Back from the Break!

It seems like forever since the last time I blogged...

In class today we began to talk about Egypt. This is the third unit of the year and I hope to be able to complete it before we have our long break at the end of December. If not, there will be some sort of assessment before our week+ off.

Class periods 1, 2, 3, and 6 have now all been grouped for the unit and are ready to go. Group assignments are posed on the classroom wiki. All assessments from the last unit were returned and we had a discussion about them. Students also received their first vocabulary sheet (3.1) of the unit and had some time to get it started. There may be a little time for that tomorrow, but I want us to begin discussing the terms as well.

I was pulled from my period seven class for a meeting so I did not have the chance to do the same thing that period. Period 7 students had time to work on the new vocabulary sheets independently while others finished the assessments from last week. The same was done for period 8.

Tomorrow we will begin talking about the geography of Egypt along with the new vocabulary!

Group Assessment #2

Today we spent the period taking a group assessment. Results will be posted sometime over the Thanksgiving break.

Review Day

Today we took time to review the vocabulary from the unit and practiced answering essential questions. Tomorrow, students will take the unit two group assessment in class. All students should have spent some time preparing for the assessment.

An online, interactive, study guide can be found at:

http://www.mrwinandsclass.wikispaces.com

Get a good night sleep and I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Alphabet, Writing, and Trade

In class today, we began by comparing the Sumerian system of writing (cuneiform) with the Phoenician alphabet. We discussed the pros and cons of both systems of writing and compared each to our own written language.

We then reviewed the definitions of all of the vocabulary terms from section three and four of the text. I collected those vocabulary sheets, as well, which students had plenty of time to complete in class/study hall.

Finally, we discussed the Hammurabi Code, the importance of writing in Mesopotamia, and the sea power of the Phoenicians. For more information, refer to the Fertile Crescent study guide on the wiki.

Reminder: We will have the group assessment on unit two in class on Tuesday of next week. The study guide is online and should be reviewed. There will be class time devoted to review on Monday.

Update and Review

Due to a family emergency, I missed all of my classes on Wednesday. I took the beginning of class today to refocus on the conclusion of this unit. We also reviewed/updated proper procedures for using the classroom wiki.

Tomorrow, we will have a large group review of the key terms and essential questions as posted on the class wiki. All students, except those not permitted by their parents, should have already joined the wiki and began to post to the study guide.

Please take a look at the Fertile Crescent page of the wiki at the following address:
http://www.mrwinandsclass.wikispaces.com

Feel free to post any questions that you have here...

Map Quiz

Students were quizzed on their knowledge of the geography of the modern Middle East today in class. With one week to prepare, I think it is safe to say that all students were given enough time to learn the locations of the places I assigned.

It appears that most students either earned an A or an F. This is not uncommon. The bottom line is that students either choose to study (and do well) or choose not to study (and fail). All hope is not lost! I will have something in store for those who messed up which I will discuss in class tomorrow. Better yet, there will be many more quizzes just like this where you can prove yourself.

Students have also been given two vocabulary sheets to complete (2.3 & 2.4). I hope that these are complete (or nearly complete) by the start of class tomorrow. We will spend tomorrow discussing the vocabulary and Friday discussing some key concepts. Monday of next week will be dedicated to reviewing unit two and Tuesday we will have the unit two assessment. Students should be logging on to my wiki page to work on the study guide.

Comparing Laws...

Today we took a look at some of the laws laid out by Hammurabi and compared those to laws that are on the books today. We came to the conclusion that the laws under the Hammurabi Code were much more harsh than the laws today.

That leads me to the following discussion questions: Is it better to have harsh laws and stiff penalties for crimes or give second chances? What is the purpose of prison? Is it for rehabilitation or is it for punishment? Feel free to post your thoughts.

Reminder: Tomorrow we will have our Middle East map quiz. These quizzes will be done individually. You will have to identify 15 of the 30 locations that you were given and I will pick which locations. Make sure that you are prepared. There is no excuse for failure! There are only three people excused from the quiz: Cameron R., MacK G., and Michaela W.! Great job!

Assignment!!!!!

I haven't given you one all year...

What I would like you to do is sign up for my wiki. The first thing that you have to do is go to the following website and make a user name and password: Wikispaces

At the top of the page, on the right, you will see some text that says sign in here... You should click on that and then (if you are not already a member) click on the blue text that says, "Join Wikispaces Now." It will ask you for a user name, a password, and an email address. You have to complete all of those fields and you DO NOT have to select the create a wiki box.

Wikispaces will send you an email with a link to confirm. One you do that, you can request membership to my Wiki. There will be a place where you can search wikispaces at the top of the page. If you put the following, mrwinandsclass, in that box you will be able to click on my wiki and request membership. We will be talking about this in class tomorrow!

Thanks!

Veteran's Day

We took a break, today, from world history to talk a little bit about the present. We started by discussing the following questions: What is Veteran's Day? Why do we celebrate it? It was great to hear what my students thought about the holiday. Most had a good idea of what it was all about, but there were a few who were not that sure.

Most thought it was a day to celebrate, pay tribute to, be grateful for, honor, or remember those who fought for our country in the past or are fighting for our country presently.

It was also made clear that someone didn't need to FIGHT in a battle or war to be considered a veteran. Anyone who served in the armed forces is considered a veteran regardless of their presence on a battlefield. It is their service that we are thankful for, and there are many ways in which men and women in the military serve this country.

We ended the class by sharing about the people that we care about and their service to our country. Almost every student that walked through my door today had a family member or knew someone personally who is or was a member of the armed forces.

If you have any final thoughts, feel free to post them as comments here...

King Nebuchadnezzar II

We began class today with a discussion about King Nebuchadnezzar II. Students should know that he ruled during the New Babylonian Empire and rebuilt the city of Babylon after the Assyrians destroyed it. He is famous for creating the hanging gardens of Babylon...

Feel free to research the hanging gardens of Babylon and post a link to a good website as a comment to this post. If you feel confident, you can bring it up in class tomorrow.

We also spend a little more time working on our maps of the Modern Middle East. All students should have completed their maps before leaving class today. You can get additional copies of the map from the MAPS! tab of my teacher's page and play the game that I linked on my page.

Remember, there will be a map quiz on Tuesday of next week!

Can you beat my time of 1:06.98? I challenge you all!

Sorting Out the Fertile Crescent Empires...

Using the Smart Board, students had to sort out a variety of 'traits' regarding the four empires that we have been studying. Hopefully, this showed the students that they need to study in order to be prepared for the next assessment; at the same time, it served as a review. All students should have a completed graphic organizer by this point which describes them in depth.

Students were also provided with another map. Students will be quizzed on the countries of the modern Middle East on Tuesday of next week. Most periods were given some class time to begin identifying the countries. We will be reviewing the map, in class, later this week. Please note that additional copies of the map can be downloaded from the Maps! tab of my teacher's page. There are also some interactive games there which can be used for studying.

My second period class had more time to work on their maps than the others due to some technical difficulties. I will make sure that you all get the chance to try out the empire sorting in class tomorrow!

So far, I only had one person post a description of a wiki. Is there anyone else out there who has a thought?

The Strengths of the Assyrian Empire

Today we began by talking about the strengths of the Assyrian Empire.

1. They were great warriors...
2. They invented tools for battle like armor and the battering ram...
3. They focused on learning and gathered information in a large library...
4. They also focused on offense as their best method of defense...

We will continue to talk about the Fertile Crescent Empires in the coming days. I think we will be finishing this unit right before the Thanksgiving break. By the end of the week I want to talk about using my classroom wiki for creating a study guide for the test. You can expect that on Thursday or Friday of this week!

What is a wiki? If you think you know, you can post a comment here.

Have a great night, and I will see you tomorrow...

End of Marking Period One

Congratulations! You have made it through the first quarter as a middle school student. I can honestly say that this is quarter flew by faster than any other before.

Overall, there were a lot of very high grades in my social studies classes. Unfortunately, not everyone was successful this quarter. It is important to know that we have a long way to go this year, and none of you can be counted out. I hope you are all ready to work hard, as the second quarter will probably go by faster than the first!

While students worked in groups today, I took some time to go over grades with a few students who were on the borderline between one grade and the next as well as those who still owed me some assignments. I did not get a chance to meet with every student, but I think that I have addressed all of those who were in need. I will be finalizing my grades this weekend and the book is now closed for most students.

On Monday, we will continue to discuss the Fertile Crescent Empires. Please bring your graphic organizers and be ready to finish them in class on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Mesopotamian Empires

There are three Mesopotamian Empires that we will be studying in class over the next few days. They are: Babylonia (broken down into the Old and the New), Assyria, and Persia. Today students were provided with a graphic organizer that they will use to sort information about the empires. Although they are working in small groups, each student is required to take notes for themselves. Tomorrow they will be given class time to finish reading and compiling notes. If time permits, we will begin to discuss the empires.

Students, please feel free to post comments and/or questions...

Great Sentences

Today we continued to focus on the new vocabulary. Here are a few sample sentences that my classes came up with for the words:

1. The United Kingdom’s empire stretched from Africa to UK and Western Canada.
2. The people of Babylon, the capital of the Babylonian Empire, had great wealth and lived luxurious lives.
3. Caravans could travel to colder climates once they discovered how to use fire. As the caravan of camels traveled, they stopped at an oasis.
4. The bazaar we visited carried all types of goods including: food, cloth, pottery, and other household materials.
5. The Persian Empire practiced a religion called Zoroastrianism and were monotheistic (worshipped only one god).

We discussed the qualities which make a good sentence and the ways that students can prove mastery of vocabulary.

Do you think that you have a great sentence? Feel free to post a comment with one of your sentences...