World History - B and D Periods
Monday, we'll be learning about cathedrals, which are large churches that house the throne of the local Bishop, and we'll be looking at the architectural technology that allowed cathedrals to go through a revolution in the Middle Ages.
Here are some great examples of the largest cathedrals in the world and some of their features.
Why did people build cathedrals? We'll also lay out a new activity, in which you'll be working with a small group to list and distinguish all of the features in a Medieval cathedral. The activity can be found
here.
For homework, students will be reading pgs. 255-260 in their textbook and writing down 7 questions.
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| Wow!!!!! |
Tuesday will find us working for the class period on the Cathedrals Activity. Be sure to finish in class, or it becomes extra homework, and keep in mind,
Tuesday is the last night you have to finish your Fictional Middle Ages Character Project! Due Wednesday for 100 points.
Here's a video that shows what Gothic Cathedrals looked like back in their heyday:
And another short clip:
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| The First Crusade |
Wednesday, we will spend the class learning about the Crusades, which were the Holy Wars fought in the Middle Ages. Most of the Crusades were fought between European Christians and Arab Muslims over control of Jerusalem, but there were also Crusades fought against French heretics (people who believed something different from the Catholic Church) and against pagans in Northern Europe. There was even a Children's Crusade, in which thousands of
children tried to march to Jerusalem to fight the Muslims!!! Yikes! Notes can be found
here in case you were absent.
Your projects are due today. For homework, you will be completing a Middle Ages Crossword Puzzle and reading 3 Sections from the Knights and Crusades packet (available here), and summarizing each section in 1 sentence.
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| Bet you won't complain about doing homework anymore! |
And a lesson from Orlando Bloom:
This video offers up a few causes behind the First Crusade, which was first preached by Pope Urban II in France in 1095 AD:
Thursday, we will be preparing for our
Unit Test on Friday. Also, students will have their questions answered.
Don't forget that you may use any materials in your binder for the test!!! But make sure you study tonight!
Friday is our Unit Test. This is also the last day I will be accepting any late work from our unit on the Middle Ages, so if there were any "MS"s on your progress report, make up the work and hand it in by today. And prepare for a 3-day weekend!
US History I - A Period
Today we finished watching the
John Adams episode that portrays the creation of the Declaration of Independence.
For homework, students should finish their Battles of the American Revolution Packet that was assigned last Friday. There will also be Current Events due on Friday - one event will be the current government shutdown and the other event will be of your choice.
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| "C'mon guys, just sign the thing already, would you???" |
Tuesday will find us finishing up notes on the Declaration, as well as talking more about the war itself, once the newly formed
United States of America openly broke away from Great Britain and found itself in a full-fledged war with the most vast empire in the world at the time. We'll be discussing how George Washington and his officers kept the newly-formed volunteer Continental Army from being annihilated by the professional British Army, and still managed to threaten the British forces.
For homework, students will read pgs. 113-117 and write down 5 observations, 3 questions, and 1 opinion (complete sentences!)
Wednesday, we will look at some significant battles, and follow the war as it rages in the North. In the Red Corner are the Howe Brothers, one on land and one on sea, regrouping and coming back in for the coup de gras - in the Blue Corner is none other than George Washington, with his brand new Continental Army! We'll see how Washington played to his strengths and kept just out of reach of the British until he wanted them to find him.
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| We may not have rifles, but we are the coolest. |
We will also talk about the history behind a little-known Massachusetts holiday, Evacuation Day (17 March). Keep in mind, students who want to stay on track with their Unit Projects should have both of their sources and most of their research done by Wednesday.
The project is due October 15th!!! For homework, students will read excerpts from a piece titled "The Crisis" from our old friend, Thomas Paine, and answering some questions. You'll all be shocked to learn that there was indeed one group on Earth he hated more than the British (I know, you're shocked), and that was the Tories!
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| Washington crossing the Delaware River |
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| It probably looked a lot more like this. |
Thursday, we'll see how Washington and the Continental Army suffer bitter hardships in Valley Forge, including starvation, frostbite, and a severe shortage of literacy (last one is a joke). But only so they can serve up their good old 'Underdog Special' to the British, and force the old Redcoats to try a completely different strategy: Relocating down south.
For homework, students will read a selection on guerrilla warfare in the Revolutionary War, available here. (Spoiler alert: Reading Quiz on Thursday to see who's been reading and who hasn't - and who's been visiting the blog!)
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"My only regret is that I have but one live to give for my country."
- Nathan Hale, America's first spy |
Friday, we will talk about the lesser-known side of the Revolutionary War, the world of spies, insurgents, mercenaries, and guerrillas! Much of the war in the South was decided not by organized armies and pitched battles, but by small ambushes and raids from American "insurgents." We'll also take a look tactics of the famed
Rogers' Rangers unit - "Don't forget nothing" and "Don't never take a chance you don't have to." However, we will also dispel the myth of the "angry farmer-patriot" winning the war single-handedly. We will also discuss propaganda as a weapon in modern warfare. Be prepared to draw parallels with the modern world.
For homework, students will draw a map of the American Revolution up to this point in the War, which you have the template for here. Your project will be due on Tuesday when you return from the three-day weekend. Your Current Events are also due today.
