We're currently on different schedules due ot Star testing. Today I saw periods 3 and 4 for 78 minutes. We began discussing the Crusades, and students watched about 12 minutes from the History Channel's "Crescent and the Cross" series. Students then had time to complete and hand in their animated maps which illustrate the spread of the black plague from Asia to Europe and then northwards across Europe.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
May 7, 2013
I'd stopped adding blog posts because it didn't look like anyone was reading them. Well, I was wrong. I'll make an effort to post.
Here are the assignments that were in the last packet that was graded (Feudal Europe 1):
1. Dark Ages I
2. Europe Physical Map
3. Dark Ages II
4. Reading Guide, Chapter 9 pp. 291-293
5. Postcard from Europe directions day II
6. Reading Guide, pp. 293-297
7. Geography Notes
8. The Manor
9. Excalibur
10. Reading Guide, pp. 300-302
11. What is Feudalism? fill-ins
12. Digital Medieval Manor instructions
Here are the assignments that were in the last packet that was graded (Feudal Europe 1):
1. Dark Ages I
2. Europe Physical Map
3. Dark Ages II
4. Reading Guide, Chapter 9 pp. 291-293
5. Postcard from Europe directions day II
6. Reading Guide, pp. 293-297
7. Geography Notes
8. The Manor
9. Excalibur
10. Reading Guide, pp. 300-302
11. What is Feudalism? fill-ins
12. Digital Medieval Manor instructions
Friday, April 19, 2013
April 15-19
This week we began our unit on the Middle Ages in Europe.
Monday: We watched a segment of the History Channel's "The Dark Ages" about the fall of Rome. Students then worked on a map of European geographic features.
Tuesday: We continued "The Dark Ages." Students also worked on a reading guide (pp. 291-293).
Wednesday: Students were assigned a geographic feature from Monday's map. They began creating a "greetings from ____________________" postcard combining a picture of themselves and an existing image of the geographic feature they were assigned.
Thursday: Students continued the postcard assignment. They will add the postcard to a two slide Powerpoint presentation that they create. The second slide will contain information about the geographic feature.
Friday: Students finished and handed in the two-slide powerpoint. They were also assigned a reading guide covering pp. 293-297. Both reading guides will be checked for completion on Monday.
Monday: We watched a segment of the History Channel's "The Dark Ages" about the fall of Rome. Students then worked on a map of European geographic features.
Tuesday: We continued "The Dark Ages." Students also worked on a reading guide (pp. 291-293).
Wednesday: Students were assigned a geographic feature from Monday's map. They began creating a "greetings from ____________________" postcard combining a picture of themselves and an existing image of the geographic feature they were assigned.
Thursday: Students continued the postcard assignment. They will add the postcard to a two slide Powerpoint presentation that they create. The second slide will contain information about the geographic feature.
Friday: Students finished and handed in the two-slide powerpoint. They were also assigned a reading guide covering pp. 293-297. Both reading guides will be checked for completion on Monday.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Mar. 19, 20 and 21
March 19: Students had more time on their animated maps.
March 20: We completed a vocabulary word study on the word "Proximity." Students then read about, and aswered questions about Prince Shotoku of Japan.
March 21: Students began a 2-day project today. They will create a mock feature film poster for a fictional film about Prince Shotoku using Photoshop. Packets are due on Monday, here is a list of what's in them so far:
1. Japan Geography Notes
2. Creation Myth of Japan
3. Old School Japan Map
4. Animated Map Instructions I
5. Animated Map Instructions II
6. Shotoku Questions/Proximity
7. Creation Myth 'Toon
8. Reading Guide 251-253
March 20: We completed a vocabulary word study on the word "Proximity." Students then read about, and aswered questions about Prince Shotoku of Japan.
March 21: Students began a 2-day project today. They will create a mock feature film poster for a fictional film about Prince Shotoku using Photoshop. Packets are due on Monday, here is a list of what's in them so far:
1. Japan Geography Notes
2. Creation Myth of Japan
3. Old School Japan Map
4. Animated Map Instructions I
5. Animated Map Instructions II
6. Shotoku Questions/Proximity
7. Creation Myth 'Toon
8. Reading Guide 251-253
Monday, March 18, 2013
March 15 and 18
Students have continued to work on their animated maps of the 16 features we discussed in class.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
March 8 -14
March 8: Unit test on China.
Monday, March 11: Began the unit on Japan. Students took fill-in notes about 16 important features of the islands of Japan. Students also read/answered questions about the creation myth of Japan.
Tuesday, March 12: Students created a draft map of the 16 features we discussed on Monday. Students also finished reading about the creation myth of Japan.
Wednesday, March 13: Students worked on creating the animated map of Japanese features using Photoshop.
Thursday, March 14: Students worked on creating the animated map of Japanese features using Photoshop.
Monday, March 11: Began the unit on Japan. Students took fill-in notes about 16 important features of the islands of Japan. Students also read/answered questions about the creation myth of Japan.
Tuesday, March 12: Students created a draft map of the 16 features we discussed on Monday. Students also finished reading about the creation myth of Japan.
Wednesday, March 13: Students worked on creating the animated map of Japanese features using Photoshop.
Thursday, March 14: Students worked on creating the animated map of Japanese features using Photoshop.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
March 6
Today we discussed the accomplishments of the great Chinese explorer Zheng He. We watched a portion of the History Channel "Engineering an Empire" series. Students then worked on a reading guide about the Ming Dynasty. "Packettes" are due Friday - here is a list of assignments so far:
1. Daily appetizers
2. Test Prep Fill Ins
3. Engineering an Empire III
4. pg. 236 Reading Guide (Xtra credit)
5. pg. 239 Reading Guide
6. Crossword (Xtra credit)
1. Daily appetizers
2. Test Prep Fill Ins
3. Engineering an Empire III
4. pg. 236 Reading Guide (Xtra credit)
5. pg. 239 Reading Guide
6. Crossword (Xtra credit)
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
March 4 and March 5
March 5: Today we were on a modified scheudule due to the 7th grade writing test. We studied the vocabulary terms that will appear on the unit test with a matching/fill-in-the-blanks appetizer. Students then had about 20 minutes to write their silk road portion of Friday's test. There will be no more class time to complete this assignment.
March 4: We did a practice map in preparation of Friday's test. I then introduced the "silk road narrative" portion Friday's test (see directions below). I will collect it Friday with the test. The study guide for Friday's test is also posted below.
Silk Road Narrative
The Silk Road, from Nanjing to Antioch spanned approximately 4,500 miles. Merchants would use donkeys and camels to make the journey. Assuming a caravan could travel 30 miles a day, the journey would take somewhere around 150 days. For this assignment assume you are a traveler on the Silk Road making the journey from China to the Mediterranean Sea. Write from the perspective of that person as you complete this first person narrative. Describe the sights you’d see, the people you’d meet, the trade centers you’d visit and the adventures you might have had as you made the journey. Write seven entries following the format below. Use the map to help you describe the cities/trade centers and the terrain you’d encounter.
Step 1: Draw the Silk Road on the map on the front of this paper in color.
Steps 2 -8: Write first person descriptions of 7 stops, or points along the journey. To make this simple assume your stops are 25 days or 750 miles apart. Use additional paper to finish.
Questions to consider/help you write:
• Who is your character?
• What is their role in the Silk Road trade/travel?
• What goods do they trade? OR What services do they provide? OR Why are they traveling on the Silk Road?
• What sort of terrain (land) did they encounter?
• How do their interactions on the Silk Road relate to their personal lives?
• What obstacles do they encounter along the way?
• Include an interesting account of something that happens to them along the way.
China: Unit Test Study Guide
The unit test for China unit will be on Friday, March 9. It will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions. There will also be a map.
Terms/People to know : You may earn extra credit points for creating note-cards and using them as a study aid. Show me on test day.
Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan, The Mongols
Tang Dynasty, Khanates, Confucius
Song Dynast,y Zheng He, Marco Polo
Mongol Ascendancy, Confucianism, Silk (Silk Road)
Han Dynasty, Grand Canal, Ming Dynasty
Buddhism, Dynasty, Wood-Block Printing
Paper/Paper Money, Porcelain, Nomadic
Ascend, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Qin Dynasty
Shi Huangdi
Know the chronological order of the Dynasties.
Places to know on the map:
Silk Road, Grand Canal, Great Wall, Gobi Desert
Himalaya Mts., China, India, Mongolia
N. Korea, S. Korea, Russia, Beijing
Short answer questions to prepare for:
1. Explain the cycle of Chinese dynasties.
2. How did Kublai Khan “open” China to the West?
3. Explain the great innovations and achievements of the Ancient Chinese.
4. Explain how trade on the Silk Road was conducted and explain the overall importance of the Silk Road itself. Understand, and be able to explain the cultural exchange that resulted from Silk Road trade as well.
5. Explain the basic beliefs of Confucianism and/or Buddhism.
March 4: We did a practice map in preparation of Friday's test. I then introduced the "silk road narrative" portion Friday's test (see directions below). I will collect it Friday with the test. The study guide for Friday's test is also posted below.
Silk Road Narrative
The Silk Road, from Nanjing to Antioch spanned approximately 4,500 miles. Merchants would use donkeys and camels to make the journey. Assuming a caravan could travel 30 miles a day, the journey would take somewhere around 150 days. For this assignment assume you are a traveler on the Silk Road making the journey from China to the Mediterranean Sea. Write from the perspective of that person as you complete this first person narrative. Describe the sights you’d see, the people you’d meet, the trade centers you’d visit and the adventures you might have had as you made the journey. Write seven entries following the format below. Use the map to help you describe the cities/trade centers and the terrain you’d encounter.
Step 1: Draw the Silk Road on the map on the front of this paper in color.
Steps 2 -8: Write first person descriptions of 7 stops, or points along the journey. To make this simple assume your stops are 25 days or 750 miles apart. Use additional paper to finish.
Questions to consider/help you write:
• Who is your character?
• What is their role in the Silk Road trade/travel?
• What goods do they trade? OR What services do they provide? OR Why are they traveling on the Silk Road?
• What sort of terrain (land) did they encounter?
• How do their interactions on the Silk Road relate to their personal lives?
• What obstacles do they encounter along the way?
• Include an interesting account of something that happens to them along the way.
China: Unit Test Study Guide
The unit test for China unit will be on Friday, March 9. It will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions. There will also be a map.
Terms/People to know : You may earn extra credit points for creating note-cards and using them as a study aid. Show me on test day.
Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan, The Mongols
Tang Dynasty, Khanates, Confucius
Song Dynast,y Zheng He, Marco Polo
Mongol Ascendancy, Confucianism, Silk (Silk Road)
Han Dynasty, Grand Canal, Ming Dynasty
Buddhism, Dynasty, Wood-Block Printing
Paper/Paper Money, Porcelain, Nomadic
Ascend, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Qin Dynasty
Shi Huangdi
Know the chronological order of the Dynasties.
Places to know on the map:
Silk Road, Grand Canal, Great Wall, Gobi Desert
Himalaya Mts., China, India, Mongolia
N. Korea, S. Korea, Russia, Beijing
Short answer questions to prepare for:
1. Explain the cycle of Chinese dynasties.
2. How did Kublai Khan “open” China to the West?
3. Explain the great innovations and achievements of the Ancient Chinese.
4. Explain how trade on the Silk Road was conducted and explain the overall importance of the Silk Road itself. Understand, and be able to explain the cultural exchange that resulted from Silk Road trade as well.
5. Explain the basic beliefs of Confucianism and/or Buddhism.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
February 12 - 15, Feb. 25 and 26
February 12-15: Students worked on creating a Powerpoint presentation that explained an invention/innovation or a belief of Ancient China.
February 25:
Students watched a segment of the film Mongol to see the origins of Genghis Khan. Students then worked on a reading guide about the early Mongol Empire.
February 26:
We did a vocabulary word study on the word "ascend." Students then worked on a map of the Mongol Empire. Packets will be due on Friday, here is a list of assignments in the packet so far:
1. Prosperity fill-ins
2. Chapter 7, Lesson 2 reading guide
3. Awesomeness questions (for powerpoint topic)
4. Mongol
5. Reading Guide, Mongol Empire pp. 233-235
6. Ascend
7. Mongol Empire Map
February 25:
Students watched a segment of the film Mongol to see the origins of Genghis Khan. Students then worked on a reading guide about the early Mongol Empire.
February 26:
We did a vocabulary word study on the word "ascend." Students then worked on a map of the Mongol Empire. Packets will be due on Friday, here is a list of assignments in the packet so far:
1. Prosperity fill-ins
2. Chapter 7, Lesson 2 reading guide
3. Awesomeness questions (for powerpoint topic)
4. Mongol
5. Reading Guide, Mongol Empire pp. 233-235
6. Ascend
7. Mongol Empire Map
Monday, February 11, 2013
Monday, Feb. 11
Today I discussed the prosperity during the Tang and Song dynasties which led to innovations and inventions. Students completed fill-in notes. Students then worked on a reading guide about the Tang and Song dynasties which will be due tomorrow. Students were then assigned a topic from this time period to research (Confucianism, Buddhism, Gunpowder, Wood block printing, Paper/paper money, the Compass, Porcelain). Students will research and create a short presentation about thier topic which includes a mock magazine ad for the topic they were assigned.
Friday, February 8, 2013
February 5, 6, 7 and 8
Tuesday 2/5: Students viewed a portion of the A and E biography about Confucius and then worked on thier dynastic cycle powerpoints.
Wednesday 2/6: Students viewed a portion of the A and E biography about Confucius and then worked on thier dynastic cycle powerpoints.
Thursday 2/7: Students finished the A and E biography about Confucius and then paraphrased/illustrated four Confucian quotations of their choosing. Friday 2/8: Students answered questions about Buddhism while reading from their texts. Students also worked on a map of the spread of Confucianism and Buddhism in Asia. I also collected the first packet of the 3rd quarter. Here is a list of the assignments in the packet: 1. Engineering an Empire I 2. Asia Map 3. Engineering an Empire II 4. Chapter 7, Lesson 1 pp. 213-216 5. Dynastic Cycle Fill-ins 6. Confucius Words of Wisdom I 7. Confucianism Quotations 8. Confucius Words of Wisdom II 9. Buddhism Reading Guide 10. Confucianism/Buddhism Map
Wednesday 2/6: Students viewed a portion of the A and E biography about Confucius and then worked on thier dynastic cycle powerpoints.
Thursday 2/7: Students finished the A and E biography about Confucius and then paraphrased/illustrated four Confucian quotations of their choosing. Friday 2/8: Students answered questions about Buddhism while reading from their texts. Students also worked on a map of the spread of Confucianism and Buddhism in Asia. I also collected the first packet of the 3rd quarter. Here is a list of the assignments in the packet: 1. Engineering an Empire I 2. Asia Map 3. Engineering an Empire II 4. Chapter 7, Lesson 1 pp. 213-216 5. Dynastic Cycle Fill-ins 6. Confucius Words of Wisdom I 7. Confucianism Quotations 8. Confucius Words of Wisdom II 9. Buddhism Reading Guide 10. Confucianism/Buddhism Map
Monday, February 4, 2013
February 1 and 4
Friday, Feb. 1 - Students worked to create a powerpoint presentation illustrating the Dynastic Cycle of China.
Monday, Feb. 4 - Students continued working on their presentations.
Monday, Feb. 4 - Students continued working on their presentations.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Jan. 28 - Feb. 1
This week we began our unit on China.
On Monday students watched a segment of the History Channel's
"Engineering an Empire" program about Chinese building achievements.
On Tuesday we watched another segment of "Engineering." Students were also given a map of Asia, and class time to work on it.
On Wednesday we continued to work on the map. Students were also given a reading guide which covers pp. 213-216. Both the map and the reading guide will be due on Friday (2.1.13).
On Thursday students took brief notes on the Dynastic Cycle of China and then began creating a Powerpoint presentation about the Dynastic Cycle.
On Monday students watched a segment of the History Channel's
"Engineering an Empire" program about Chinese building achievements.
On Tuesday we watched another segment of "Engineering." Students were also given a map of Asia, and class time to work on it.
On Wednesday we continued to work on the map. Students were also given a reading guide which covers pp. 213-216. Both the map and the reading guide will be due on Friday (2.1.13).
On Thursday students took brief notes on the Dynastic Cycle of China and then began creating a Powerpoint presentation about the Dynastic Cycle.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Jan. 7 -11
Periods 3 and 4: We spent much of the week learning about the Niger River. We watched a PBS films titled "Journey to Timbuktu." Students completed a map of the Niger River area and worked on creating a mock river tour "rack-card" for a Niger River tour.
Period 6, S.L.I. Class: The SLI class has been working on their History Day projects. Important upcoming dates include registration on Jan. 18, and completion of projects by Jan. 25.
Period 6, S.L.I. Class: The SLI class has been working on their History Day projects. Important upcoming dates include registration on Jan. 18, and completion of projects by Jan. 25.
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