May 20, 2013 Roman Republic Government Notes

Today in class we discussed the Roman senate and other areas of government, as it was under the republic.  Here are the notes we took in class.  We discussed the consuls, senate, patrician class, and plebian class.  We compared and contrasted all of these to our government today.

We will continue discussing this tomorrow.  Your ancient Greece test redo's are due on Friday!

May 8, 2013 Seven Wonders of Ancient Rome

Today in class we finished up our video on the Seven Wonders of Ancient Rome.  You all should have handed in your notes on each of the "wonders" (except 2nd hour I"ll get yours tomorrow!).

We learned that while ancient Roman society was in many ways very similar to ours, they were also.......very strange!!!!  Take for example what they called entertainment, watching people kill each other....not my cup of tea.

Your homework for tomorrow is to complete a KWL chart for ancient Rome.  You won't be able to complete the L column yet since that is what you learned (completed at the end of the unit), but you should fill in the K column (what you already KNOW) and the W column (what you WANT to know).

Don't forget the Olympics have been moved to next Wednesday the 15th because of tomorrow's weather forecast.

May 1, 2013 Test Review

It's May!!  What better way to celebrate than with a test!  Tomorrow we will have our unit test for ancient Greece.  Today in class we reviewed by working on a study guide.  Below are links to a copy of a blank study guide, a completed study guide, and quizlet games to help you review vocabulary.  Remember to be thorough in your answers so you are more than prepared for the test!

Once you complete the study guide, open the blank one and see if you can come up with the answers without using your notes.  If you don't know one, you know you need to study it.  If you know all of the answers you are set for the test!  Happy studying!

Blank Study Guide

Study Guide with answers

April 30, 2013 Alexander the Great

We learned about our last section in the Ancient Greece unit today, Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age.  Notes from today's class are below.

Here is the presentation given in class on those two subjects.

A copy of the notes with blanks that can be filled in.

A copy of the completed notes. 

Our ancient Greece unit test will be on Thursday, so start studying now!!  We will review tomorrow in class. Make sure to get me your current events information by Thursday if it is your week to go!

April 25, 2013 Philosopher Presentations

In 1st hour today, we worked on finishing up our presentations and practicing them for when we present.  In 2nd and 5th hour we had our philosopher presentations.  Everyone did a fabulous job.  While watching the presentations students had to write down the philosophers name, what their beliefs were, and what contributions of theirs we still use today.

Tomorrow we have current events so if it is your day to present, make sure to send me your materials by tonight!

April 24, 2013 Philosopher Presentations

Today in class we continued working on our philosopher presentations.  Students broke up into groups based on who they researched and worked together on creating a presentation.  2nd and 5th hour will present tomorrow so if your presentation is not complete, it is homework.

Don't forget to work on your current events if it is your week to present!

April 22, 2013 Philosopher Questions

In 1st and 2nd hour today, Ancient Greece quizzes were passed back.  Corrections to these quizzes are due tomorrow!  By making corrections you can earn points back and can bring your grade up.

We then continued working on our philosopher project.  Students need to complete the questions on this sheet following the directions laid out for them, on their assigned philosopher.

We will continue working on this tomorrow, we will also discuss how your presentations will be created.

April 17, 2013 Philosophers

Today in class we began working on a project involving the Greek philosophers.  Students in class were assigned one Greek philosopher to research.  Research can be done using the resources listed on the project instruction page.  This page has been shared with everyone so you can find it in your drive.

When answering the questions, be sure to answer them using complete sentences and IN YOUR OWN WORDS!

Tomorrow we will have Comm Arts in the morning during 1st and 2nd hour, and will have MAPS testing in the afternoon, so we will continue to work on these on Monday (Friday is current events).

April 16, 2013 Greek Philosophers

We finished up our video on how the Parthenon was built today and then moved on to begin discussions of Greek philosophers.  We watched this hilarious Horrible Histories video.  As funny as it as, it actually presents a ton of accurate information, so pay attention to the lyrics!


Tomorrow I will introduce our webquest that we will be working on based on the philosophers.

April 10, 2013 Greek Culture Continued....

Today in class we finished our notes on ancient Greek culture.  They are linked here.

In some classes we had some extra time so we began a video from PBS covering Greek culture and we will continue with that on Friday.

We have current events tomorrow so I need all of your material by tonight if you are scheduled to present!  Check the calendar below for dates.

April 10, 2013 Ancient Greek Culture

Yesterday and today in class students worked on creating Cornell notes on different sections of Greek culture.  Then today, when everyone completed their sections, each group presented their notes to class so that everyone could get notes on the whole chapter.  The notes are linked here.  If you missed any notes get them jotted down in your notebook.

We will finish this up tomorrow.

Remember if you have current events this week you need to present on Thursday so I need your completed templates by Wednesday night.

April 4, 2013 Quiz

We had our Ancient Greece quiz today in class.  Check for your grades later in skyward, they will also be passed back in class.

If you have current events tomorrow remember to send me your stuff tonight!

April 3, 2013 Quiz Tomorrow!

Today we started off class with a video that reviewed the Peloponnesian War.  It was told from the perspective of Thucydides, the historian and war general that was an eyewitness to the war.

Since we will be having a quiz tomorrow on the material covered so far in this unit, we spent the rest of class reviewing concepts.  This study guide has guiding questions that will help you review all of the concepts you need to review for the quiz.  Remember to be detailed in your answers so you cover everything!  Below are links to a blank study guide, and one completed with the answers.  There are also quizlet cards below to help you study the vocabulary.

Those of you that have current events on Friday remember I need your materials by tomorrow night!

Blank Study Guide

Study Guide with Answers

April 2, 2013 Peloponnesian War

Welcome back!  The long weekend was nice, but now it's back to business.  We reviewed what we discussed last week about the Battle of Marathon, and then we moved onto the Peloponnesian War.  This war was fought between Sparta and Athens and their respective allies.  Remember allies refers to a partnership, not people who have been conquered.  In the end because of plague and a blockade set up by Sparta, the Spartans were victorious and Athens surrendered in 404 b.c..

Here is a link to the presentation used in class

Tomorrow we will review the concepts we have learned so far in Ancient Greece preparing for our quiz on Thursday. 

March 26, 2013 Sparta Vs. Athens

We reviewed what we have been learning about the differences between Sparta and Athens today by completing a worksheet where facts were presented and students needed to label them as characteristics of Sparta, Athens, or both.

There will be a short quiz on Thursday (3/28) about the Ancient Greece unit, which we will review for tomorrow.

Mar 25, 2013 Sparta vs Athens

Homework: Answer the following question: How are Sparta and Athens similar to and different than our society today?

Today in class we reviewed the many differences between Sparta and Athens.  We compiled a two column chart in our notebooks that listed all of the differences discussed in class.

We focused on what the two different societies expected of their citizens.  Sparta expected their citizens to be the best soldiers they could possibly be and to give their life to the city.  In Athens, they expected people to focus on education, new ideas, and the arts.

Homework for tomorrow is to answer the following question....

How are Sparta and Athens similar to and different than our society today?

The question needs to be answered as a complete paragraph with opening and concluding sentences.  

March 22, 2013 Current Events

Today in class we had current events.  Students presented their articles and we followed it up with CNN student news.  We had some awesome articles!  A few people presented about a champion break dancing six year old!  A few others presented on an article about Japan creating a new form of energy using methane molecules trapped in ice and mud in the ocean.  Very interesting!

Next week we will continue to work on the differences and conflicts between Athens and Sparta!

March 21, 2013 Sparta vs Athens

Today in class we began looking at the differences between Athens and Sparta.  The list is a long one!  We watched a couple of funny videos from Horrible Histories that highlighted the differences in an amusing way, see below!

As discussed Spartans were completely militaristic and focused on being the best warriors they could possibly be, while the Athenians were much more interested in thought, the arts, creativity, etc.  The major differences likely spurred the continuous conflict between the two societies.  Next week we will continue looking at the two groups and will discuss their conflict further.

DON'T FORGET!!!!  Some of you have current events tomorrow!  I need your completed template and presentation (if you have one) by tonight!  Share it with me via google docs.

March 20, 2013 Democracy in Ancient Greece

Today we went over our Democracy Worksheets (1st hour we will go over this tomorrow).  After reviewing the worksheet, we reviewed democracy in Ancient Athens versus the United States using our Greece power point.

Then the fun started!  We did a democracy simulation where I gave cards out only to the boys which stated their position in society.  Only certain members could vote, and NONE of the girls could vote.  Of course, I didn't tell them we were doing a simulation and just a posed a question and responded to suggestions based on how they would be reacted to in Ancient Athens.   Some of the boys were not happy, and the girls were DEFINITELY not happy!  But it was a great reality check about what things were really like back then.

Tomorrow we will begin discussing the difference between Sparta and Athens.    

March 18, 2013 Ancient Greek Vocab

Happy Monday!  Today in class we finished up our Greek mythology plays.  I will get them posted as soon as I figure out the best way to share them....

We signed up for this trimester's current events presentations.  The final ones for the year!  Due dates for everyone's presentations are on the calendar below.  The link to the template can be found to the right under helpful links and can also be found in your drive.  DON'T FORGET: The article summary needs to be in your own words and 5-7 sentences long and your personal reaction section should be 5-7 sentences long.  Also, fill in the template completely and use your creativity with presentations!

After signing up we reviewed vocabulary for Ancient Greece.  Some of it we had seen already and some of it was new.  The words are below:

• Peninsula: An area of land almost completely surrounded by water and connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land
• Acropolis: The fortified, or strengthened, hill of an ancient Greek city
• Aristocrat: A member of a rich and powerful family 
• Tyrant: A ruler who takes power by force
• Democracy: A form of government in which citizens govern themselves

Vocab sheets are due tomorrow with the above words!