Tuesday, Sept. 30

Today I lectured to the class about the fall of Rome. Students are to write an obituary that explains the accomplishments of the Roman Empire and explain why it fell. Packet #3 is due tomorrow (see grid below).  

Muddy Waters once said (in song) "The blues had a baby and they named it Rock and Roll." For extra credit, what did he mean? 

Period 1 has one additional assignment in their packet 

1.	Daily Appetizers
2.	Chapter 2, lesson 2, pp. 54-56
3.	Roman Power Points: Notes
4.	Chapter 2, lesson 3, pp. 59-60
5.	Rome Viewing Guide Questions
6.	Rome Fill –ins/Obit

Monday, Sept. 29

Today we continued presentations about Rome. I stamped assignment #4 which was due today. Students can always finish the work they did not complete and turn it in when the packet is due. Packet #3 will be due on Wednesday. I'll post the assignment list tomorrow. 

Friday, Sept. 26

Students began giving their presentations on ancient Rome. Chapter 2, lesson 3 reading guide is due on Monday. 

Wednesday, Sept. 23 & Thursday, Sept. 24

Wednesday: Students in periods 1 and 2 finished their powerpoint presentations on elements of Roman culture and turned them in. Students in periods 4 & 5 worked towards completing those presentations. 

Thursday: I stamped the  homework that was due today (reading guide, Chapter 2, lesson 2 Rome Divides, Rome Falls). Periods 1 & 2 began their presentations. Periods 4 & 5 continued working on their presentations, and will have no more class time to complete them.  Periods 4 and 5 did receive a reading guide which covers Chapter 2, lesson 3. It will be due on Monday. Periods 1 & 2 will get it tomorrow. 

Monday, Sept. 22 and Tuesday Sept. 23

Monday: I collected the second packet of work. Students continued working on "passage shrinking," with the goal of using that information in the PowerPoints they're constructing on elements of ancient Roman culture. 

Tuesday: I returned the packets from those students who turned work in. Students have a template that shows them how many slides to include in their presentations and which types of slides to use. Presentations will begin on Thursday. I also assigned a reading guide which will be due on Thursday. I'm still working on attaching the handouts to this blog so students can access them.

Friday, Sept. 19

Today students organized the packet that will be collected on Monday and worked on "passage shrinking." Students are shrinking paragraphs (note-taking/paraphrasing) about different elements of Roman culture that will be used in presentations next week. 

Thursday, Sept. 18

We worked on "passage shrinking," a technique used in Language Arts classes to summarize portions of text. After practicing "passage shrinking" students began researching elements of Roman culture for a presentation they'll construct next week. Packets will be due on Monday. There are currently 6 assignments in the packet (see grid).

1	Daily Appetizers
2	Chapter 2, Lesson 1, pp. 50-51
3	Chapter 2, Lesson 2, pp. 52-54
4	Roman Empire: Social Status Triangle
5	The Roman Empire, AD 117 Map
6	Passage Shrinking

Wednesday, Sept. 17

Today students worked on two assignments. They worked on filling in a graphic organizer about the social classes in Ancient Rome, as well as a map assignment on the Roman Empire (pg. 43 in text). I also checked two assignments for completion. If students did not have it complete today (when it was due) they can still finish it, and turn it in for partial credit when I collect the next assignment "packet."

Tuesday, Sept. 16

Today students worked on creating powerpoints about the best place they went this summer or worked to finish the 2 reading guides that are due tomorrow.  The reading guides cover Chapter 2, Lesson I (pp. 50-51) and Chapter 2, Lesson II (pp. 52-54). I will be checking both for completion tomorrow. 

Friday, Sept. 12 and Monday Sept. 15

Friday: Students worked to finish their maps of the Roman Empire as well as any other assignments that were still incomplete. I collected the first packet of 6 assignments, worth 65 points.

Monday: I returned the graded packets to the students who turned work in. We discussed the early life of Jesus in Judea as our daily appetizer. For the remainder of the class students worked on either creating a basic PowerPoint presentation about a place they visited last summer, or worked on a reading guide about early Christianity.

Thursday, Sept. 11

Today we talked about the rationale behind the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. Students continued working on the "Mapping an Empire" assignment which will be due tomorrow. I'll also be collecting the first packet of class work tomorrow as well. 

Tuesday, Sept. 9 and Wednesday Sept. 10

Tuesday: Students checked out the textbooks that they will take home. We also began an assignment that will illustrate the growth of the Roman Empire between the years 44 BC and 116 AD. Students are working in pairs to complete this assignment which is called "Mapping An Empire." The Chapter 2 Reading Guide and Book Introduction will be due on Wednesday and the first "packet" will be due on Friday of this week.

Wednesday: Students continued to work on "Mapping an Empire."

Monday, September 8

We began class today discussing what the students already know about Rome/Romans and what they would like to learn. I gave a brief lecture on the innovations of the Romans and students completed a timeline that illustrated the years of the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. 

Students then worked on an assignment from their textbook about Rome. That assignment (Chapter 2 and Text Intro) will be due on Wednesday. 

Friday, Sept. 5

Today we reviewed Physical and Political features on maps. I went over the correct answers to assignment #2 (physical features of the world), and gave a new assignment titled: The World: Lesson 2, Physical Characteristics pp. 13-14.

Next Week: The Romans!

Thursday Sept. 4

Today students worked on two things. Students worked to complete a map we began yesterday which identifies the physical features of the world or they downloaded images from the internet of the a physical feature on planet Earth that they felt was impressive.

Tuesday Sept. 2 and Wednesday Sept. 3

Tuesday: I passed out a course description and discussed procedures in my classroom.
Wednesday: Appetizer #1: What is the difference between a physical and political map? I then passed out the lecture/discussion/instruction procedures and reviewed with the class. I passed out and explained the Unit Assignments Grid. Finally, using an atlas, we worked on a physical features of the world map.

No Homework. I should have a signed copy of the course description by now however.