Hey! Guess what!

Hey Mr. Schick I fixed my blog background for you!

Study guide

If I wanted to ace the Feudalism test,

I would look up the following terms in Chapter 11 in the textbook:

Feudalism – A term used by historians to describe the governmental system and the relationships between landowners and warriors

feudal compact – An arrangement between a lord and his vassal involving the exchange of property for personal service

fief – A grant of land and accompanying government responsibilities and power

vassal – Servant

knight  - Warriors who have gone through training and has joined the feudal compact with the lord

homage – A vassal’s act of promising loyalty and obedience to his lord

serf – Someone who works the land for life, live in crummy little cottage

baron – A great lord who exercised government authority over vast family territory

peasantry – Common people in town

estates – In the Middle Ages, the groups that made up society: often defined as those who pray; those who fight, and those who work

manor – The principal farming property and social unit of a medieval community, usually belonging to a member of the feudal nobility or to a church institution

three-field-system – A method of crop rotation designed to maintain the fertility of the soil and to provide for a regular supply of fall and spring crops

internal colonization – The process of cultivating and settling in formerly wild land in Europe

suburb

guild – An organization of merchants or craftspeople who regulated the activities of their members and set standards and prices

master – A craftsman who had the right to operate workshops, train others, and vote on guild business

journeyman – A licensed artisan who had served an apprenticeship and who was employed by a master paid at a fixed rate per day

apprentice –  A “learner” in the shop of a master

masterpiece -

water mill -

and yes, iron plow - 

Feudalism

The Feudal Compact

• ·         Feudalism is a term used by historians to describe the governmental system and the relationships between landowners and warriors.
• ·         Warriors, known as knights, would pledge his allegiance to a lord, who would in turn give that knight land
• ·         The lord would grant a fief (property) to the knight, who would then become the lord’s vassal (servant) – this was called the “feudal compact”
• ·         The vassal must fight for the lord when he needs it and attend his court once a month.

Homage and Knighthood

• ·         A vassal was required to pay homage to his lord, usually this meant kneeling down and taking the lord’s hands in his while speaking an oath of loyalty
• ·         Men were apprenticed to older knights before they could become a full knight themselves
• ·         When a knight died, his fief would revert to his son, though his lord would be protector of that son if he was underage, or if it was a daughter.

The Feudalization of the Church

• ·         Some clergy were known to fight as knights themselves

Feudal States

• ·         Barons were lords of large territories who usually paid homage to a king
• ·         Often a baron’s army could outnumber that of a king, which kept a check on the king’s power

The Manorial Estates

• ·         Medieval society was divided into three “estates” : the clergy, the nobility, and the common people
• ·         Usually the peasantry framed on large plantations known as “manors” which were owned by a lord or lady of the nobility (or a member of the clergy)
• ·         Iron plows and water-powered grinding mills helped with agriculture production, but the yield was still miniscule by today’s standards
• ·         To maintain the health of the soil, the “three-field system” was used where two fields were planted (one in fall, one in spring) and one field was left to reconstitute it’s fertility – then they were rotated
• ·         Villages sprung up on and around manors with small cottages for the peasants and a large manor house for the lord and lady

The People of the Manor

• ·         The lord oversaw major agriculture issues but delegated everyday overseeing to his stewards or bailiffs
• ·         The lady does all the lady things, oversaw servants, entertained guests and ran the manor when her husband was away
• ·         Most peasants were serfs, meaning there we bound to the land and to their lords for “labor service: a few days each week.

The Growth of trade

• ·         The agriculture boomed after 1000 allowed for the establishment of many towns across Europe
• ·         Farm produced and animals were sold in towns and people with wealth bought their luxury items there
• ·         Items liked spices and silks came overland from port cities like Venice and Genoa, who received the goods from eastern capitals like Constantinople
• ·         Europeans exported wool, linen, horses, weaponry and slaves, to name a few
• ·         England and the Low Countries were particularly known for their trade in wool and cloth

The Location and Appearance of Towns

• ·         Most medieval towns were surrounded by fortified walls
• ·         Residences also sprang up outside the walls in the suburbs
• ·         Towns were dominated by a main church and central marketplace
• ·         Buildings for the craft guilds and the wealthiest families would also be in the center of the town

The Life of the Townspeople

• ·         Though townspeople were free, unlike serfs, they still had a hierarchy: merchants at the top, then skilled craftsmen and artisans, then unskilled laborers  and apprentices

The Guilds

• ·         Merchants, craftsmen and artisans formed their own groups called guilds which regulated their trade and protected its members
• ·         Craftsmen were classified as masters, journeymen, and apprentices
• ·         Once became a master after spending years learning as an apprentice, working as a paid journeyman for a number of years, and completing his “masterpiece”

Test Review

Today in class we went over the answers to the test we took the other day. I was very happy with my grade.

Pax Romana means "Roman Peace" in Latin

The Pax Romana began and ended in 27 BC to 180 AC

"Gospel" means good news

Jesus practiced Judaism

Where did Paul travel to spread the news about Jesus? Rome and Ephesus

In 300 Ad how many people lived in Rome? 60 million

How did Diocletian persecute Christians?
- Burnt their books and churches
- Imprisoned bishops and priests
- Executed anyone who refused to sacrifice what they believed in for their life.

Whats the name of the city before it was renamed Constantinople? Byzantium 

What the Edict of Milan for? To stop discrimination towards people and their religion

Why did Jesus' message appeal more to the poor?
The poor was willing to listen, lost faith in the Roman gods and thought the gods were only helping the wealthy. There was a greater number of poor people.

Friday

In class we went over the homework assignment we had, I wasn't in class the day before so I didn't know about it. But I took notes.

The Germanic Barbarians 

·         Barbarian warlords and their families who assimilated into Roman culture became the “nobles” or aristocrats of medieval Europe

·         Germanic tribes who ruled former Roman lands sought to conquer and assimilate other barbarian peoples who lived beyond the frontiers and were still pagans. (Angles, Franks, Ostrogoth’s, Saxons, Vandals, and Visigoths)

·         The Angles and Saxons (from Denmark and northwestern Germany) invaded Britain and assimilated the native Britons

·         Most of the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity in the seventh century

·         The most powerful Germanic tribe was the Franks

·         But the real power lay with the “mayors of the palace” who were royal officials and nobles themselves

From “Eastern Empire” to “Byzantium”

·         The Eastern Roman Empire continued on while the west was now divided up by the barbarian tribes

·         When the emperor Justinian came to power in 527, he decided to reunite the entire Roman Empire by reconquering the  western territories

·         Justinian succeeded for a time, but the land he re-took was soon conquered by new barbarian tribes and a massive plague depopulated most of the west

·         Greek Byzantine emperors saw themselves as Roman emperors and the heads of Christian Church

·         Byzantine preserved Greco-Roman art, architecture, philosophy and writing despite much of it being non-Christian

·         Justinian built the massive domed Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) in Constantinople, considered to be the most glorious church on earth at the time.

Thursday 16

I was not in class today but I'm guessing we went over the notes we took on the pages we read in our books.

Testestestestestest

Today in class we too a test. I studied very hard for this test and I am very confident in the work I put into my essays and answers. There was only one question I didn't answer and I think it was asking how many people were in Diocletian's government, after the test and found the answer and was kind of upset because I know I should of known the answer.

Notes for pages 164 to 173...

• Shortly after A.D 700, the renewal of European civilization in the West began.

• Around A.D 800, the Carolingian warrior king Charlemagne was able to conquer barbarian peoples in central Europe.

• During the era of renewal, barbarian and nomadic peoples, notably the Norsemen and Hungarians, continued  to raid, conquer, and settle in lands that had once belonged to Rome.

• By 1000, civilization had spread throughout Europe, and the three-thousand year old European barbarian way of life came to an end.

LO1 The Carolingians

• By A.D 700, the kingdom of the Franks, once the most powerful state in western Europe, was seemingly falling apart.

• The kingdom was divided among rival kings of the Merovingian dynasty, each controlled by a "mayor of the palace" (head of the royal household)

• In 714, an out-of-wedlock son of the family by the name of Charles laid claim to the position and won it in several years of civil war.

• Charles thereby became the ancestor of the new dynasty, the Carolingians

• The Carolingians rebuilt the Frankish kingdom. It was they who began the rise of the western Europe to become the heartland of Western civilization

The Rise of the Carolingian Dynasty

• Charles was a ruthless and warlike ruler who went down in history as Charles Martel ("Charles the Hammer")

• Rewarding followers meant giving gifts of land - but not from one's own family possessions, the main source of a ruler's wealth and power.

• Charles was a generous donator of land to favored monasteries, but bishops and abbots often belonged to noble families that he distrusted.

• Charles also gave land to foot soldiers who served him in peace and war.

• In 732, an Arab army moved out of the occupied territory on a large-scale raid far north into the Frankish kingdom

..........

Test Wednesday

Today in class we talked about the test we have coming up this Wednesday. After we discussed the test we had to write down questions we think Mr. Schick will have on the test.

Predicted Questions:

How did Diocletian persecute the Christians?

 First Edict

Diocletian ordered Christian churches to be burned and to have its treasures taken. He also ordered for all Christian scriptures and books to be destroyed, he made Christians potential subjects for judicial torture. Christian senators, equestrians, Recursion  veterans, and soldiers were devoid of their spot in the government and imperial freedmen were re-enslaved.

The second edict

Ordered the arrest as well as the imprisonment of all bishops and priests

The third edict

Ordered that if any imprisoned clergyman wanted to be freed, he would have to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods

The fourth edict

Ordered all men, women, and children to come to the public space and make a collective sacrifice together and if they refused, they would be executed

What is Constantine’s connection to Christianity?

How did Constantine restructure the empire?

When was the Pax Romana?  (Answer: 27 BC to 180 AD)

When was the Edict of Milan? (Answer: 313)

How much bigger was Diocletian's army then Augustus'? (Answer: 1/3)

What battle did Constantine fight in after his vision? (Answer: The Battle of Milvian Bridge) 

What is the story of Constantine vision? (Answer: He had a vision of a cross in the sky and next to it said you will win with this sign. So he put the sign on his shield in the battle he was in and won.)

What is the Edict of Milan? (Answer: A law saying you can't discriminate people against their religion.) 

How many people lived in Rome in 300 AD? (Answer: 60 million (7 million were Christian)

What are the four gospels? (Answer: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)

FRIDAY 10

Today in class we reviewed the answers to the questions we answered in class on 

Thursday.

How did Diocletian persecute the Christians? 


What is Constantine's connection to Christianity? 


How did Constantine restructure the empire?



We spent a lot of the class talking about Constantine, how he was connected to Christianity, and the significance of him converging to the religion. I didn't take to many note because I already had many note on those questions/answers. 

Persecution of the Christians

The second edict

Ordered the arrest as well as the imprisonment of all bishops and priests

The third edict

Ordered that if any imprisoned clergyman wanted to be freed, he would have to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods

The fourth edict

Ordered all men, women, and children to come to the public space and make a collective sacrifice together and if they refused, they would be executed

The Struggle

The Roman Empire Struggles…

In the Third Century AD:

·         Epidemic disease spreads throughout the Empire

-          Many people lived in close corners

-          Too many people, unsanitary, pouring waste into the streets

·         It’s hard to defend the frontier against the barbarians

·         Emperors began to lose their hold on power

-          Stay in power for an average of two and a half years, due to wars or assassination

·         Maintaining armies is expensive

·         Still too many poverty-stricken citizens

284 AD – Diocletian’s reforms:

·         Increase the size of the army to 4000,000

-          1/3 bigger than during Augustus’’ time

-          Recruit from the ranks of the barbarians

·         Divide Roman territories into smaller provinces

-          This new gov’t had 20,000 officials – ten times more than under Augustus

-          They were more efficient at collecting higher taxes – this greater yield provided for a larger army

300 AD:

·         60 million people in the Roman empire

·         Several million are Christians

·         Christianity has quite an appeal to the poor and disenfranchised – and there are plenty of those!

·         More Christians – more face-to-face contacts –more conversations – more offspring

·         Some Christians are even gaining positions of power, became the ruling elite

To persecute or not to persecute

·         Diocletian (ruled from 284 – 305) left Christians alone at first

·         Then he undertook the most systematic persecution of all*

·         Constantine ruled as emperor 306 – 337

·         What was his connection with Christianity?*

·         And how did he restructure the empire?*

How did Diocletian persecute the Christians?

Diocletian ordered Christian churches to be burned and to have its treasures taken. He also ordered for all Christian scriptures and books to be destroyed, he made Christians potential subjects for judicial torture. Christian senators, equestrians, Decurion, veterans, and soldiers were devoid of their spot in the government and imperial freedmen were re-enslaved.

What is Constantine’s connection to Christianity?

Constantine’s mother was a Christian so he either adopted the religion when he was young or gradually throughout his life. He was not baptized until shortly before his death. Constantine’s conversion to Christian was huge, because Rome’s emperor before him persecuted Christians.

How did Constantine restructure the empire?

- Made it easier for the empire to respond to invasion

- Built defense strategic location, w/ forum, palaces, amphitheater, churches

-  gave grants to Christian leaders, symbolizing Christianity's growing role

-  Public baths, Arch of Constantine, first to build churches, first basilica to Saint Peter

LO2 Christianity in the Era of the Roman Peace

Jesus

•  During this Era Jewish conflict and dispute led to the destruction of the Temple in A.D 70.

• What is most known of Jesus is written in his gospels, named after Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Which are thought to be written between forty and seventy years after he died about A.D 30

• Scholars debate in how much these stories reflect Jesus's actual works and deeds

The Teacher

• The gospels were written at a time when the Jewish majority and the believers in Jesus were turning against each other
• Jesus taught that even the most faithful righteousness according to the Law fell short of what was necessary to please God. One must love not only one's friends but one's enemies; one must refrain only from adultery but from lustful thoughts.
• Jesus made a point of associating with people whom sticklers for the Law thought of as highly displeasing to God

Friday

Today in class we got with our partners and started to write our 500 word or more papers on Pax Romana. Maria is my partner again, I think we work very well together and we get our work done. All we did was work on our papers so not much really happened so there isn't much to blog about, but I believe Maria and I will get a good grade on this assignment.

HE WANTS TO BE KING!

Farmer who fought in war lost their farms when they returned home, and were reduced to the lowest "proletarian" citizen status.

• Proletarian - Property-less  citizens who can still vote

War profiteers abandoned and traded in slaves, weapons, and bought abandoned farms and plantations

• Buy ruined farms
• Small plots were merged into large estates for use of vineyards and olive groves
• In 150 BC slaves made up a third of the population in Italy

In second century BC the Gracchi brothers attempted to carve out special rights for the poor

The Plan

• Resettle many of the city's poor on small farms
• Provide a public subsidy of grain (welfare) for those who remained in Rome
• This would raise the number of independent self sufficient farmers (shortens the gap between the poor and rich) 

Gaius 

• Brother of Tiberius (8 years younger)ack would get paid i
• His head was cut off, whoever brought his head back will get paid the amount the head weighs in gold.

West Civ 4-1-13

Today in class we watched more of the Rome video about Tiberius. We finished off with Tiberius making a promise to the Barbarians to save thousands of soldiers and Romans. After the surrender Tiberius was recommended to run for Tribune. Each year 10 people are elected Tribune, to defend the peoples rights. In the Forum 133 BC Tiberius made his speech to the people to get a spot as Tribune. Tiberius won Tribune and used his Vito to put the government to stop and to show how powerful he could be if messed with. Octavious turned the aristocrats and other Romans against Tiberius by telling them he wanted to become king. There was a small war between those who supported Tiberius and those who though he wanted to be king. Wanting to be king was the worst thing someone could be accused of doing. On the day of Tiberius's election he was beat to death buy chairs, benches and other things found in the senate. He was not given a proper funeral, he was tossed in the river. Tiberius was killed along with 300 of his supporters.

Technical Problems

Today in class we were trying to watch a movie about Ancient Rome but the sound on Mr. Schick's computer wasn't working to it took us a whole mod to figure out what the problem was. Because it took so long to fix the computer we didn't get to watch much of the video so I didn't get many notes but this is what I got.

- The Republic lasted 500 years

-Tiberius son of the Emperor also named Tiberius.

• He died defending his fathers ideas
• Was murdered by an aristocrat
• His crime changed Rome FOREVER 

-After 6 days of fighting the Carthaginians surrendered 

• Defeating Carthage showed that Tiberius was able to take after his father.  
• Carthage was destroyed and all the territory ended up in the hands of Rome
• Men ad children from Carthage were sold into slavery

- As the aristocrats got richer from the things taken from Carthage, the poor flooded the streets

-If Tiberius fails to take care of the poor the Republic would fall apart.

Test tomorrow STUDY!!!!!

Today in class we reviewed the lyrics in the song Rome for the test we are taking tomorrow. 

Rome lyrics (explained)

1. The Latin's settled in Rome first and gave us our alphabet and language.

• After the Latin's  the Etruscans and Greeks settled in Rome

• Rome had a river that flowed from the inland to the see, many hills to keep an eye out for enemies , in the middle of the peninsula, middle of the Mediterranean sea.

• All the geographic features around them made them believe they were chosen to rule and be in charge.

2. Tarquin  was the last king of Rome

• He got full of himself and king crazy and rose against his government and tried to take over.
• The romans ran Tarquin out of Rome

3. Respublica = Republic
• Power in the hands of the people
• Power was shared between the Senate and assemblies of male citizens.

4. Patricians
• Land owners, wealthy, have connections

5. Plebians
• Common people, workers, small farmers, wealthy non-Patricians

6. Aristocracy
• Rich, connected, landowning, powerful, own branch of government, makes laws and decisions on what goes on

7. Tribunes
• had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it.

• The people damanded to patricans to come clean and make the laws/rules and punishments public
• In the forum are twelve tables with the rules and punishments

8. Consuls
• Two senators led the government and military for ONE YEAR TERMS (10years between terms) and appointed their own successors

9. Three forms of Government
• Democracy
• Aristocracy
• Monarchy 

Rome Rome Rome Rome Rome

Class was very interesting today. The groups who decided to finish their movie for the song Rome presented their videos. Carly's group was no doubt the best video was saw e whole class. I just don't know why it worked so well for her group but not for mine. I think I listened to the Rome song like a thousand times in that one class. The song was stuck in my head for the rest of the day which is good and bad, I have an annoying tune/song in my head but I'm learning while I listen to it. Even though making a video didn't work the idea of doing it was great and I thought it was very helpful.

CLASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Today in class we finally all realized our computers are poo and we should just use macs. The movie maker wasn't really cooperating so Mr. Schick said to either finish the project; make it a power point for extra credit, or find another way to study. I think I'm just going to go over the lyrics and take a couple notes and pictures to help my for the test. During class Maria and I pretty much talked about whatever and caught up on some classwork and homework. Once I finished that I took some notes on the lyrics.

4-15-13

Today in class one of the AIMS people came in to evaluate. He wasn't in class very long so I'm not sure how much he really evaluated. Mr. Schick gave us the assignment to make a video for his original song Rome. My partner is Maria, we were having some technical difficulties so it took us a while to get started, but Mr.Schick's magical powers got our video going. I have realized the most challenging part of this assignment is timing. You have to make sure the pictures match the lyrics which takes a while to get right. I do like this assignment. I like that Mr.Schick is always trying to find new ways to get his students to really interact with the lesson. I never really show up to class not wanting to be there.

Romulus and Remus

Today in class we worked on our comic strips. Maria was my partner and we finished in class today. I really liked making the comics I thought it was cool. They didn’t have all the realistic props to make the comic which makes it funny because something’s just aren’t normal. Our comics were about the two brothers named Romulus and Remus. Their parents left them as children; they put them in a basket and sent them away on a river. The two brothers crossed the path a of she wolf, who nursed them, fed them, and raised them. When the brothers got older they decided to build a city in the area the she wolf found them. Romulus killed Remus and built the city on his own.

4-10-13

Today in class Mr. Schick and Martha, aka Chi Cago and MSchick Lamar preformed a very interesting rap about Rome. The whole thing caught me off guard but I thought it was really funny and cool. After the private show, we disgusted the history of Rome and how it started to grow/expand. We talked about Patricians who are upper class citizens who belong to the oldest and noblest Roman families. We also talked about Plebeians who are the common people in Rome such a workers, small farmers, and wealthy people who are not Patricians. The Roman republic was a system of a city state government in which decision making was shared with the Senate and assemblies of male citizens. The Senate in Rome is originally made of members of the Patricians and wealthy Plebeians. In the Roman republic two senators who led the government and military for one year terms and appoint their own successors were Consuls.

Test

Today in class we took a test on Alexander, his family, and his great accomplishments at battle. I think I did pretty well but I know I did not get an A. After I turned in the test I looked back at my extra notes to review the questions I had a hard time answering. I may have gotten two or three questions wrong. I'm still pretty confident that I got at least a B or C. When we finished the test we had to go to Mr. Schick’s blog and work on the assignment he posted. Our assignment is to finish LO-1 City-State and Empire: The Roman Republic, found on p. 88-94. The only problem is my book has disappeared so I need to borrow one for this assignment and keep looking for the book I was given during the first class. It is also a new quarter so I am working on staying organized and being prepared for class. I am going to update my blog every night we have class and finish every assignment I am given.

Study Guide

King Phillip ll as Father

• The father of Alexander the Great
• He did not get along with Alexander
• Was King of Masidonia
• Had many wives
• Was a military man

Olympia

• Alexander the Greats mother
• She got along with Alexander

Zeus

• Was the God of Gods
• Was the God of thunder and lightning
• Was addressed to as Alexander the Greats real father

King Phillip ll as King

• Assassinated in the spring of 336 BC

Therorys

• Jelous bidy gaurd killed him
• Someone paid the body gaurd to kill him
• Olympia and Alexander paid the body gaurd to kill him

At age 20 Alexander became King of the expanding empire

Leonidas tutored Alexander the Great

• math
• horsemanship

Alexander

• Wounded in the shoulder by a dart
• Won epic battles against Porus
• Built an allience with the ruler of Porus

Test!

Today in class we had a test. The page layout of the test was very different then how Mr. Schick usually has it but it wasn't too confusing. It was a short test and it wasn't too easy and it was too hard, it required just the right amount of thinking. :) I don't think I got a 100 on the test but I do think I did pretty well. On the other hand, every time I think I do well on a test I get a bad grade. But I guess I will have to wait to find out. I can't remember if we finished the video or not but I do hope next time we have class we are still learning about Ancient Greece, I really do like it. Another thing I really like about ancient Greece is the people’s names. They are so different from the names we have now. My favorites are Xerxes and Phibidades. We also learned while watching the movie is that THE UNEXAMENED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING, which I agree with.

Friday 15, 2013

Today in class we started to go over and fill out our study guides. I had to sit in the back to charge my computer so I couldn't hear much and when I had a question it couldn't be answered. For every question that was answered Mr. Schick gave out a muffin. He should do that more often because it really gets the students eager to answer and participate in class. I really enjoy learning about ancient Greece; I think it is very interesting. I also like watching the video, taking notes, and stopping the video to go over things it really helps me understand more. I also think I am doing very well in Mr. Schick’s class; I’m just having a hard time remembering to blog every night. I trying to think of ways to remind myself but so far, I got nothing. I’m not really sure why I forget to blog because it should be an everyday thing and I really like it. It helps me get some of my thoughts out about class that I can’t share during class.

Test Review Day!

We chose to go over our tests today in class. I got eight of the multiple choice wrong, 3, 6, 8, 17, 26, 27, 29, and 30. The correct answers for each question were..

3. E
6. D
8. C
17. D
26. A
27. C
29. E
30. B
I also lost some points on the short answer questions. I could only figure out two of the questions so I didn't answer two and four. The correct answers for two and four are...

2. The titles of the two stories Homer told about the Trojan War were The Iliad and The Odyssey.

4. Prominent and long-established Athenian land-owners were called Aristocrats.

On my essay I got a 16 out of 20 which isn't to bad. I answers question B for the essay's, we were suppose to compare the city-states of Athens and Sparta.

While we were going over the test Mr. Schick let us know which questions would show up again. The two he mentioned were questions number two for multiple choice and number three for short answer. I'm glad they were questions I got correct.

2. Approximately 3/4 of Greece is covered by mountains.

3. The word "Mediterranean" originally meant The center of the world.

Socrates and Marijuana

Today in class we examined the famous painting called The Death of Socrates. We talked about how almost everything in the painting leads to him and what some of the thing places in the painting meant. After a long discussion about the painting we had a long discussion about whether we should legalize marijuana or not. I really liked the whole idea of picking a topic and just talking about how we feel towards the subject. I think it is something we should do every once in a while so we can let our brains think freely but still learn and understand what is going on, the classes also stay very engaged with what is going on in class during these discussions. I though our class ended up having very interesting discussions and we all understood and questioned each other. We also talked about a religion that believes a giant flying spaghetti monster created the earth. To me I think that is very strange and crazy, but others might think that about my religion so there is nothing I could do or say about that religion without having someone come back at me about beliefs in my religion.

Field Trip

March 8, 2013 I was not in class today. I went on a very fun and interesting field trip to the National Gallery of Art in D.C. I saw so many beautiful paintings and sculptures.

Monday 25, 2013

Today in class we had out chapter 2 test. It was an open book test so I'm pretty sure I got a good grade. I did not get to finish the test yet, hopefully I can finish tomorrow.

I came into class late today :)

The Barbarian Way of Life

•          Farming and village life
•          No cities
•          No written records
•          No fixed government structures
•          Languages Barbarians used became Greek and Latin
•          2000BC – 1000AD barbarians came into contact with civilization
•          Greece was first to emerge in Europe labeled “western”

The Aegean Encounter LO2

·         2200BC a civilization called Minoan arose on Aegean Island called Crete
·         Minoans drew wealth from control of trade
·         Greeks were influenced by Minoans/Crete
·         Mycenaean’s and Minoans fought for control of trade 1400BC

The Dark Ages

·         Mycenaean civilization lasted until 1200BC
·         1150BC Mycenaean was deserted, population dropped, no trade, no writing
·         Greeks expanded
·         1150-750BC The Dark Ages

Renewal of Greek Civilization

•          800BC the Aegean recovered, population expanded
•          Colonies founded 800-600BC

Greeks joined the Phoenicians

•          New developments
•          Use of iron tools/weapons
•          Coined money
•          Borrowing the Phoenician shipbuilding and warfare techniques
•          Writing and alphabet formed Greek language

:D :D

Today in class we went over more notes and information on Ancient Greece and its civilization. In the beginning of class Mr. Schick was telling us how he was going to make class really boring, so he started talking in a dull voice and had a bunch of words on the board. After a while he called Ben to read a fact to make the class more interesting, which really helped. I don't know what it is about Ben's voice but he can make something really boring sound very interesting and exciting. Mr. Schick asked Ben if he wanted to teach the rest of the class and he said he would but he would still need a little side line help along the way. So Ben and Mr. Schick teamed up and taught the class today. I learned that by 4000BC farming and village life had spread throughout the continent (Europe).

Ancient Greece

Today in class we went over two groups Ancient Greece Google presentations. The first group was Carly, John, and Taylor. They went through their whole presentation talking about how the Greek civilization started and their resources. Then Olivia, Matt, and Becca came up to talk about the Dark Ages on their slide. Something I learned new was that at some point in history for about 400 years Greeks stopped recording their history, so through out that point in time it is very hard for us to understand what happened to the Greeks. When this happened the rate of trade and Greece's population went down.

Friday 15, 2013

Today we have a two hour early bell so class wasn't very long. We wen't over the test we took a while ago. I think I got a 74 :( but I can't remember. We went around the classroom going over the questions and saying the correct answers so we can study them for exams. Every time it was my turn to ask the question and give the answer it was on a question I got wrong.

Happy Valentines Day :)

Mr. Schick was back today! Right when class started we got back to work on our ancient Greece presentations. Once again Maria and I got a lot of work done. I am pretty sure we are almost half way done what we were asked to mention on our slides. We had a long class today so we got a break in between mods, on our way back in to class Mr. Schick was telling Maria and I that so far we are doing a great job and that our presentation is looking good. I feel like we are doing such a good job because Maria and I work really well together and I for once really understand what we are talking about and going over in class., most of the time I only understand half of what’s going on. When this assignment gets graded I know we will get a good grade.

Wednesday 13,2013

Mr. Schick wasn't in class today. We worked on our Google presentations my partner Maria and I got a lot of work done. In the middle of working on our presentation Mr. Schick got on and started looking at what we got done and if we were working. I thought it was kind of creepy that he was watching what we were doing and messaging us about our work and class, but I also thought it was really cool. We stared writing about the geography of ancient Greece and how there are many islands in the Mediterranean Sea and how the Greeks traded with everyone located in or around the Mediterranean. I started writing about barbarians and the Pantheon in Athens. I'm really glad I have a good partner who splits the work evenly and helps me when I need it. I think we are going to do very well on this assignment.

Tuesday 11, 2013

Today in class we went over a power point about ancient Greece. We talked about the geographic feature and how Greece is a mountainous peninsula, 3/4 of Greece is mountains. There are about 1,400 islands surrounding Greece. Their location shaped their culture; there are many skilled sailors due to all the mountains. It was also very difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain so the developed small independent communities. We also went over the definition of a barbarian, who are tribal people who eventually come into contact with the civilizations of the east. In 2500 BC Indo-European (all the people who live in and migrate from India to Europe.) nomads from the steppes migrate into Europe and the European barbarian way of live evolved. We also talked about the Parthenon which sits on the top of the Acropolis in Athens. At the end of class we learned at Mediterranean means the middle of the world. Because there wasn't much traveling around the world the Greeks believed that they were in the middle of the world.