11/1 - Renaissance (and Reformation?)

Today we'll be reading through Chapter 5, Section 2, which is on the art and ideas of the Renaissance. If we have time, we'll continue reading and discussing our way into Section 3, which is on the Reformation.

Homework: Do SecRev5-2, due 11/2
Read Chapter 5, Section 3, for tomorrow 11/2

10/27 - Presentation on German culture

Today our international student from Germany and another classmate of German heritage are going to share some parts of German history and culture with us.

Homework: Read Chapter 12, Section 2, for Monday, 11/1

10/26 - Ideas and Art of the Renaissance

Today we'll read/discuss our way through Chapter 5, Section 2, which is on the ideas and art of the Renaissance.

Homework: Read Ch12, Sec3

10/25 - The Renaissance

Today we'll be going through Chapter 5, Section 1, on the Renaissance. Students should have come to class having read the material. Lecture notes may be downloaded here: Ch5, Sec1 PowerPoint handouts.

Homework: Create a compare/contrast montage of a Renaissance man from the 1300s-1500s and a "Renaissance man" (or woman) of today. This can be on an 8.5x11 paper or larger. Students may cut out images from magazines or printed off of the Internet. They will need to be able to explain their collages either verbally or in writing. Due Tuesday, 10/26.

10/22 - Playing our games

Today we'll present and play the Medieval Board Games students developed this week.

Homework: Read Chapter 5, Section 1, for Monday, 10/25

10/21 - Medieval Board Games

Today students will have time to work on creating their Medieval Board Games. They will be due tomorrow, 10/22. We'll play them in class together.

Homework: Finish Medieval Board Game, due 10/22

10/20 - Wrapping up Ch4, Sec1

Today we'll finish reading and discussing Chapter 4, Section 1. Hopefully that only takes about 10 minutes. The rest of the time, students may work on their Medieval board games. These are due tomorrow, 10/21, and we will play them in class together.

Update: DEADLINE FOR BOARD GAMES EXTENDED TO FRIDAY, 10/22

10/19 - Medieval Times

We will continue reading and discussing our way through Chapter 4, Section 1. We'll introduce the class with a short video satirizing the feudal system: Annoying Peasant. Whatever we don't read through and discuss today in class, we will finish reading and discussing tomorrow.

Students are to start gathering ideas and materials for their Medieval board games. Instructions for that assignment are here: Medieval Board Game assignment. We will work on them in class on Wednesday, 10/20. They are due at the beginning of class on Thursday, 10/21. Students will briefly describe their game, and then we will play them together.

Homework: Gather materials and start preparing your Medieval Board Game, due Thursday, 10/21.

10/18 - The Middle Ages, Ch4

Today we begin our journey through Chapter 4, Section 1, on the Middle Ages. We will be reading and discussing the information in class. The project for this lesson will be a board game!! Students will use information from the Dark Ages video and the textbook coverage of the Middle Ages to create a board game that we will play in class. Students may work individually or in groups of up to three people. We will work on them a bit in class on Wednesday, and play them together on Thursday. Students are responsible for getting their own materials for this project. A formal assignment sheet will be provided tomorrow.

Homework: Read Ch4, Sec1
Brainstorm ideas for board game
Start gathering materials for board game

No late work accepted after 10/18

The first quarter ends on Monday, October 25th. Late work will not be accepted after Monday, October 18th. (In other words, students may turn in late work on the 18th, but may NOT after the 18th.)

10/14 to 10/15 - Video, The Dark Ages

We will be watching a documentary called The Dark Ages (from the History Channel) over the next couple days. Students are required to engage with the video in class. We'll stop to discuss at various points. If I find that students are falling asleep, doing other homework, or otherwise not paying attention, they will be required to do a Video Reflection on the documentary.

There are portions of this documentary on YouTube. (They're often in 10-minute segments.) One begins here: The Dark Ages - Part 1. Look at "related videos" for successive segments of the film. (Parents, please supervise your child's Internet use.)

Homework: Be reading Chapter 4 to better understand the documentary and to be prepared for class discussions next week

10/13 - Test on Chapter 3

Today students are taking a test on Chapter 3. The rest of the week we will be watching a documentary on the Dark Ages. Students are encouraged to begin reading Chapter 4 to have some background information to better understand the documentary.

Homework: Look over Chapter 4

10/8 - India and Japan

Today we'll be going through the parts of Chapter 3, Section 3, dealing with India and Japan. Students should come to class having read the material. You may download the lecture notes here: Ch3, Sec3 PP on Japan and India.

You can watch a short clip about Japan here: Ch3, Sec3 Spotlight Video

Homework: SR3-3 due Monday, 10/11
Re-read Ch3, Sections 2 and 3 for Monday, 10/11, as we will be looking at culturally relevant things for those topics.

10/7 - China

We're going to make our way through two parts of Chapter 3, focusing on China. (The first part of this section.) We will also discuss the segment on Southeast Asia if we have time. Students may download the lecture notes here: Ch3, Sec3 China PP handouts.

Homework: Read Ch3, Sec3, focusing on Japan and India
SR3-3 due Monday, 10/11
TEST on Ch3, Wednesday, 10/13

10/6 - Early African Civilizations

Today we'll be going through the textbook, Chapter 3, Section 2. (Sorry, no fancy PowerPoint this time.) Students should come to class having read the material ahead of time. You can view the Spotlight Video for this section here: Ch3, Sec2 Spotlight Video.

Homework: Read Chapter 3, Section 3 for tomorrow, 10/7
SR3-2 due tomorrow, 10/7
(No Reading Reflections for the rest of this chapter.)

10/5 - Women in Islam

Today we are finishing our mini-unit on Islam with a discussion of women in Islam. Students will turn in their Reading Reflections on Chapter 3, Section 1, tomorrow.

Homework: Read Chapter 3, Section 2
Start SR3-2, due 10/7
RR3-1 due tomorrow, 10/6

10/4 - The Middle East Conflict

Today we'll hash out what's going on in the Middle East in light of what we know about that region's history and the peoples' histories. We'll begin with discussions about articles we found on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Students with these articles will receive points. Come prepared!

Homework: SR3-1 due TODAY, 10/4
RR3-1 due Wednesday, 10/6
Bring an article about women in Islam to class tomorrow