Tuesday

Today in class, we took our test on Rome.  It was not very hard, and I am feeling pretty confident about it.  I knew most of the answers to the questions.  One of the hardest part of the tests was the part about the governments of the U.S. and Rome.  I don't think I did very good on those questions. I still think I did pretty good on the test.  

Friday

Questions that will be on the test:

• know which order the Etruscans, Latins, and greeks settled in Rome
• Where did the Latins settle? - Banks of the Tiber 
• Seven Hills of Rome and what hill did they settle on
• Who drained the swamp? Tarquin the Proud's Grandfather 
• Know about Tarquin the Proud - his whole story and his family's story 
• Tarquin the Proud - LAST king of Rome 
• after kings, Rome switched to consuls and senates 
• senate was always aristocrats 
• three branches of ancient Rome government : democracy, aristocracy, monarchy 
• Res Publica- people's affairs 
• First set of laws: Twelve Tables 
• Laws were never presented to the people until the Twelve Tables 
• Twelve Tables were posted in the Forum 
• Know the similarities of the American Government and the Roman Government: Executive, legislative, judicial 
• senators of america: 100 (2 per state) 
• Know about the Twelve Tables and Bill of Rights (first ten amendments to the constitution 
• Know about Punic Wars: 3 Punic Wars, Rome won all three 
• First Punic War about Sicily: Rome wanted to control the island 
• Second Punic War: Carthage wanted to take over Rome   
• Third Punic War: to destroy Carthage 
• Latifundia: rich aristocrats would take plantations from plebeians and make it one large plantation 
• Know about Circus Maximus and Colosseum
• Leaders would crucify the plebeians who chose to revolt against Rome 
• Tiberius Gracchas: tried to get land back to plebeians 
• Julius Caesar: (100-144 BCE) 
• highly successful general 
• he conquered the huge territory of Gaul 
• made common folks happy 
• made friends in high places 
• pompey (a general who conquered Syria and Palestine) 
• Crassus (the richest main in Rome, one of richest men in all history) 
• these three men formed the first Triumvirate "rule of three men" 
• Rubicon: crossed the rubicon into Italy 
• "crossing the Rubicon" - once you make a decision, you can never go back 
• declared himself dictator for life; ditched Pompey and Crassus 
• senators convinced him to come to a large meeting, with hidden knives under their togas, and they stabbed him to death 

Wednesday

Today in class we  finished the presentations for the Rome projects.  Alayna and I made a mosaic and a power point, which turned out really well.  I think our presentation went very good and I was pretty confident about it.  The end result of the mosaic turned out looking pretty good.  I thought I would be disappointed with the look of it, but I was not.

Tuesday

I left school early because I still was not felling whether.  I was not in class.

Monday

I was sick all this weekend, including today, and so I did not go to school today.  

Friday

Today in class, Mr. Schick gave us one last chance to work on our project.  We found out that we have to write a paper on the project we are doing.  Alayna and I were almost finished, but now we have to do a paper.  It should not be to hard, but it is the first time we are hearing about it.  Thank God the whole project is due Tuesday.  We should be able to complete everything in time.

Wednesday

In class today, we worked on our projects.  This was the last class we had to work on our projects before they were.  Alayna and I figured everything out and made all the final decisions.  We just have to make the mosaic and that is all.  Our power pint is completed with all the information needed.  I hope that our project turns out the way we want it to.

Tuesday

Today in class, we reviewed the notes.  Mr. Schick let the student teach which was very interesting.  The first people to teach were Kelsey and Jude.  They read everything off of the powerpoint because they didn't know how to describe each thing.  The Mr. Schick chose two new people, Stevie and Hunter, to teach.  They were a little better and described things a little bit but not much.  It was more of a fun class then anything.  Just a way to review what we have already covered.  

Monday

Today in class we finished watching the movie on Rome.  We learned all about Tiberius Gracchas and his legacy.  He lived for the people in honor of his father and wanted to help get the land back to the poor that was stolen from them.  Tiberius became a tribune and threatened all of the patricians and so they started to make rumors about him.  They said he would try to become king and this ruined his reputation.  On the day he was going to try to be reelected, the senate killed him.  They had no funeral for him, just dumped is wounded body into the Tiber River and let him rot there.

Friday!!!!

On Friday in class, we took notes on Rome.  We took notes on a lot of different things, but the main focus was on Tarquin the Proud.  Tarquin was the 7th and last king of Rome.  His wife was killed by his future wife, which he was totally okay with.  He then killed his future wife's father so that he would become king.  Tarquin's son tried to rape a woman, which Tarquin was also totally okay, saying "boys will be boys".  Tarquin and his family were very mean and the people of Rome to run hime out of power.  They then decided never to have another king of Rome and to this day, there has not been a king of Rome.

Wednesday

Today in class, we worked on our project for ancient Rome.   Before we could work on our project, we had a fire drill.  Everyone walked outside on the turf field until we could go back inside.  When we went back inside, Alayna and I worked on our project.  We are doing a mosaic.  We had to pick out what we are going to put on the mosaic and how we are going to describe it.

Baltimore Riot Discussion

Today in class we had a very interesting about the Baltimore Riots and Protests.  Mr. Schick told the whole class his opinion about what was happening and encouraged us to share our opinion.  Mostly everyone shared what they thought about it and what they saw happening.  We talked about how something could happen and Bel Air but also tat is not very likely to happen.  I personally did not enjoy the discussion because I don't really think the rioting involves me in any way.

Rome Notes

Coliseum:

• originally called the Flavian Amphitheater 
• covers area of 6 acres
• iconic symbol for Rome 
• capacity - 50,000-80,000 people
• in the center or Rome 
• construction started in 70 A.D. 
• height - 127 ft 
• perimeter - 1788 ft 
• largest amphitheater in Rome 
• underneath - rooms and tunnels
• covered in 15cm of sand 
• 287 ft long 
• 180 ft wide 
• estimated 700,000 people died in arena 

Circus Maximus 

• could hold 250,000 spectators 
• was built around 530 B.C. 
• first built by Tarquinus Riscus 
• 621m in length 
• 118m in width 
• located in valley between Palatine and Aventine hills in Rome 
• middle of it - spina - has statues and monuments on it 
• circumference was a mile
• arena was surrounded by canal - 10ft wide and 10ft deep 
• races - circle spina seven times - 4 miles
• races were ran clockwise 

Roman Forum 

• forum - latin word meaning open space or market place 
• public space in middle of Roman city 
• included Senate building 
• crossed by Via Sacra - Scared Way 
• place of business - justice was administered 
• also used for festivals and funerals 
• later became place of amusement 
• were many forums in Rome 
• housed many Temples 
• designed by Vitrueius 

Aqueducts 

• first aqueduct built in 312 B.C. 
• conveyed water from springs and streams to Rome 
• Multi-tiered viaducts - developed to cross low areas 
• Process: traveled to catch-basins --> sediment, mud, and dirt cleaned out of water --> free-flowing canals --> storage reservoirs --> people 
• built from stone and volcanic sediment 
• approximately 260 miles long 
• payed laborers and slaves to build the aqueducts 
• separate aqueducts supplied city of Rome 
• built over span of 500 years 
• capable of supplying 1 cubic meter of water to each person in the city (approximately 1,000,000 people) 

Tuesday

Today in class, we watched a very short video.  Before we watched the video we talked about Mr. Schick's production career.  Mr. Schick told us how he worked on a lot of movies before he became a teacher.  He met a lot of famous people and traveled all over the country.  At the end of class we watched the little movie.  We did not finish it so we will most likely finish it tomorrow.

Monday

Today in class, we reviewed the test.  Mr. Schick told us all the answers so that we would have them to study for the exam.  It was very helpful.  I think that if I studied for the test more, I would have gotten a better grade. I knew most of the answers today, which was a good thing.  I thought ancient Greece was a very interesting topic.

Test Day

Today in class we took a test.  We finally took the ancient Greece test, after learning about it for a long time.  We turned in our papers also which means we are completely done with Ancient Greece.  I thought the test was reasonable, not to hard and not to easy.  I think it covered everything we learned about Greece.

Monday

Today in class, my group finished our report on triremes and hoplites.  We have everything finished except for a few final touches, like edits in  paragraphs or changing a sentence around.  We also have to add citations and then we will be completely finished.  Tomorrow we will most likely read the final copy and then study for the test on Wednesday.

Wednesday

Today in class we took more notes on Ancient Greece.  We took notes on Spartans and Athenians and learned about the strengths and weaknesses they had in wars.  We also took notes on Phalanx which was a close-dense grouping of warriors.  Next we took notes on philosophers: Socrates, Plato , and Aristotle.  I think we have very good notes and if they are studied, the test will be very easy.

Greece notes

Isagorus and Cleithenes - aristocrats

Isagorus:

• ostracized Cleithenes 
• Athenians revolted against him 
• tyrant
• fled Athens after being stranded on the acropolis for two days 
• 508 BCE

Cleithenes 

• becomes in charge (508 BCE)
• allowed people to vote but they had to be men that were citizens 
• middle class and upper class only 
• very rich person 
• politician 

God and Goddesses 

• Poseidon - god of the sea, Aphrodite - goddess of love, Dinysus - god of wine, Zeus - god, Semele - human princess, - Zeus - ruler of heaven and earth, gods and goddesses - father of Athena 

Athena 

• goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare and peace 
• born from Zeus' head fully formed and armored 
• Athens named after her 

Monday

Today in class we finish presenting our Google power points on ancient Greece.  Again, I thought it was very interesting because we were not learning about the same topic over and over again.  I thought my groups' presentation went very well.  I think we had all the right information.  We also included many pictures so it would not just be all words.  Overall, it was an interesting class.

Friday

On Friday, we presented our group projects on Greece.  Everyone had a different topic, so it was very interesting.  We were not learning about the same thing over and over again.  All the different topics related to one another in one way, but still had a different idea.  My group did not get to present, as well as other groups,  but we will finish presentations on Monday.

Wednesday

Today in class we took notes.  We learned more interesting things about Greece.  I think Ancient Greece is a very interesting topic because of all the myths and wars that happened in history.  Mr. Schick is giving us very god notes.  I think the test will be challenging but not to hard.

Tuesday

Today in class we finished the project.  My group reviewed everything we had already put in our powerpoint.  We fixed any issues and made corrections to things we didn't like.  I am very confident about this project.  I think there is very good information in our powerpoint.  The pictures are very descriptive and interesting.

Monday

Today in class, we worked on our projects.  My group finished out, we just have to review it and fix some small things.  I am pretty sure we covered everything we were supposed to cover.   I think it is a very good project and has some interesting topics.  I think we will get a good grade on it.

wednesday

I was not in class today because I left school early because of a doctor's appointment.

Tuesday

I was not in class due to the fact that I left school early because I was feeling nauseous.

Monday

Today in class we took notes on Greece.  It was a pretty interesting class because I learned a lot abut Greece.  I learned that Sparta and Athens were enemies.  I also learned that there are three seas that border Greece, because Greece is a peninsula.  The three seas make up The Mediterranean Sea.  At the end of class,  Mr. Schick read The Odyssey  to us.  he only read the part with the cyclops, which was pretty interesting.

Cyber Day Work

Ancient Greece

The world's great civilizations all located on rivers. 

 Great Civilization/ Key River

Mesopotamia/ Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Egypt/ Nile River
India/ Indus River
China/ Huang He River

Greece's Geography 

Greece is a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water
Greece is mainly damp and mountainous in the west and dry and sunny in the east with less mountains
All of this would effect their culture because the water would provide most of their food and transportation out of Egypt.  Also, it would be harder to grow crops because of the mountains.  The people of Greece formed around the mountains and learned to live with their topographic location. 

A closer Look 

The Ionian Sea, the Aegean Sea,  and the Mediterranean Sea surround Egypt.
The Santorini Island is to the Southeast of Greece in the Aegaean Sea.
Athens is Northeast of Sparta and is located on the coats of the Aegean Sea.  Sparta is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.     

 

Test Day

Today in class we took a test.  I thought the test was reasonable; it wasn't too hard but also not to easy.  There were maybe three questions that i didn't know off the top of my head but the others i knew.  I like multiple choice tests, I think they are easy then short answers.  I think the questions covered what we learned about Egypt.  They covered everything important.   

Egypt notes

Ancient Egypt:

-Upper Egypt was 500 mile long strip of fertile along the Nile
-Lower Egypt was the wide land of the Nile delta, emptying into the Meditteranean Sea
-around 3100 B.C. the two lands were united under a single king or "pharaoh"
-Pharaoh was all powerful, worshipped as a god and intimately connected to the other major Egyptian gods and goddesses
-Egyptians relied on a harmony and balance of the universe, which they called "maat"
-Pharaoh's had multiple wives, and all routes to financial and social success through the palace
-Women could inherit money and land and divorce their husbands, though only a tiny few weilded real political power
-Earliest Egyptian writing formed c. B.C. and were small pictures known as hieroglyphs
-Hieroglyphs represented religious words or parts of words, and most commonly adorned temples
-Hieratic script was a short hand developed by scribes and priests
-Hieratic - sounds
-papyrus - mashed Nike reeds
-Hieroglyphs - pictures
-Egyptian astronomers - calender with 12 months and 365 days
-Egyptian doctors - created cures for common ailmebts
-Egyptian doctors - excellent knowledge of human anatomy
-Wooden sail boats were constructed to increase transport ability on the Nile
-Pyramid - massive tombs
-Stone sculptures and interior painting depicted humans and gods in a series of regulated poses, often in profile and without perspective, but were highly effective

Pyramid Project

Today in class we did the pyramid project.  It was a project with a partner, and we had to build a pyramid online.  There were many steps in the building process.  If you did not get one small thing right, you had to start over.  If the pharaoh was unhappy with the performance you had start over and if the king died you had to start over.  It was challenging but it was fun.   

Monday Class Work

John Greene:

Egypt:
-one of the oldest civilizations
-lasted from 3000B.C.E. to 302 B.C.E.
-The Nile River shaped the life of the ancient Egyptians
-Nile - one of the safest agricultural areas
-Each summer - Nile flooded filds
-Flood left behind rich soil
-Egyptians tossed seed onto the ground and let cows walk on it to stomp the seed into the groud
-Egyptian communities existed only along the Nile River
-Used Basin Irrigation on the Nile River
-Egyptians were buried with things that were useful and pleasurable in their life
-Old Kingdom - 2649 - 2152
-Middle Kingdom - 2040 - 1640
-New Kingdom - 1550 - 1070
Old kingdom: 
-Pharaoh was supposed to act like a God
-Most famous pyramids were built between 2575 - 2465
-Largest pyramid was built for the Pharaoh Khufu
-Because pharaoh became "gods" at their death, it made sense to build a ptramid for them
-two forms of writing: hieroglyphics - for scared writing, demotic script - for recording contracts and agreements
-Old Kingdom was a very rich time period
Middle Kingdom:
-New leaders were from outdide Egypt in Nubia
-Ahmenrah - greatest god ever
-Hixons were able to conquer all of Egypt
-Egyptians waited till the Hixons were most vulnerable and then destroyed them
New Kingdom:
-looked more like an empire
-traveled south and took over land
-Akhanatun - tried to invent new god
-Akhanatun - Kim Jong un of ancient Egypt
-Tutankhamuen - turned back on weird god
-King Tut married sister
-King Tut - most famous ancient person
-King Tut - died in 1332 B.C.E.

Pyramid Quest:

-1802 A.D. - youngest son of harun ir Rashiid set base camp at pyramid
-set out to find the treasure of the yramid
-Pyramid was guarded by Sphinx
-on the pyramid - a stone could be moved
-stone would lead to winding paths into the ptramid
-he decided to make his own path into the pyramid

Mummification:

-Heraclytes - died in egypt in the first cetury A.D.
-Mummification - developed by ancient Egyptians to preserve body for after life
-all internal organs were removed before mummification - except for the heart
-Heraclytes - heart was removed - lungs were not
-Body was covered in salt and left for forty days until all moisture was eliminated
-perfume oils and plant resins were rubbed on the body
-alot of resin was applied to glue the strips of linen that were qrappedd around the body
-mummy was placed on wooden board
-more linen was applied to wrap them together
-pouch placed on chest - contained religious items
-mummified itus - bird - placed on addomin
-portrait of mummy was placed on faced
-it was then covered with a linen cloth
-shroud was painted red
-egyptian symbols were painted on outer cloth
-name was written at the feet

I thought the videos were very interesting.  The second video - Pyramid Quest - was not very interesting to me, I did not think it gave important information.  John Greene's video was interesting but hard to take notes on.  Sometimes I could not understand was he was saying and I found that I was pausing the video very frequently.  The third video was my favorite.  I learned a lot about the process of mummification that I did not know.  I thought a person was just wrapped in cloth and out in a tomb.  I now know that there is a lot more to the process then just that. 

Wednesday's Discussion

Today in class we talked about Ancient Egypt again.  We watched the prezi that Mr. Schick made.  I did not have to take any notes because I reviewed the prezi while I was off and took notes on what we covered in class today.  We finished the prezi in class today.  We will most likely be having a test soon. 

Cyber Day Post

Daily Life:

• Slaves/ servants 

• helped the wealthy with household and child raising duties
• raised wheat, barely, lentils, onions - benefited from irrigation of the Nile

• Artisans 
• would carve statues and reliefs showing military battles and scenes in the afterlife

• Merchants
• money barter system was used 
• might accept bags of grain for payment
• later, coinage came about 

• Scribes
• kept records, told stories, wrote poetry, and described anatomy and medical treatments
• wrote in hieroglyphs and in hieratic 

• Soldiers 
• used wooden weapons (bow and arrows, spears) with bronze tips and might ride chariots 

• Priests, Physicians, and Engineers 
• upper class
• known as "white kilt class"

• Religious and Political Leaders - Pharaoh
• leader of the Egyptian People 
• holding titles: "Lord of the Two Lands" and "High Priest of Every Temple" 
• As "Lord of the Two Lands" the pharaoh was the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt; he owned all land, made laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt against foreigners
• Hatshepsut was a woman who served as Pharaoh
• Cleopatra VII also served as Pharaoh , but much later (51 - 30BC) 

• Gods and Goddesses 
• over 200 gods and goddesses
• they "controlled" the lives of humans 

Wednesday's Class Notes

Geography:
-Egyptian life is centered around the Nile River
-Nile River flows south to north
-Three Branches of the Nile River
-Nile River - biggest river in the world - 4,000 miles+ long
-Nile River - water ofr drinking, for irrigation, gor bathing, and for transportation
-first people to invent sail boat
-Nile River - flood every July
-Nile River - every October it leaves behind rich soil called silt
-managing the river required technological breakthroughs in irrigation
-the delta is a broad, marshy, triangular area of fertile silt
Pyramids:
-The Great Sphinx of Giza - built  2555-2532BC
-Sphinx - a recumbent lion with a human's head
-Oldest monument statue in the world - Great Sphinx of Giza
Daily Life:
-Power Pyramid - Slaves and Servants ---> Farmers ---> Artisans ---> Merchants ---> Scribes ---> Soldiers ---> Government Officials - Nobels, Priests ---> Pharaohs 

Monday's Class

Today in class we took the test on Guns, Germs, and Steel.  I liked this test much more thant the other one.  Multiple choice is easier because you have the right answer in front of you, you just have to rule out the wrong answers.  I thought it was in between hard and easy.  I did not know all of the answers, but I do feel pretty confident about my grade on the test. 

Wednesday's Class Notes

Guns, Germs, and Steel

• learning how to use frie was the first step in forming steel 
• use rocks to make plaster - huge technological break through 
• People in New Guinea still use stone tools 
• Fertile Crescent - climate to dry to farm 
• Fertile Crescent - nearly abandoned 
• Fertile Crescent - in the middle of the world - surrounded by land - have four seasons
• People of the Fertile Crescent moved east or west instead of north and south

Tuesdsay - Class Notes

Guns, Germs, and Steel

-In China, they grew rice
-In America, they grew corn, squash, and beansNew Guinea - oldest farming place in the world
-New Guinea crops - low in protein, cannot be stord
-New Guinea - sometimes eat spiders to get nutrition
-In Africa, they grew Sorghum, Millet, and Yam
-If you had the most productive crop, you were the most productive farmer
-Americans have advantage over New Guinea - better crops
-9,000 years ago - villages in the Middle East transforming
-9,000 years ago - charder to kill animals
-9,000 years ago - people started to raise their own animals - domesticating them
-Animals are used for meat, milk, clothes, and tools
-Goats and sheep - first to be domesticated
-Animals used to pull plows
-New Guinea had pigs
-New Guinea - almost all work done by humans
-Animal must weigh 100 pounds or more to be domesticated
-Must get along with humans to be domesticated
-14 animals that have been useful to people that have been domesticated
-14 animals:

• goats
• sheep
• pigs
• cows
• horses
• donkeys
• bactrian camels
• arabian camels
• water buffalo
• llamas
• reindeer
• Yak
• mithan
• bali cattle

-Took 10,000 years to domesticate animals
llamas
-13 other animals come from Asia, Europe, and North Africa
-Fer- home to the best crops and farm animalstile Crescent

Monday

I wasn't  in class today because I was sick. 

Test

Today in class we took the test.  I thought the test was reasonable; not to hard but not to easy.  I think the questions were easy, although I like multiple choice better.  I liked the short answers because we were able to put our thoughts into our own words.  I also liked the map part because it was easy to memorize where the places were.  Overall I thought this was a good test and it showed me what to expect throughout Western Civilization. 

Test Study Guide

When and where did human beings first emerge? 
Humans emerged in southwestern Africa 200,000 years ago. 

Why did the period known as "prehistory" end?

The prehistory age ended because cities were being developed, population was increasing, there was better food storage, diversity in professions, writing was developed, and kings or family dynasties had emerged.  

What made the rise of civilization possible?

 

Name some early technological innovations.

calendars, sailboats, temples, pyramids 

How did hunter/gatherers live?
Hunter-gatherers lived by hunting for their own food and gathering fruits and vegetables to eat.  If they did not do this, they would not survive

Who was King Hammurabi, and why was he important?

He was the king of Babylon and he created a series of codes/laws called Hammurabi's codes

Define these terms:

• prehistory - The origins and ages of human beings
• Paleolithic Age - earliest prehistoric age (Old Stone Age)
• Neolithic Age - was marked by advanced tool making and the beginnings of agriculture (New Stone Age)
• Agricultural Revolution -a shift from hunter/gathering to more permanent settlements on agriculture (beginning in southwest Asia
• cuneiform - earliest form of writing
• ziggurat - a Sumerian Temple built on top of a "mountain" of earth
• Indo-Europeans - people from the grasslands of the Russian steppe who introduced the horse to the New East

Find 'em on a map:

• Mesopotamia - Turkey, Israel, Joran, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Kuwait
• Fertile Crescent - Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iraq
• Sumer - southeast in the fertile crescent
• Mediterranean Sea - Left of Fertile Crescent
• Asia Minor - Turkey
• Tigris River - river to the north
• Euphrates River - river to the south

Wednesday's blog

Today in class we reviewed for the test with Mr. Schick.  We went over the power point as a class.  Mr. Schick told us some of the key points that would be on the test.  We also reviewed everything that we already learned.  We talked about how men were more valued than women in that time.  There was rules made that were more strict and cruel to women than men.  Also, we reviewed that the men were the hunters and gatherers and women took care of the children.  I think this class prepared me for the test because I got to learn more about what we are learning. 

Tuesday 1/27

Today in class Mr. Schick was not here.  We had a sub, and he told us to review for the test.  We were aloud to study and review our notes individually.  The sub told us that we will review in class with Mr. Schick the next time our class meets.  We would have the test the next time our class met after the review.  During class I reviewed my notes on "Prehistory to Civilization".  I think it was a good class, because I got to prepare for our first test.

First Class

The first class of Western Civ was pretty basic.  We talked about the class in general and the standards that students will have to meet during class.  Every student had to make their own Western Civ blog, and blog about what we learned in class every night.  We are no longer aloud to take notes on our blogs, because it is affecting grades. We now have to take notes in our notebooks and then transfer our notes to our blogs.  I am interested in seeing how different Western Civ is from Human Geo.