Exams are coming...

Semester Exams begin two weeks from tomorrow. Here is the schedule:

Wednesday, 6/5/19

• 8 AM – Religion
• 10 AM – Social Studies

Thursday, 6/6/19

• 8 AM – English
• 10 AM – Science

Friday, 6/7/19

• 8 AM – Math
• 10 AM – World Language

The Honors Section will take their West Civ test in Room 114, Section 201 in Room 124, and Section 202 in Room 223.

The Semester Exam Review has been posted. It can be found here, and under Useful Links on the righthand side of this page (the doc is cleverly titled "Semester Exam Review").

Please make good use of it.

test on Rome - new date

The test on Rome, originally scheduled for Tuesday, May 14, has been rescheduled.

Section 201 and the Honors section will now take the test on Wednesday, May 15.

Section 202 will take the test on Thursday, May 16.

Don't forget about "Chi Cago's Guide to Ancient Rome" - you can find it under Useful Links on my blog, and it serves as a good review for this test.

with projects completed, we move on

Now that the student group project presentations have been (almost) completed, it is time to move on. There are three sections in the textbook that we will cover over the next couple weeks, before testing on them on Friday, April 12. The sections are:

• Section 3: Democracy and Greece's Golden Age (page 134-139)
• Section 4: Alexander's Empire (p. 142-145)
• Section 5: The Spread of Hellenistic Culture (p. 146-149)

If you are not going to be in school on April 12, it is in your best interest to take the test beforehand. Let me know soon, so we can work out a time for you to the take the test. If you don't take the test before Easter break, you will take it the day we return to school after vacation (Tuesday April 23).

the project on life in Ancient Greece

In reply to your questions, here is some helpful information about your project:

Objectives:
Explore an aspect of life in ancient Greece that is of personal interest to you.
Present the information to an audience of your peers.
Teach your classmates something significant about ancient Greece.

Instructions:

Find information about life in ancient Greece that is of historical interest.  Use at least two legitimate sources (other than Wikipedia). Your project (worth 100 points) should relate in some tangible way to the people, events, geography, architecture, economy, or other aspects of Greek life.

Write a one-page paper (worth 50 points) describing how you researched your project, and how you carried out the actual process of making your project. Include the sources you used (Works Cited), listing them at the end of your paper. Use Times New Roman font, size 12, double-spaced, regular margins. Give your paper a title, and include the names of everyone who worked on your project.

Give a presentation (worth 50 points) to the class describing your project. This presentation should be at least 5 minutes long, but no more than 10 minutes long. Include research methods, sources, how you actually put your project together, and how this project related to life in ancient Greece. A key element of your presentation should be educating the class through your project. All members of the group are expected to participate in the presentation.

Be prepared to assess and critique your classmates’ projects in class.

Grading Criteria:

25% of your grade (up to 50 points) will cover your paper, including Works Cited, methodology, relevance, originality, appropriateness of sources, plus spelling and grammar.

25% of your grade (up to 50 points) will cover your class presentation.  Take a focused, interesting, relevant approach to your presentation.  It is important that you teach the class something about life in ancient Greece.

50% of your grade (up to 100 points) will cover the creative element and the educational aspect of your entire project and its presentation.  A run-of-the-mill project, or a lackluster presentation, will not result in a good grade.  An imaginative, creative project, presented with enthusiasm and knowledge of the material, will fare much better.  Make sure that a special effort is made to inform and educate your classmates, including the use of relevant background information about how your project relates to actual life in ancient Greece.

Here is the rubric for this project.

more on the Greek project

In the sidebar to the right, and here, I have linked the rubric I will be using for your project on Ancient Greece. You should look it over and get familiar with it.

Why?

• It is what I will be using to grade your project, so it is a good idea to know what is expected of you.
• It is what YOU will be using to assess your classmates, so you need to be knowledgable about this particular method of grading. 

You will begin presenting your projects in class on Wednesday, March 27. If your group wants to present on that day, let me know, and I will put you at the front of the line. If no one volunteers to lead off, I will choose groups at random. Therefore, everyone should plan to be ready to present on March 27.

You will have two class periods to work on this project; all other work will be done as homework, on your own time, as you wish to schedule it. 

If you are not ready to present on the day you are scheduled, you will receive a penalty of one letter grade. This is NOT how you want to begin the fourth quarter. Much better to get INTO this project, put in the hard work it deserves, and give a terrific presentation on the due date.

Have fun, do good work, and let me know if you have questions.

today's classwork for Sections 201 and 202

Since I will not be in class with you today, here is your classwork.

Click on The Odyssey (Crash Course/John Green video). (The link is also in the sidebar on my blog.)

Based on your viewing of John Green's video, answer the following questions in your blog.

1.     How long did it take Odysseus to return home from the Trojan War?

2.     According to Google Maps, how long should this trip have taken?

3.     According to archeological evidence, when did the Trojan War occur?

4.     When did Homer compose The Odyssey?

5.     What is the definition of “epic poem”?

6.     Who is Odysseus’ wife?

7.     Who is Odysseus’ son?

8.     What happens in the cave of the Cyclops?

9.     Is Odysseus a hero? Why or why not?

10.  What is considered one of the most beautiful lines in all of Homer?

You should be able to finish this in class; if you don't, finish it for homework.

Of course, this counts as your blog for today.

greetings Honors students

Honors students: report to Room 314 for class today.

In class today, you Honors students will watch a video called The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization (linked here and in the sidebar to the right).

Your sub will give you a worksheet to to fill out as you watch the video. What you do not complete in class is homework for tonight. Also, you still need to do your blog tonight.

Thank you very much, and I will see you Friday.

up next

Slight change in plans for Section 201. Your quiz on Egypt will now be given Thursday, March 7.

After Egypt comes Greece. For your convenience I have posted the SlideShow we will be using in class. (Ancient Greece is the Word can be found here, and in the sidebar to the right.

Snow Day adjustments

Well, how about that. Another snow day! Who saw THAT coming?

Since the Honors section finished covering all the material on Egypt on Thursday, they will still take the 75 point quiz on Monday, March 4.

Sections 201 and 202 will finish covering Egypt on Monday.

Section 201 will take their test on Tuesday, and Section 202 will take their test on Wednesday.

The best strategy for success on this quiz is to study the worksheet you filled out in class, and to review the Egypt section of the From Prehistory to Civilization SlideShow.

If you're interested, I have posted a video on the mummification process. Fascinating!

Enjoy your three-day weekend!

on to Egypt!

We are taking a brief trip to ancient Egypt, where we will spend two class periods covering material from the textbook (p. 35-43), a couple of worksheets, plus the "Prehistory to Civilization" SlideShow (found in the sidebar to the right). The 75-point test on Egypt (same format as the test on Mesopotamia) will be given on Monday, March 4. Hopefully you will be inspired by the spirit of Maat (seen to the right), the ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice.

And acing tests.

Mesopotamia quiz on Tuesday

I mentioned it in class. It appeared on the classroom calendar. It has been posted on Veracross. And now it is being announced on my class blog. It's this Tuesday's quiz on Mesopotamia!

school day... snow day... school day... snow day...

This is one of the weirdest months I've ever seen at JC. It's hard to create any momentum when the patterns and rhythms keep getting interrupted by snow days, holidays, and weekends. For example, school has been cancelled - again - for tomorrow (Wed Feb 20).

Not that I'm complaining...

In an effort to stay a little bit on track, I am posting the GoogleSlides we have covered in class. At this point, you are responsible for the first nine slides. After we complete our exercise with Hammurabi's Code, and take a quiz on Mesopotamia (the date of which is yet to be determined), we will pick up again with Ancient Egypt (slide #10). The link is here and in the sidebar to the right.

See you soon... maybe...

working with the textbook

FYI, we are beginning to use our textbook (Ancient World History - Patterns of Interaction) in class. You will not be required to bring the book home; rather, we will be reading and taking notes from the text in class.

First up: portions of Chapter Two - Early River Civilizations, 3500 B C -450 BC (p. 26-43 will be covered). We begin with Mesopotamia, then move on to ancient Egypt.

what a weird week!

Late bells, and snow days and early dismissings

Stick to the lesson plan? Who am I kidding?

Subzero wind chills that make my cheeks sting

These are a few of my favorite things!

So, what do all the delays and cancellations mean to you, students of Western Civilization? Glad you asked. Here's the schedule for the next few days:

Monday Feb 4

• Section 1 takes their test on Guns, Germs, and Steel
• Section 2 does not have class
• Honors finishes the video

Tuesday Feb 5

• Section 1 does not have class
• Section 2 takes their test on Guns, Germs, and Steel
• Honors takes their test on Guns, Germs, and Steel

Wednesday Feb 6

• Sections 1 and 2 begin the next chapter 
• Early River Civilizations, 3500 BC - 450BC
• Chapter 2 in the text (p. 26-57)
• Honors does not have class

Thursday Feb 7

• Honors begins the next chapter
• Sections 1 and 2 continue Chapter 2

Got it? Good! Let me know if you have questions. See you in class!

 

no school AGAIN

Who doesn't love days off? 

Since WestCiv class isn't meeting, that means you don't HAVE to blog. 

But if you wanted to, you could post a pic of your own personal winter wonderland, like I have here. 

And if you wanted to keep up, you could watch or re-watch some Guns, Germs, and Steel if you are hunkered down inside the house anyway.

See you soon!

Guns, Germs, and Steel

I hope you're enjoying the video Guns, Germs, and Steel, featuring author/professor/bird watcher Jared Diamond. His theories provide a helpful introduction to our studies of Western Civilization.


I have posted the link to GG&S in the right sidebar of my blog, so you can watch it or review it at your convenience. Stay tuned for lots of other helpful links to be posted there as the semester continues.


Reminder: keep up with your blogs, and remember to post every day your section meets. Also, make sure you have a Composition Book for notetaking in class. It's not just a good idea to take notes in longhand, it's a requirement of the class.

for the Honors Section only

Your in-class assignment is to watch and take notes on the video Guns, Germs, and Steel.

And... we're off!

Welcome to all our new students! You and I are going to spend a lot of time blogging in this class. Here is a good way for you to become familiar with my blog, plus instructions on how to create your blog.

• First of all, add my blog to your Favorites/Bookmarks.
• Set up your class blog through blogger.com.
• After you have created your blog, email the URL to me at rschick@johncarroll.org.

Reminder: the notes you take in class should be entered into YOUR blog. You can edit them, transcribe them, transform them, just so they make sense to YOU. You blog every time the class meets, and the blog should be posted by midnight that night (deadline for Friday blogs is 11:59pm Saturday night). Blogs should be a minimum of 150 words long - quite often they will be longer, either because the assignment requires it, or because you have a lot to say.

That's it for now. Send questions or comments to rschick@johncarroll.org.