Today's Class

In today's class, we wrote our essays for our semester exam, since Mr. Schick will be in Chicago with the Academic Team and will not be able to grade them.  It was hard to do because we only had thirty minutes to write the essays.  Originally we had to write three essays, but because we so limited on time, Mr. Schick only made us write two.  It was still very hard to write the two essays in that amount of time.  A nice thing was, Mr. Schick posted the essay topics in advance, so we had time to study and review them.  The only thing is, I am glad to be done the essay portion of the exam, so now we only have to do the scantron.  I hope Mr. Schick and the Academic Team are able to do well and win while they are gone.

Today's Class

In today's class, we took our big unit test on Rome.  It was not a terribly hard test if you studied.  All of the test was on the Big Powerpoint of Rome.  The test was pretty straightforward and and was on everything Mr. Schick said was going to be on it.  After the test, Mr. Schick went to go grade them because it was on a scantron.  I really hope that I did good on this test.

Today's Class

In today's class, we did not do to much.  We started to go over the Rome power point as a class because it is now going to be Tuesday.  Mr. Schick told us that there will be more notes up tonight. Also, we are going to write our essay portion in class next Wednesday because his Academic team is going to Chicago and he will not be able to grade our essays in time.  So, for our exam we will just have the multiple choice questions.  Mainly today, we focused on the Rome power point and our upcoming test.

Today's Class

In today's class, we finished up Rome presentations.  Three groups went today and did good jobs.  First was Delaney and Alayna, and they did theirs on Roman mosaics.  There's was good and helped us understand Roman mosaics.  They made a very nice mosaic, but the only thing was their power point was very hard to read.  Second was Ariana, she did a good job on her project, which was the pantheon.  She had to do hers on her own because her sister Dimitra was not at school today.  She did a good poster with facts on it about the pantheon and made a good building of the pantheon.  Last, Josh, Adam Berg, and Adam Dobson went and did a good job on Hadrian's wall.  They did a good powerpoint on it, but just read off of it and made a good replica of Hadrian's wall.

Today's Class

In today's class, we continued Rome presentations.  Two groups went today and did good jobs.  First was Kyle, Kelsey, and Jake who did their project on Rome baths.  They did a power point and built a what a Roman bath was.  They did a very good job and gave everyone a good presentation on Roman baths.  The last presentation today was my group.  My group was Ryan, Luke, and I.  We did our project on Roman crucifixion.  I did our paper and research, and Ryan and Luke made a cross and put facts on it.  I thought that we did a good job on our presentation and gave everyone a better understanding on crucifixion.

Today's Class

In today's class, we started Rome presentations.  Three groups went today and did very good jobs.  First was Kacey and Meredith, and they did theirs on food and pottery.  There's was very good and helped us get a better understanding of their lives.  Second was Avery, she did a very good job on Mummy Portraits.  She showed us how rich people would get their faces on their mummy.  Last, Stevie and Hunter went and did a very good job on their aqueduct.  They really helped us get a better of what aqueducts did for the Romans and how they worked.

Today's Class

In today's class, we went over when all groups were presenting.  My group is presenting 3rd on May 19th.  We also saw what other groups were going to be doing.  In class, Mr. Schick gave everyone a chance to work more on our projects.  This really helped because we were able to get more done or finish our project.

Today's Class

In today's class, we took a pop quiz on Rome.  The pop quiz was on the Power Point.  After the quiz, Mr. Schick graded them and showed us our grades.  After that, we worked on our project.  This was a very good class because we were able to get farther in our project on Rome.

Today's Class

Today, we had a very interesting class.  We started to go over more and review our Power Point.  But the interesting thing was, we had students teaching it.  We had students teach the Power Point who thought they could or it was easy.  It definitely was not easy for students to do other than just read the screen.  Our teacher acted as a student and did what students do during the presentation.  So, we had a very fun, yet interesting class today.

Today's Class

In today's class, we continued watching the video on Tiberius from last Wednesday.  This video helped me learn much more about Tiberius and all he tried to do for his people.  Tiberius tried to give Roman people a fair living chance and give back their land.  The only problem he had was Octavius, his childhood friend, vetoed his law for people's vote.  The Senate and Octavius started to the spread rumors about Tiberius wanting to become king, so then he was overpowered and killed.  Tiberius was just thrown into the Tiber River without a proper funeral.

Today's Class

In today's class, we had the chance to work on our projects.  We were allowed to get together in our groups and start on our project.  The only exception to leave the class was if you were going to work on pottery.  So, this class gave us a chance to work on our projects.

Today's Class

In today's class, we kept taking some notes on Rome.  We did not have as many notes to take as the past few classes.

Economic Change, Social Upheaval

• Slaves poured into Italy (50,000 Carthaginians, 150,000 Greek POWs, etc.)
• By the end of the second century BCE there were over a million slaves in Italy
• The big farms became massive estates called latifundia 

Today's Class

Gov't: Ancient Roman/US

• Originally, the US modeled their new government on the model used by the ancient Romans
• Not the exact same
• Both have 3 branches
• Executive
• Legislative
• Judicial
• Both have a legal code

3 Branches (1) - Rome/US

Rome

• Executive
• Two consuls
• One year terms
• Each has veto power
• Controls the military
• Could appoint a dictator in a crisis for a six-month term

US

• Executive
• President (and VP)
• Four year terms
• Can veto proposed laws
• Commander-in-chief

3 Branches (2) - Rome/US

Rome

• Legislative
• Senate - 300 members - aristocrats - members for life
• Assembly - members for life

US

• Legislative
• Senate - 100 senators (two from each state) - six-year terms
• House of Representatives - 435 members - two-year terms

3 Branches (3) - Rome/US

Rome

• Judicial
• Praetors
• Chosen by the Centuriate Assembly
• One-year terms

US

• Judicial
• Supreme Court
• Nine members
• Appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate
• Lifetime terms

Legal Code- Rome/US

Rome

• Twelve Tables
• Publicly displayed
• Gave rights to plebeians, not just aristocrats
• Only protected free-born made citizens (not women)

US

• Bill of Rights
• First Ten Amendments to the Constitution  

Today's Class

Rule of kings is replaced by rule of two consuls ("gotta be better than one").

• Consuls are elected officials
• Term of office: one year
• Almost always aristocrats (patricians)
• Patricians traced descent from a famous ancestor or pater ("father")
• Duties: dealing justice, making law, commanding the army
• One consul could veto the other (reducing the power of the individual)

• Fifth century BCE - patrician dominance of the government was challenged by the plebs ("people")
• Plebs were 98% of the population
• How did the patricians dominate?
• Plebs had to serve in the army, but could not hold office
• Plebs were threatened with debt slavery
• Plebs had no legal rights

• Plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial trials
• Rome had no actual laws, just unwritten customs
• Patricians could interpret these to their own advantage

So, plebs refused to serve in the military until...

• Laws were written out (The Law of the Twelve Tables)
• These laws (on tablets) were posted in public (in 450 BCE)
• Tribunes ("tribal leaders") were elected

SPQR- Senatus Populusque Romanum

• Designates any decree or decision made by "the Roman Senate and people"

Res Publica - The People's Affairs

Brand new Republic, ready to run

• Democracy- the people's assembly and the tribunes
• Aristocracy- the Senate, approximately 300 members
• Plus monarchy- the consuls
• Not a tyranny.

Roman Legion

• 5000 soldiers
• The Roman army's elite heavy infantry
• Recruited exclusively from Roman citizens
• Group of eighty is a century
• On horseback is the calvary
• Shield, sword, dagger, and armor and tunic

Punic Wars

• The Punic Wars (264-164 BCE)
• Rome vs. Carthage
• Three Wars

Two Empires Fighting for Control

• First Punic War (264-241 BCE)
• Naval battles for control of the strategically located island of Sicily
• Rome wins this one

The (Carthaginian) Empire Strikes Back

• Second Punic War (218-201 BCE)
• 29-year-old Carthaginian general Hannibal almost does the impossible taking Rome

The Final Punic War

• The Third and Final Punic War (149-146 BCE)
• Rome wanted to finally remove the threat of Carthage
• Scipio, Tiberius Graachus, and others mercilessly attacked the city
• Carthage was burned for 17 days; the city's walls and buildings were destroyed
• When the war ended, the last 50,000 people in the city were sold into slavery
• The rest of Carthage's territories were annexed, and made into the Roman province of Africa

Marcus Portius Cato the Elder was a politician who ended every speech by saying, "Pelud Carthage est," which means "Carthage must be destroyed."  He sure got his wish.

Today's Class

Who Settled Rome?
Etruscans

• Came from the north-central part of the peninsula
• Metal workers, artists, architects
• Two foundation myths: Virgil's Aeneid (where Aeneas escapes from Troy), plus the story of Remus and Romulus

Greeks

• Had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea
• Romans borrowed ideas from them, such as:
• Religious beliefs
• Alphabet
• Much of their art
• Military techniques and weaponry

First - Latins

• Descendents of Indo-Europeans
• Settled on the banks of the Tiber
• Situated so trading ships - but not war fleets - could navigate as far as Rome, but no further
• A commercial port, but not susceptible to attack
• And... built on seven hills (esp. Palatine)

... They Drained a Swamp ...

• Many streams flowed in the Tiber River
• Was a marshy area called the Forum, between palatine and Capitoline Hills
• Tarquin the Proud's grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima (largest ancient drain), which channeled water into the Tiber

Now Tarquin's Kinda Proud, but He Got a Little Loud

• Lucius Tarquinias Superbus
• The seventh and FINAL king of Rome
• Known as Tarquin the Proud (sometimes referred to as Tarquin the Arrogant)
• A true tyrant, in the old and modern sense of the world 

Today's Class

In today's class, we focused on discussing our projects.  Mr. Schick asked each of us who was in our group and what we were going to do.  My group is Luke Ensor, Ryan Muhlenfeld, and I.  My group is going to be making a reenactment (video) of Jesus' crucifixion.  We all started to go over what parts we would have in this project.  So, we were able to come up with how we will do everything in class today.

Today's Class

In today's class, we focused on one main topic.  We talked about Baltimore and all of the terrible things going on there.  We all were able to share what we thought about it and have input of our own. We all talked about how bad this is for the city.  Everyone had very different opinions of what's going on.  So, today's class gave everyone a chance to speak and share their opinion on Baltimore.

Today's Class

In today's class, we spent time finding facts about Rome.  We looked up the colosseum, Circus Maximus, Roman Forum, and aqueducts.  So, basically we just looked up interesting facts about each of these things.  This helped me learn a lot about these ancient Roman buildings.  I learned so much more than I knew before we did this!

Today's Class

In today's class, we started on our Rome project.  Mr. Schick gave us a present and let us get in our groups and work on our upcoming projects.  Mr. Schick said he was going to post ideas on his blog for us to look at.  You are supposed to pick something that Rome may have done or invented.  You can either make a power point, a video, or a poster.  So, in this class we all decided what we were going to do for our project and then we started them.

Today's Class

Today's class was extremely interesting.  First, we kept working on the Rome power point.  After we were done taking notes and talking about Rome, it got interesting.  The office called the class and said someone was here for Mr. Schick.  He left the class and went to get him.  Soon after, someone walked into the class.  It was Chicago a rapper (Mr. Schick).  He started rapping in front of us about Rome.  It was a very interesting rap about Rome to the song Low by Flo Rida.  So, that is why today's class was so interesting.

Today's Class

In today's class, we talked more about Rome from the Power Point Slides.  We talked about the Roman Expansion.  We learned much about Rome's expansion.  We learned that Rome was a military culture.  Rome made a number of improvements to the older Greek tactics which made their armies nimble and effective.  When Rome conquered a neighboring territory, they often extended Roman rights and privileges to the conquered people.  This would absorb them into Rome itself.  Non-Romans in Italy, were anxious to become Roman citizens.

Today's Class

In today's class, we got back our 1000 word essay.  When we got the essays back, we talked about them.  We talked about what some of the things we did was wrong.  Some of the things we did wrong was grammar, spelling, and many more things.  Once we were done going over this, we started taking notes.  We started in class today talking about Rome.  We did not talk much about Rome today because of the amount of time, but I learned a lot about it.

Today's Class

In today's class, we discussed our upcoming project.  We are going to be talking about Rome and we are going to do a project on it.  For this project, we can make a power point, write a paper, or do a project (film something or build something).  On the project, you are supposed to make something that the Romans invented or make a war scene.  I am not to sure yet on what I am going to do, but I will probably do a group project.

Today's Class

In today's class, we finished the video on the allegory of Plato.  After the video, we talked about the video.  After discussing the video, we talked about one more main topic.  We talked about how we felt about marriage of the same gender.  Some people had different opinions about this topic.  People said that it should be allowed because America is a fee country and you should be allowed to do what they want.  Some people talked how they were fine with it except people kissing and everything in public.  After that, we talked about marriage of the different races.  We said how it is getting more common for people of different races to marry each other.  So that is what we did this class.

Today's Class

In today's class, we did two things.  We started to talk about Rob Lowe because a classmate mentioned him.  Then Mr. Schick told us that he has met him and worked on a movie with him before.  We all could not believe it at all!  Then Mr. Schick went to a website and searched his name, which showed all of the movies he has been apart of.  A lot of them were very cool to see he has been apart of because I have seen them or I really like them.  For example, two movies he helped in that I really liked were Home Alone and The Replacements.  This was very cool to see my Western Civilization teacher to be apart of such big things.  After all of the movie discussion, we watched part of an allegory.  The allegory was in a cartoon visual.  So, that is what we did this class.

Today's Class

In today's class, we did not do to much.  We mainly focused on one thing which was going over our test.  We had already gotten our quizzes back before break, but we got the question sheets today.  We wrote down the correct answer on the side of the paper.  This will be a big study tool for our final exam.

Today's Class

In today's class, we did not do any classwork.  We took our big test on Greece today.  Also, we handed in our big 1000 word essay.  Since we go on break tomorrow, we did not do much after the test.  We could write our blog once finished or sit and be quiet.  Our test was on everything he told us it was going to be on.  Other than the test, we did not do much.

Today's Class

In today's class, Mr. Schick was not here in class since he is away on a trip.  We had a sub today so we did not do much.  We were to go to Mr. Schick's blog and look at our assignment.  We were to start our essay that is due tomorrow.  We could have the option of doing our essay, watch the video on the Crucible of Crucification, or study for our test on Greece tomorrow.  So, my group (Luke Ensor, Ryan Muhlenfeld, and I) continued to work on our 1000 word essay.  We are doing it on google docs, so we all can work on it at once.

Today's Class

In today's class, Mr. Schick was not here in class since he is away on a trip.  We had a sub today so we did not do much.  We were to go to Mr. Schick's blog and look at our assignment.  We were to start our essay that is due next week.  We could have the option of doing our essay, watch the video on the Crucible of Crucification, or study for our test on Greece on Wednesday.  So, my group (Luke Ensor, Ryan Muhlenfeld, and I) started to work on our 1000 word essay.  We are doing it on google docs, so we all can work on it at once and work on it this weekend.

Today's Class

In today's class, Mr. Schick was not here in class since he is away on a trip.  We had a sub today so we did not do much.  We were to go to Mr. Schick's blog and look at our assignment.  We were to start our essay that is due next week.  We could have the option of doing our essay, watch the video on the Crucible of Crucification, or study for our test on Greece on Wednesday.  So, my group (Luke Ensor, Ryan Muhlenfeld, and I) started to work on our 1000 word essay.  We are doing it on google docs, so we all can work on it at once and work on it this weekend.

Today's Class

In today's class, we focused on the Greece Power Point again.  We also talked about how we will have a quiz next week on this Power Point and the google slides that people did (Greece).  We said how we will have to write our 100 point paper that is due next Wednesday, which is the day of the test while Mr. Schick is gone.  But for the most part, we focused on the Power Point.  We took notes on the Spartans and how they were really into war.  They are vey tough and ruthless, and are really known for their ground attacking (infantry).  The boys in Sparta started training seriously to become soldiers at the age of seven.  Also, we talked about Athens and their war tactics.  Athens had a very great infantry, but were mainly known for their amazing Navy and attacking from the water.  For their sea attacks, they used a very effective weapon (ship) called a trireme.  The Phalanx is a close-rank, dense grouping of warriors.  They are armed with spears and interlocking shields.  Philosopherlapalooza - Socrates looked to science and logic (not the mythological gods).  The Socratic Method fostered critical thinking.  He was charged with two serious crimes: impiety (disrespecting the gods) and corrupting the youth of Athens.  After that, we talked about Aristotle and Plato.

Today's Class

In today's class, we mostly just went over the Power Point on Greece.  We were almost able to finish the Power Point, but class ended.  We started with the slide, "Next in line..."  With Hippias gone, Isagoras and Cleisthenes (both were aristocrats.)  Isagoras had support from some fellow aristocrats, plus from Sparta.  Cleisthenes had support of the majority of Athenians.  Then we talk about how Isagoras wins, but not for long.  Isagoras became a tyrant.  He ostracizes Cleisthenes and Cleistheneses' supporters - and the ordinary Athenian citizens revolt against Isagoras.  They trap Isagoras on the Acropolis for two days - on the third day he fled and was banished.  This was in 508 BCE.  WE also learned about some gods and goddesses and what they were.  For example, Poseidon is the god of sea, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, Dionysus is the god of wine and was the son of Zeus who is a god and the son of Semele who is a human princess.  Then we talked a little bit more about Greece.  We talked about the Peloponnesian War and more about gods and goddesses.

Today's Class

In class, we finished our Power Point Presentations.  There was only a few groups that were not able to finish last Friday in the short amount of time that we had.  So, for those who did not go, they went today.  During class, we took notes on all of the Presentations that went.  When you presented, you explained your slides and did not just read them.  Also, we talked about our essay hat is due in April.  We have to write an essay based on our Power Point, but you only have to turn in one for the group.

Today's Class

In today's class, we did not do much.  In class, we started our Power Point Presentations.  There was only a few groups that went in the short amount of time that we had.  During class, we took notes on all of the Presentations that went.  When you presented, you were supposed to explain your slides and not just read them.  For those who did not go, Mr. Schick said he will go over them this weekend and then we will present our Monday.  So, for this class, we just did our presentations.

Today's Class

In today's class, we did a few things.  During this class, we talked to Mr. Schick about his Academic Team and their amazing second place finish in their tournament.  This was a very good accomplishment because they were competing against 10 other schools!  Unfortunately, they lost against Calvert Hall in the finals 29-27.  During class, Mr. Schick quizzed our class with some of the Academic questions!  We were not amazing at this, but we did get a few right.  After that, we just started taking some handwritten notes in our notebook.  We went to the last slide on (Ancient) Greece is the Word.  So, this was another very fun and educated class today.

St. Patrick's Day

Today was a very fun class day.  In class, we celebrated mine and Kelsey's birthday.  Also, we just celebrated St. Patrick's Day.  During class, we made PBJ's and took notes on the Power Point.  I brought in the bread, Kelsey brought in Jelly, cookies, and mini donuts, and Ryan brought in Peanut Butter.  We took notes on the rest of the (Ancient) Greece is the Word too.  Unfortunately, Mr. Schick was not here to celebrate with us.  So, today was a very fun class and celebration.

Today's Class

Today we did the same thing as the last class.  We worked on our Power Points for our topics.  Also, we talked about how it is mine and Kelsey's birthday tomorrow.  So we are going to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in class.  Other than that we just worked on our slides. We all worked on our Power Point Presentation Project in our groups.  My group is me, Luke Ensor, and Ryan Muhlenfeld.  Our project is on Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato - the Great Philosophers.  My philosopher that I am doing the project on is Socrates.  Luke Ensor is doing Aristotle as his philosopher.  Last, Ryan Muhlenfeld is doing Plato as his famous philosopher.  In this class, we mainly just got started on our project.  The project is due next Friday.  Once done the Power Point, then we will have to do a presentation.  So, that is mainly what we did this class period.

Today's Class

In today's class, we mainly just focused on one thing.  We all worked on our Power Point Presentation Project in our groups.  My group is me, Luke Ensor, and Ryan Muhlenfeld.  Our project is on Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato - the Great Philosophers.  My philosopher that I am doing the project on is Socrates.  Luke Ensor is doing Aristotle as his philosopher.  Last, Ryan Muhlenfeld is doing Plato as his famous philosopher.  In this class, we mainly just got started on our project.  The project is due next Friday.  Once done the Power Point, then we will have to do a presentation.  So, that is mainly what we did this class period.

Today's Class

In today's class, we had a pop quiz.  We had a pop quiz on Ancient Greece.  It was all on the Power Point that we were learning about.  It was about 10 points and it was pretty easy.  About everyone got a 100 or only a few wrong.  It was on the rivers, seas, and islands etc. (Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Nile River, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Huang He River, and Indus River, and Crete.)  These rivers were from Mesopotamia, China, Egypt, and India.  After the quiz, we listen to Mr. Schick talk about his stories with his Gumby.  He tells us how he was a bit of a troublemaker and got two Gumbys taken away.

Today's Class

In today's class, we did a lot of things.  First, we listened to Mr. Schick talk about his students surveys about him from last semester.  A lot of the comments were very nice.  Also, some we kind of mean.  Most people used good marking, but some did not.  After that, we watched videos of babies.  We watched babies cry and laugh.  In one video, a woman would sing, which would make the baby cry, but then when she stopped the baby would laugh and smile.  Also, another video was a dad would cry then the baby would and after the dad stopped, then the baby would stop.  Last, we picked topics and groups for our upcoming project.  My group is me, Luke Ensor, and Ryan Muhlenfeld.  We are doing our project on Socrates, Plato and Aristotle - the Great Philosophers.

Today's Class

In today's class, we took some more notes on (Ancient) Greece is the Word.  We learned a lot about Greece's geography.  Greece is a mountainous peninsula.  Greece's mountains cover 3/4 of Greece. There are approximately 1400 islands in the Adriatic, Ionian, and Aegean Seas.  This combination shaped Greece's culture.  They had many skilled sailors and shipbuilders.  They had poor, limited natural resources, so they needed to trade.  It was difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain they developed small, independent communities (city-states).  Although fertile valleys cover one quarter of the peninsula, only about 20% is suitable for farming.  Greek diets consists of grains, grapes, and olives.  The lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization.  Back then, temperatures usually ranged from mid 40s in the winter to low 80s in the summer - although it could get hot in the summer, it was pretty nice year-round.  Then, we talked about some early peoples - first, Mycenaeans.  Their influence began around 2000 BCE.  Mycenae is located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20-foot thick wall.  Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600-1200 BCE (they controlled trade in the region).  In 1400 BCE, Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language.  Then, we learned about the Dorians (the sea people).  Then, around 1200 BCE the mysterious "sea people" began to invade Mycenae, and burnt palace after palace so, the Dorians moved into this war-torn region.  Dorians were far less advanced.  The trade based economy collapsed.  Writing disappeared for 400 years.  After, we talked about Homer the Storyteller.  Greek oral tradition - stories passed on by word of mouth.  Homer lived at the end of the "Greek Dark Ages."  He composed stories of the Trojan War c. 750-700 BCE.  The Iliad - probably one of the last conquests of the Mycenaeans (The Trojan War.)  The Odyssey - Odysseus attempt to return home, being thwarted by the angry god of the sea, Poseidon.  The Odyssey was 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter.  After that, we talked about if Homer even existed.  The last thing we did, was read some of the Odyssey.  The Odyssey is about Odysseus and his journey to get back home, and he has to go through a lot of obstacles to do so.          

Cyber Day Assignment

Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the Macedonian city of Stagira, Chalkidice.  Aristotle Aristotle not only studied almost every subject possible at the time, but made significant contributions to most of them.  In physical science, Aristotle studied anatomy, astronomy, embryology, geography, geology, meteorology, physics and zoology.  In philosophy, he wrote on aesthetics, ethics, government, metaphysics, politics, economics, psychology, rhetoric and theology.  He also studies education, foreign customs, literature and poetry.  He was born in 384 BC and died at age 62 (322 BC).  At age 18, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his education at Plato's Academy.  Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon.  In 335 BC, Aristotle returned to Athens, establishing his own school there known as the Lyceum.  Aristotle's logical works contain the earliest formal study of logic that we have.  Aristotle was known for being "The First Teacher."  He is very known for the Lyceum.  Also, he was known for the "Organon", "Physics", and "Metaphysics."  Then, his practical works he's known for are the "Nicomachean Ethics", "Politics", "Rhetoric", and "Poetics."  Aristotle is still important today because his use of ethics and poetics.    

Today's Class

In today's class, we talked about all sorts of things.  We talked about having school Thursday and Friday and we talked about future inventions.  We didn't do any classwork today because we had a two hour delay which made the classes very short.  We discussed that we will most likely not have school tomorrow (Thursday) or Friday.  We then started talking about future inventions.  We talked about how if you saw a lost dog, you could scan it and see the owner's phone number, zip code, and email address.  Another invention was to have a chip in your neck.  So, if you were kidnapped people could track you and find where you were.  Another invention was the transfer of music.  If there was a song that your friend thought was awesome, then they could transfer the song by looking to you right in your eyes.  One invention we talked about was about groceries.  Say if you threw away a bread wrapper, then the trashcan could scan it and send a message to the grocery store saying that this person needs more bread when they come back.  So, today in class we had discussions.

Today's Class

In today's class, we went over the (Ancient) Greece is the Word Power Point.  We pretty much did what our Cyber Day Assignment was. The world's greatest civilizations are all located on rivers. These are some great civilizations that are located on rivers.  First, we have Mesopotamia, which is located on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Second, we have the great Egypt, which is located on the Nile River.  Third, we have the civilization of India, which is located on the Indus River.  Last, we have China, which is located on the Huang He River.  Greece is located in between the Ionian and Aegean Sea.  Greece then leads out into the Mediterranean Sea.  Greece's topography is very mountainous and not flat.  Greece is surrounded by Bulgaria to the North.  To the West Greece is surrounded by the Ionian Sea.  Then, Greece is surrounded by the Aegean Sea and Turkey to the East.  Last, Greece is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the South.  This would all affect their culture because it was very hard for people and for agriculture due to the mountains.  It was hard with agriculture because the land is to uneven to grow anything.  In Greece, there are some major bodies of water surrounding it.  The bodies of water surrounding Greece are: the Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, and the Adriatic Sea.

Cyber Day

(Ancient) Greece is the Word

The world's greatest civilizations are all located on rivers.  These are some great civilizations that are located on rivers.  First, we have Mesopotamia, which is located on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Second, we have the great Egypt, which is located on the Nile River.  Third, we have the civilization of India, which is located on the Indus River.  Last, we have China, which is located on the Huang He River.  Greece is located in between the Ionian and Aegean Sea.  Greece then leads out into the Mediterranean Sea.  Greece's topography is very mountainous and not flat.  Greece is surrounded by Bulgaria to the North.  To the West Greece is surrounded by the Ionian Sea.  Then, Greece is surrounded by the Aegean Sea and Turkey to the East.  Last, Greece is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the South.  This would all affect their culture because it was very hard for people and for agriculture due to the mountains.  It was hard with agriculture because the land is to uneven to grow anything.  In Greece, there are some major bodies of water surrounding it.  The bodies of water surrounding Greece are: the Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, and the Adriatic Sea.  The large island located to the south/southeast of Greece is Crete.  Athens and Sparta are located to the Southwest of the Aegean Sea.  Then, Sparta is located below (Southwest) to Athens.  

Today's Class

In today's class, we took our quiz on Ancient Egypt.  Before the quiz, we had around 15 minutes to review/study for it.  We had time to study our notes, Mr. Schick's  Prezi on Ancient Egypt, and Mr. Schick's Power Point Presentation on From Prehistory to Mesopotamia.  The quiz wasn't too hard and was all multiple choice.  The quiz was all that I had expected and was all on what he told us to know. Once you finished the quiz, you were allowed to start and finish your blog.  After the quiz, Mr. Schick went to grade our quizzes.  So, that is what we did during this class.

Today's Class

Today in class, we continued our studies on Ancient Egypt.  We looked over and took more notes on the Power Point of Egypt.  We learned a lot about the Egyptians and their way of life.  Upper Egypt is a 500 mile long strip of fertile land along the Nile River.  Lower Egypt was the wide land of the Nile Delta, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea.  Lower Egypt is actually above Upper Egypt and that is due to the elevation.  The Nile was the major provider of life for the Egyptians and was much revered in love and writing.  Around 3100 B.C. the two lands were united under a single king or "pharaoh." The pharaoh was all powerful.  Pharaohs had multiple wives.  Egyptians relied on a harmony and balance of the universe, called "maat."  Women could inherit land and money and divorce their husbands, though only a tiny few ever wielded real political power.  Earliest writings formed c. 3100 B.C., and were small pictures known as hieroglyphs.  Hieroglyphs represented religious words, or parts of words, and most commonly adorned temples.  Hieratic scripts was a shorthand developed by scribes and priests.  Hieratic script was usually written in ink on papyrus, which was made form mashed Nile reeds.  Papyrus, the precursor to paper, was stored in scrolls and these scrolls were the books of ancient Egypt.  Egyptian astronomers created a calendar with 12 months and 365 days to make better sense of the seasonal cycles.  Due to their excellent knowledge of human anatomy, Egyptian doctors were extensively on health issues and created potions and cures for a number of common ailments.  Wooden sailboats were constructed to increase transport ability on the Nile River. The pyramids were massive stone tombs, originally covered in marble but the marble was later stripped off during the muslim conquest.  Stone sculptures and interior painting depicted human and gods in a series of regulated poses, often in profile and without perspective, but were highly effective.      

Today's Class

In today's class, we were presented with the Pyramid Challenge.  The Pyramid Challenge is a game online which teaches about building a pyramid in Ancient Egypt.  You had to get all of the right steps in order to be successful.  I had to decide what supplies, pyramid building material (limestone), and location to construct the pyramid.  I had to select the pyramid angle, so that the pyramid could be built correctly.  I had to make up my work force (craftsmen, farmers, and officials) needed to build the pyramid.  I had to figure out what food was needed for the workers and how many times per day they needed to eat.  A lot of thinking went into went into this challenge to complete it.  At the end, I had to steer a ship up the Nile River without causing to much damage to the ship and I also had to sail fast before the 21 days were up.  It was a very difficult challenge because if you did one thing wrong, you wold not be able to complete the pyramid in time!

Monday's Class

John Greene's Crash Course

Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted from 3000 BCE to 332 BCE.  The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers shaped the world of the Mesopotamians, but the Nile River shaped the world of the Egyptians.  The Nile was regular, navigable, and benign making for one of the safest and richest agricultural areas in the world.  Every summer, the Nile would flood at the right time leaving behind very rich soil. Egyptian communities only existed along the Nile.  It was navigable for people to travel and get resources.  The Nile was also very easily tamed.  farmers would use a system called basin to take care of the river that was very easy.  The Old Kingdom lasted from 2649 to 2152 BCE.  The Middle Kingdom lasted from 2040 to 1640 BCE.  Last, the New Kingdom lasted from 1550 to 1070 BCE. The Egyptians had two forms of writing: hieroglyphic for sacred writing and demotic scripts for recording contracts and agreements.  The pyramids were built around 2500 BCE during the Old Kingdom.  King Tut died in 1300 BCE, 1200 years later.

Pyramid Quest

In 802 AD, the youngest son of Harun Rasheed set camp at the base of the pyramid of Kiops.  The great pyramid of Kiops was the pinnacle of which touched the sky as it was described in his time.  He came with hundreds of stone masons, engineers, and architects.  His quest was to find the pharaoh's treasure and to discover the secret of the weapon that does not rust from blood and water and glass that bends and dos not break.  Scribes said that all of this lied in the pyramid guarded by the Beast, which has the head of a sage and the body of a lion.  Back then, the pyramids were very different then they are today.  The pyramid was bigger and a different shape then.  The interior of the pyramid has been studied very deeply.  There was a pharaoh chamber in the pyramid, also with a queen chamber. The original entrance is still sealed to this very day.

Mummification

The video is about a young man named Herecletes.  He dies at about age 20.  In the video, they show a virtual way on making a mummy and they use Herecletes as the example.  Mummification was developed by the Egyptians to preserve the body for the afterlife.  Typically, all internal organs were removed before the mummification with the exception of the heart.  For this mummification, the heart was removed and the lungs were kept.  After that, the body is covered with salt and left for about 40 days until all moisture is eliminated.  Perfumed oils and plant resines were rubbed on the body.  Thick layers of resine were applied to glue the strips of linen that were wrapped around the body.  The mummy was then placed on a wooden board and more wrappings bound them together.  A mysterious pouch possibly of religious significance,  was placed on the chest.  A mummified ibis, a waiting bird with a slendered down bill was placed on the abdomen.  Long linen strips then secured the wrappings.  A portrait pannel of Herecletes was placed over the face.  A large linen cloth was wrapped around the mummy.  The shroud was painted rede with an imported led-based pigment.  This treatment is rare, there are very few red shrouded mummies that are known of. Egyptian symbols of rebirth and protection were painted on the mummy.

Cyber Day Assignment

In Ancient Egyptian times, the Egyptians had many technological breakthroughs.  One of the most important inventions by Ancient Egyptians was the plow.  The plow helped the Egyptians work and it could be attached to a mule or a large animal.  It helped Egyptians in the fields, and required much less work.  A very important breakthrough for the Egyptians was hieroglyphic writing.  A very important breakthrough for the Egyptians was medicine.  This was able to help cure the sick.  Now, if someone was wounded or sick, they could be treated.  Hieroglyphic writing gave the Egyptians a way to record things on paper.  They were able to communicate with each other with this.  Another important invention was the calendar.  This was very important because they could tell the time of the year with the calendar. Also, it told them the day of the week.  A very important breakthrough was the use of astronomy.  Before the invention of the calendar, they would use the stars to be able to tell the time.  So, that was a very important technique that helped them a lot.   

Today's Class

In today's class, we got back our quizzes on Guns, Germs, and Steel.  When we got them back, we went over the answers, so we could study for our exam with it.  After that, we continued the Prezi by Mr. Schick on Ancient Egypt.  We started talking about the classes of people.  The social classes acted as a pyramid.  The highest rank was at the top and went down to the bottom which was the lowest class.  The social classes in order from highest to lowest were: Pharaoh, Government Officials- (Nobles, Priests), Soldiers, Scribes, Merchants, Artisans, Farmers, Slaves and Servants.  This what all of the social classes did.  The Slaves and Servants helped the wealthy with household and child raising duties.  Farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions - benefitted from the irrigation of the Nile.  Artisans would carve statues and reliefs showing military battles and scenes in the afterlife.  Merchants would use the money/barter system - merchants might accept bags of grain for payment - later, coinage came about.  Scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry, described anatomy and medical treatments.  Also, scribes wrote in hieroglyphs and in hieratic.  Soldier used wooden weapons (bow and arrows, spears) with bronze tips and might ride chariots.  Upper class, known as the "white kilt class"- priests, physicians, and engineers.  Religious and political leader.  The Pharaoh was the religious and political leader of the Egyptian people, holding the 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.

Cyber Day

On today's Cyber Day, we had to take notes on Ancient Egypt. Geography of Ancient Egypt: Egyptian life is centered around the Nile River.  Water for drinking, irrigating, bathing, and for transportation.  Every July, the river floods.  Every October, it leaves behind rich soil.  The delta is a broad, marshy triangular area of fertile silt.  Managing the river required technological breakthroughs in irrigation.

Today's Class

In today's class, we first started to review our notes on, "Guns, Germs, and Steel."  We were reviewing our notes for the quiz we took today.  The quiz we took was multiple choice on a Scantron. After or quiz, we could just do what we needed to do for about 10 minutes.  After that, we got back our quizzes on Ancient Mesopotamia.  We went over all of the answers from that quiz and changed any answers that we got wrong.  Our next topic we are going to go over is on Ancient Egypt.

Today's Class

In today's class, we finished watching the video, "Guns, Germs, and Steel."  After the video, we talked about it as a class.  We said what might be on our upcoming test.  We went over all sorts of things on Papanewghiny.  We went on where it is, what they grow, and many more things.  The test is on Monday on the video we just finished.  So, we are going to have to review all of our notes and maybe go over the video again to study.

Today's Class

In today's class, we did all sorts of things.  We went from having a regular Western Civilization class to practicing drills.  We practiced two types of drills today in class.  the first drill we practiced was if there is a stranger or shooter in the building.  We did the that drill for 5-10 minutes.  The second and last drill that we practiced, was the tornado drill.  We practiced that drill for about 5-10 minutes as well.  After we were done practicing all of the drills, we continued on the video we were watching.  The video that we continued watching was called, "Guns, Germs, and Steel."  This video tells us how everyone around the world is living and all that is spreading.  It tells us how different some places truly are then here in America.

Today's Class

In today's class, we continued watching the video from yesterday.  We are watching a video called, "Guns, Germs, and Steel."  It has been a really good video on what we have watched so far.  This video tells us about places all around the world and how everybody lives.  Everybody has to work for their food and shelter.  They have to breed all sorts of animals so they can have food and survive.  This video really shows how different places around the world are from us.  I now do truly understand how well and easy I have it in my life.

Monday's Class

I took the quiz on Mesopotamia.  We were able to use our blog to take the quiz.

Friday

I was not in school on Friday.

Today's Class

In class today, we talked about a lot of things.  First, we started off class learning some of Mr. Schick's pet peeves.  We learned that Mr. Schick does not like when people hold the door for them and then stand in the doorway.  Another pet peeve of Mr. Schick is when he says, "thank you," but then the person says, "no, thank you."  Also, another pet peeve we learned was if he says, "thank you," and the person responds with, "no problem."  After we learned all of that, we started to review for our test this Friday.  Our test is on Ancient Mesopotamia.  We mostly went over the powerpoint Mr. Schick made on it.  We also talked about how everything used to work out.  An example is, "an eye for an eye," or "a tooth for a tooth."  So, in this class we mostly reviewed for our upcoming quiz.

Today's Class

In today's class, we just reviewed our notes for our up coming quiz.  We reviewed all of our notes from the power point.  We all just worked individually on our studying.  We did not work with a partner for our reviewing.  Our quiz is on the power point of "Prehistory to Civilization."  We learn all about the history of Mesopotamia in this unit.  So, for this class we just gave ourselves a better understanding of the ancient Mesopotamia.

Friday's Class

• Prehistory- human history in the period before recorded events, known mainly through archaeological discoveries, study, research, etc.; history of prehistoric humans.
• Paleolithic Age (Stone Age)- At sites dating from the Lower Paleolithic Period (about 2,500,000 to 200,000 years ago), simple pebble tools have been found in association with the remains of what may have been the earliest human ancestors.
• Neolithic Age- The term Neolithic or New Stone Age is most frequently used in connection with agriculture, which is the time when cereal cultivation and animal domestication was introduced. Because agriculture developed at different times in different regions of the world, there is no single date for the beginning of the Neolithic. 
• AgriculturalRevolution- a significant change in agriculture that occurs when there are discoveries,inventions, or new technologies that change production
• Cuneiform- Cuneiform script is one of the earliest known systems of writing, distinguished by its wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets, made by means of a blunt reed for a stylus.
• Ziggurat- (among the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians) a temple of Sumerianorigin in the form of a pyramidal tower, consisting of a number of stories and having about the outside a broad ascent winding round the structure, presenting the appearance of a series of terraces.
• Indo-Europeans- The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects.

Today's Class

Today was our first day of Western Civilization class.  We mostly went over how the class was going to work out.  Today we went over the terms and policies of Blogger.  We learned what all is involved with the Blogs.  We learned how to set up our Blogging account if we did not do it last semester.  We discussed how the class is going to go this year.  In class, we were told that we will be doing a blog every day that we have class.  We were told what we are supposed to post when we are absent or if we have an activity.  This class we were really trying to get a feel of how it will be like this year.