a region made up of several city-states. Sumerian city-states had their own governments, armies, gods/goddesses, kings, and were completely independent of each other.

In the center of a Sumerian city-state, you would find a ziggurat. The people were polytheistic and practiced many rituals and customs as a part of their religion.

Any questions?

Remember: I will be checking notebooks in class tomorrow!

Friday's Class

I didn't forget to post! I just had a ton of stuff going on this weekend. Anyway, in class on Friday, we spent some more time finishing up our vocabulary discussion. In most periods we got started with a BDA, but most did not get too far. On Monday, we will wrap that up and have a brief discussion regarding the key concepts of the section. I am thinking that we will do a mapping activity on Tuesday which will give me time to do a quick notebook check.

By then, you should have 4 BDA exercises, 4 vocabulary sheets, 1 map, 1 other handout (regarding the Old, Middle, and New Stone Age), along with a whole lot of QODs. I made it clear at the beginning of the year that you would need to keep an organized notebook with all of your notes and handouts. All maps that I give out should be kept for the duration of the year and all other assignments can be disposed of quarterly (but not until I tell you).

Also, remember that if you did poorly on the section one assessment, you can see me for another assignment which I will average with your grade. That alternate assessment will be due by the end of the day on Friday, October 29, 2010.

Vocabulary Review 2.1

Today we took some time to make sure that everyone understood all of the vocabulary terms. The terms that we are focusing on at this point are: scribe, Fertile Crescent, city-state, myth, and polytheistic. Most of the time today was dedicated to the term city-state. If you need to refresh your memory, feel free to check out the post from last night.

In most of the classes, I collected the vocabulary sheets. There were a few classes that ended abruptly and therefore I didn't have the time needed to collect them. I will collect them tomorrow so that I can enter grades this weekend.

Tomorrow, we will begin our BDA of chapter two section one. If there are any questions about the vocabulary, please post a comment.

GO PHILLIES!

City-States

Today we continued our discussion regarding the Fertile Crescent. We talked about the physical features present in and around Mesopotamia. We also focused on the area surrounding the Fertile Crescent and the reasons why those areas were so hard to live in. Finally, students were given time in class to complete their vocabulary sheets which will be collected at the start of class tomorrow.

It has come to my attention that students are struggling with the concept of a city-state. It really is an unusual concept to grasp and I am not surprised that many are having a hard time understanding the concept. We will talk more about this in class tomorrow, but I will also take some time to try and explain here on the blog.

A city-state is like a very small country, with just one city in it. Basically, it is self-governing and there are no higher levels of government above it (it runs solely on the the local level). There are actually some city-states that exist in the world today: Vatican City, Singapore, and Monaco are all examples. In my opinion, those are the only true city-states. There are arguments which could be made for more, but I don't think that they are true city-states. The closest to a city-state that we have in the United States is Washington D.C., but that is considered a federally-administered city which means that there are aspects of it which fall under the authority of our national government.

Confused yet? Post more questions or anything else at all...

Introduction to the Fertile Crescent

What in the world is a fertile crescent?

We spent part of class today discussing why this area is referred to in this unusual way. We talked about what it means to be a crescent. We looked at some pictures of a 'crescent' moon, as well as a 'crescent' roll. We talked about fertile as meaning able to support life. We looked at the Middle East on Google Earth on the Smart Board which was informative because we could see all of the 'green' in the areas surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It was evident that there were many 'pull' factors in that region. We also looked at the Syrian Desert (just to the south of Iraq) and were able to see the barren land not able to support life on its own. Hopefully, everyone now understands why the Fertile Crescent is often referred to as the 'birthplace' of civilization.

Students were also given a new vocabulary sheet (2.1). We spent about ten minutes working on that before the period ended. Tomorrow we will start class right there...

If you have any questions, post them here...

Transition to Unit Two

Now that we have completed unit one, we will begin our study of the Fertile Crescent. The first thing that we needed to do was to select new groups. Groups were assigned randomly (three or four students per group). We will remain in these groups for the duration of this unit.

We also took some time to review the assessment from Friday. There were a few groups who didn't do as well as I would have liked, and it will be up to them to come and talk to me within the next few days regarding improving their grades. Feel free to stop by at lunch or during 9th period study hall.

Start thinking about the phrase 'Fertile Crescent' before class tomorrow...What do you think it means?

Unit One Assessment

Well, I have finished grading all of the assessments which were taken in class on Friday. With the exception of one group during seventh period, I am not surprised at the results. Overall, you guys did a good job! There were a lot of scores 80% and above and very few below 65%.

Here is the breakdown:
Period 1: 100, 100, 91, 85, 85, 63; (Class Average: 87%)
Period 2: 100, 97, 94, 82, 58, 53; (Class Average: 81%)
Period 3: 100, 97, 94, 94, 92, 91, 81, 74; (Class Average: 86%)
Period 6: 100, 97, 97, 94, 75, 75, 67; (Class Average: 86%)
Period 7: 100, 94, 91, 91, 83, 78, 69, 61; (Class Average: 83%)
Period 8: 89, 89, 81, 81, 78; (Class Average: 84%)

Take this time to post your thoughts. What did you think of the assessment? What did you like? What didn't you like? What can we try to do differently next time? If you are thinking it, someone else is probably thinking it too! Speak up and maybe you will help make things better...

Assessment Tomorrow...

Reminder: Everyone should be doing some sort of studying for the assessment being given in class tomorrow. Everyone should have a study guide by this point and know exactly what will be required. I will keep this short tonight--Post any last minute questions!

The Growth of Cities and Civilization Part II

We began class by talking a little bit about geographical 'pull' factors. A pull factor is something that draws people to a particular area. For instance, in ancient civilizations people were drawn to areas that were close to water. One of the early cities we talked about briefly was Ur which was located in modern-day Iraq near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. A push factor would be something that pushes people away from an area. Examples of that could be harsh climates, rocky soil, or the presence of dangerous wild animals or predators. Any questions?

Students were then given a little bit of time to prepare a short group presentation. Most groups did not finish, therefore the presentations will take place at the start of class tomorrow. The rest of tomorrow's class will be dedicated to reviewing for the Friday's group assessment. I will post the study guide on Thursday.

The Growth of Cities and Civilization

Today students had time to read within their groups and formulate questions to check for understanding. The areas which were focused on were: the growth of cities, the beginning of civilization, and the social class system. By this point, all students should be able to describe these concepts. Select one of these concepts and write a brief description as a comment to this post.

Tomorrow, we will discuss the concepts and move toward our first major assessment (Friday). On Thursday of this week, we will spend the period reviewing all of the key concepts and terms from this unit. I will also post the list here.

Friday's Class

In periods 1, 2, and 3, we were able to discuss the vocabulary terms a bit more and exchange vocabulary sheets to give each other feedback. I really like taking the time to do these types of things because it helps us to see how others view our work.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hang in for periods 6, 7, and 8. I was a victim of the 'stomach bug' which took over my day and led me to go home early. For that reason, I am keeping this post short. I will make sure I get thinks back on the right track on TUESDAY! Yes, Tuesday...

Enjoy your long weekend...

Population Growth

Today we began by discussing the rapid population growth which occurred between A.D. 1700 and A.D. 2000. A few of the reasons we think the population grew were:

1. Growth of Farming - People had a surplus of food, thus allowing them to have more children; furthermore, they needed a lot of people to work on the farms so having kids provided them with free or cheap labor.
2. Technology - People were able to use more advanced tools and weapons which made their lives easier and helped them to live longer lives.
3. Medicine - Medicine allowed people to fight off disease which caused an increase in the life expectancy.

Feel free to post more if you can think of them, but make sure you explain...

I also collected the last vocabulary assignment and began to discuss the new terms. Tomorrow in class, we will finish discussing the new terms and students will have the opportunity to assess each others work on the last vocabulary sheet.

I am now thinking I will need a little more time to prepare for that first test. Expect a review session on Thursday and the test itself on Friday of next week.

Vocabulary 1.3

We started off today by looking at a graph. The graph depicted the growth of human population throughout time. It was really interesting that the population grew very slowly for most of history and then began to grow very rapidly in recent history. Why do you think that happened? What do you think caused that change? Post your thoughts here...

We also spent a decent amount of time working with five more vocabulary words: Surplus, Social Classes, Civilization, Irrigation, and Artisan. Tomorrow we will continue working with those words by having a peer-review session.

Test Update: It looks like we will be ready to have a review session on Tuesday of next week and follow that up with the test on Wednesday.

Classroom Discussion and the Stone Age

Let me start by saying how happy I was with the discussions which occurred in all of my classes today. I wanted to try some new discussion formats and I was very impressed with what happened today. The topics that we discussed were: Stone Age Culture, Importance of Fire, Hunting-Gathering versus Farming, and the Domestication of Plants and Animals.

In periods 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 there were discussion leaders who were in charge of keeping the class on task and facilitating the discussion. This worked well! Most students demonstrated their understanding of these key concepts and any weaknesses became evident. This gave me the opportunity to reteach; I was able to spend some more time talking about the domestication of plants which seemed to be the topic most students were confused about today. If there are any more questions, feel free to comment here and I will try my best to answer them.

I tried a different approach in period 8. Basically, I divided the class into four groups and each group was to on focus on one of the above-mentioned topics. I gave groups 15 minutes to meet and come up with a 2 minute presentation about their topic. This worked well too.

Heads Up: I am thinking we will be ready for a 'test' sometime next week! Don't worry too much, more details will follow in the coming days.

The Internet and Communication

For those of you reading this and thinking, what in the world is this guy talking about, this is for a graduate class that I am taking...

The question is, how has the internet (and blogging) changed the way teachers communicate with students and parents? Those of you who are regulars here know the answer to that question. Blogs help the teacher reach their audience at all times. For instance, my students check out my blog when they are absent and can see what they missed. Students can post questions on the blog or become engaged in a discussion about all sorts of topics. Parents are able to stay informed as to what their children are learning in class and become more involved in their education. Overall, using a blog as an educational tool has made me a better teacher and provided my students with greater opportunities.

Students: How do you use my blog? How do your parents use it?

What do you guys think? Post your comments...

Catching Up

The Stone Age...

Students should be able to describe the three parts of the Stone Age: Old, Middle, and New. I will collect the 'tables' that they created in class today at the start of class tomorrow for grading. If they did not finish it in class, it is their responsibility to get it done before they see me tomorrow.

We will also begin to discuss the BDA questions from Chapter 1, Section 2, in class tomorrow. There will be only one more section before we have our first test.

All grades for the last map quiz (10/01/10) have been entered in to the computer and will be given back to students in class on Tuesday. Any student who did poorly can see me about arranging a retake.

See you tomorrow!

Discussion Question #3

How do you think your life would be different if you lived in the Stone Age? Give specific details as to how your life would be better or worse. Remember, part of your answer is based on your opinion; thus, there are no right or wrong answers!