Rome's Most Enduring Impact to My World

Ahh, the Romans is there nothing they cannot do?  Roads, arches, aqueducts, indoor plumbing, conquering the world, entertaining the masses with violence and punish law breakers.  What a great empire.
What amazes me the most is the fact that they created an elaborate system of aqueducts.  There aqueduct system in nothing short of an engineering marvel.  Rome had many large cities, but they needed a way to get water to the cities.  Their engineering was so precise because that the water maintained a continuous flow through 260 miles of aqueducts.  The water flowed to large cisterns in towns so the Romans could have baths, indoor plumbing and public fountains.

California has a very similar climate to Italy, the area that ancient Rome inhabited.  We too have an elaborate system of aqueducts that take water from the northern California to more populated areas in southern California.  This morning in fact, I drank water that came from the California aqueduct because the city of San Luis Obispo gets a part of their water supply from the aqueduct.  The fact that we have modern machines to maintain and build our aqueducts further proves that the Romans were ahead of their time.

Sources: 
crystallinks.com
http://www.unrv.com/culture/roman-aqueducts.php

Back to School

Welcome back!  If you are checking this page before August 24th, you are showing me that you are ready to learn.  Awesome.

I am looking forward to sharing meeting you this year.  Please get the necessary supplies to ensure your success this year in class.

Class Expectations and Syllabus

One little note on your interactive notebook, please find a notebook that will last the whole year.  Your notebook should be 8 and 1/2" by 11" in size.  A composition book will not work for this class.  I have found that Costco and Target carry the notebooks for the least price.

Washington DC day 1

Wow, what a great first day.  After a long airport delay, we made it in two hours late.  The kids survived the setback and rushed through breakfast.
The first stop was The Washington Monument, then The National Archives. After the Archives, we took in The Natural History Museum. 
The afternoon was a time for reflection as we saw The National Holocaust Memorial. We also watched a living history piece in Ford's Theatre, about the night Lincoln was assinated.

After dinner we saw The Vietnam Wall, The Korean War Memorial, and The Lincoln Memorial.

Washington DC Trip 2015 Post 1

Hello travelers and families.  Tomorrow is our big day.  The good news is the weatherman backed off his rain prediction for Washington DC.  It looks less likely that we will be drenched for 3 days straight.  We will still have a chance of rain so leave those ponchos in your bag.

Did you know?

On June 12, 1987, Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

In one of his most famous Cold War speeches, President Reagan challenged the Soviet Union to tear down the wall that had long divided East and West Berlin. At the time, most listeners interpreted it as an appeal to the Soviets to re-enter negotiations on nuclear arms reductions, which they eventually did six months later.

We will see a chunk of this wall at breakfast on Monday.  

I will see you all tomorrow.  

Persuasive Writing

After reading what several of you turned in, I wanted to give a reminder that writing is an important part of what is asked of historians.  Persuasive writing is an essential piece of not only a historian's toolbox, but everyone's' toolbox.

When writing to persuade, it is important to state your case, share evidence that support your position, then examine and refute possible differing viewpoints.  See this link.

Today, you will be asked to come to a consensus about which civilization you are going to show on Minecraft.  It is important to spend the time to get to a manageable and agreeable position.

Click here to learn about consensus building.

Mayan, Aztecs, Incas

Today we will complete the assignment on the key figures of the Scientific Revolution.  Then we will move away from Europe and discuss the cultures that existed before Columbus arrived.  Your assignment should be a lot of fun, but it will require that you research three cultures, then use your digital skills to replicate a city from one of the three Pre Columbian cultures.

Check this link for details.

Monday, May 2, 2015

I spent some time this weekend looking over your PSA projects.  I was amazed by the creativity and thoroughness of many of your projects.

This week, we will be finishing up with The Reformation and how the reformation affected governments.
The map below shows what Europe looked like in the 1600's.  What part of Europe was Protestant, and what part was Catholic? How many different types of Protestantism was practiced?

April 27th

Last week we spent time looking at reformers and the causes of the Reformation.  This week we will look at how the Church responded to to the Reformation.

As you learned, there were many people who had problems with the Church and I will test your knowledge on the four reformers that you studied in the book and your mini research project.

Martin Luther is associated with the 95 Theses.  He was studying for a law degree when he was struck by lightning.  He prayed to St. Anne, and then became a Monk.  Eventually he challenged the selling of indulgences.  He believed that people justed needed to believe in God and live by the Bible for their souls to be saved.  He also translated the New Testament into German.  He won the support of the nobles because the nobles did not want clergy to interfere with politics.

William Tyndale was the reformer who translated the Bible into English.  This angered the clergy of England who wanted him arrested.  Thomas More ordered that the translated copy be banned.  He had all copies of the translation purchased and burned.  Tyndale fled England, and with the profits from the sale of his translation, continued printing English versions of the Bible.

John Calvin taught followers that God knew who would be saved before they were born, this is called predestination.  Calvin moved to Geneva with his followers and hoped to make Geneva a Christian example for the rest of the world.  He stressed that people should live a good life and obey God's laws.  He banned many forms of entertainment such as playing cards and dancing to keep people away from temptation.

King Henry VIII challenged the pope's authority to give the Monarch commands.  He was very upset that the pope would not end his marriage, so he declared himself the head of a new church called the Church of England.    He broke from the church for personal reasons and thus did not make many changes in church practices.

All of these reformers set about a change in the way religion was practiced, and this eventually will set the stage for religious conflicts.  These conflicts are part of the reason people settled in the new world and many of these ideas shaped our county's laws.

April 20, 2015 Reformation

Imagine the Middle Ages were 85% of the population was illiterate.  Access to books was limited, and access to schools was even more limited.  Where do you turn for information and cultural beliefs. In Europe that was The Church.  More specifically the Catholic Church guided by the pope.

Then the world changes.  First tragedy, with The Black Plague killing off over 1/3 of the population.  Church leaders and local clergy were unable to explain why people were sick.  Could it be that God was angry?  Was it a twist of fate?  No one could explain the despair.  The Plague devastated the people of Europe, but it also started to put a crack in the foundation of The Church.

Then France squabbles with church leaders over taxes.  Low and behold, French cardinals elect their own pope and now there are two popes running around.  What were people supposed to think?

Finally, Gutenberg introduces The Bible to tens of thousands of people.  For the first time, common people could access The Bible and start questioning scripture.

These events lead to a Europe with not one church, but several different churches all with a common belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ, but with different interpretations on how to worship.  This event shifts power away from the pope and into the hands of monarchs.

The next 2 1/2 weeks we will learn about reformers and how their challenges to church authority changed the course of history throughout the western world.

April 13

Welcome back.  I hope that everyone rested and had fun over the break.  As we left we were learning about the Renaissance in Italy.  This week we will examine how Northern Europe was impacted by Renaissance ideas. We will also spend time collaborating on the PSA for diseases.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Happy Monday.  Today we will look at any work that is incomplete, tie up any lessons where you may have questions.  Zero period this is a time to catch up on the primary source reading.

Tuesday you will have a secondary source reading assignment.  You will have a guest teacher, and a chance to complete PDP Cornell Notes.

Wednesday is YES day.  This is a 7th grade event designed around Y O U.  7th graders will work together to develop social skills to enhance your middle school experience.  It is going to be a blast!

On Wednesday when you are not scheduled to be in YES, you will get a chance to complete your study guide and make up any work that you did not complete.  Stop by my room if you have study guide questions at lunch.

Thursday ahh.  Test day!  The test will be on the Italian Renaissance.  Click here to see the study guide.

March 23 Renaissance History

Happy Monday,

As you learned, Europe transitions out of the Middle Ages into a period of rebirth.  What exactly is being reborn?  How do Europeans use their history to reinvent their society?  Who leads the charge?  How does it relate to who we are as Americans?  These are all questions that your will be able to answer at the end of this unit.

Today we will be focusing on the Renaissance in Italy.  You will need to use page 117 of your notebook for notes.  Page 116 will be a flip page map.  Under 116 you will write a summary.

March 5, 2015

Today you will turn in page 3.  Use the form to attach your url here.

Read this article.

After you have read the article, you need to decide how you will divide the research and tasks for the Major Events and their Impact page.  There are four categories
1. The Black Death
2. The Magna Carta
3. The Crusades
4. The Hundred Years War

Each description should be 3 paragraphs in length.  See an example here.

Guiding questions are:

The Black Death
1. How did it start? How was it spread?
2. How was it treated?
3. What percentage of the population died from the disease?
4. What facts did you find interesting?
5. What major impact did this have on medieval history?  Did it impact today's world?

The Magna Carta?
1. What is it?  Who signed it? Why?
2. What rights were granted to nobles?  What responsibilities did they have?
3. How did the Magna Carta limit the power of the monarchy?
4.What major impact did this have on medieval history?  Did it impact today's world?

The Crusades
1. Who fought in the Crusades?  Who urged Europeans to fight?
2. What did the fight for? Why?
3. What were the outcomes of each Crusade?
4. What did the pope grant knights who fought?
5. What did the Crusaders bring back to Europe in terms of ideas and stories?
6. What major impact did this have on medieval history?  Did it impact today's world?

The Hundred Years War
1. Who was the war between?
2. Did it really last one hundred years?
3. What caused this war?
4. Who were some interesting people who fought in this war?
5. What was the result of the conflict?
6. What major impact did this have on medieval history?  Did it impact today's world?

Friday, February 27, 2015 #Medieval Christianity

I like what I see with the Medieval Society web pages.  Teams are doing a great job gathering information and putting it together in an organized and interesting format.  A couple of points of emphasis:

• Pictures -- a good site has well placed pictures and graphics.
• Font -- Is your font readable?
• Source list -- Do you have a variety of resources for each page?  Six sources per page would be a minimum.
• Is your site easy to navigate?

Today, we are working the role of the Medieval Church, There are four main topics that we will focus on.  Please break choose a topic in your group to research.  Then  I will ask you to move around the room to complete tasks related to your topic.  You will need your notebook, laptop, earbuds, and a writing device.

The topics are 

1 The Spread of Christianity

2 Church Role in Daily Life

3 The Pope, Politics and Power

4 Monks and monasteries.

The task directions are found here.

February 23

I really like what I am seeing on you projects.  This week the journey continues.  Be forewarned that I reserve the right to ask questions about readings at any time.  It could be a quiz, it could be a game, or I could just draw a stick.

Sample web sites

http://medievalmythbustersproject2d.weebly.com/medieval-society.html

http://medievalmythbustersproject4c.weebly.com/society-page.html

http://medievalmythbustersproject2f.weebly.com/medieval-society-page.html

Is your website coming along?  IF you need help, see Mr. Angel after school today.

Last but not least.

Tuesday and Wednesday are workdays.  Please be on task both days. Thursday you page is due when class starts.

Mr. A

February 17

Hear ye! Hear ye!

Today we will  be working on a short simulation. You will have a short homework project.  Tomorrow we will have a guest teacher.  You will need to work on your project.  Page 1 is due Thursday.  Have fun! Work hard, and double check the requirements.

A.

Sample of a website for Medieval Mythbusters

http://medievalmythbustersproject2a.weebly.com/

Feb 10

Welcome to Christendom.  Today you will be sorted into manors. as you assume your role in the simulation.  Please read the Christendom background info and post it on page 95 of your IAN.

This is going to be a lot of fun.  You will experience some challenges along the way, but you will learn a lot.

This week we will also start the work on our project.  Please keep to your timelines.

A

February 5

Wow!  I got to see many great projects relating to Asian art.  Grades will be posted soon.

Lily S. in 0 period would like you to complete the following survey:

https://docs.google.com/a/slcusd.org/forms/d/1y7_45kkUJyt2ekSSeakeb7fNnQRUuSQ3dgNmBhfGtv4/viewform

January 20, 2015

Today marks the start of the 2nd semester.  That means you all start over grade wise.  You now know the what is expected with your notebook. That being said, step up your game.  See if you can't works your way to an A this semester.

Today we start Japan.  Despite being a small island nation, Japan's history is exciting and diverse.  YOu know from 6th grade science that Japan sits on the ring of fire and has had to endure several traumatic earthquakes and disasters.  You have stories of samurai's and ninjas, but did you know that Japan's feudal society has many parallels to Europes?  Did you know that the samurai followed the Code of Bushido?  Did you know that historians believe the first novel was written in Japan?  Over the next two weeks we will travel deep in to Japan's history.

January 5, 2015

Welcome back to school.  Our next unit centers on the Asian Civilizations of China and Japan.  You will find that the cultures have a lot in common.   Big ideas to grasp include Buddhism, Confucianism, and how those two religions/philosophies changed life in China.