"I am Spartacus!"

We started Spartacus today and will finish it by Friday, with some interruptions along the way.  Some of you will miss a day due to the PLAN test.  I hope you were focusing on my bits about the "Blacklist" during the Red Scare of the 1950's in the USA and the lack of technological development in societies dependent upon slave labor.  There is much more to this movie than what you see and hear.  I mentioned this to one class - when you become more mature and culturally aware, your brains will start to revert to its pre-adolescent stage when you had questions and soaked up knowledge.  Some movies (and books, and music, and plays, etc.) have more to them than, "I like when truck go boom."  Think about what you see, hear, and make connections to what you know.  Ciao...

ZZZZ - Huh, What?

We watched a video about Rome.  Yeah, I usually never do such a thing on a Monday, but it fit well with the 2-day week.  We'll have a quiz on it tomorrow, so I hope you stayed awake.  Your timeline is due tomorrow.  Make sure you attach the chronology with the rubric and your name somewhere on the actual timeline itself.  After the video quiz, we'll score the timelines.  You get to enjoy your 5-day break...unless you haven't been keeping up in class.  You may want to review chapter 6.

All Roads Lead to...

Romo.  Oops.  I meant Rome.  We corrected the Rome packet (Ch. 6) today.  The answer key is available on the moodle.  There are still some people who do not understand due dates.  When something is corrected as a class, you cannot turn it in late for any credit.  That is why I always give an "oops' day for anyone who may have forgotten or lost their homework.  There was also a case of students coming to me at the end of class with their "completed" and scored work that had not been turned in and/or shown to me prior to our going over the work.  This is cheating, since it was obvious that they simply wrote down the answers as we went over them. 

Regarding cheating, many of you still do not understand the difference between WORKING WITH and COPYING FROM.  I encourage students to work together to find and figure out answers.  That is part of the learning process.  But when you simply copy the work, you may be getting the credit or better score/grade, but you're not learning.  I respect the student who EARNED 50% more than the student who copied his/her way to 60%.  Because, in the end, you will be beaten by the test, discussion, or other assessment.  Getting a good grade in your class means nothing without having learned something.  You will be amazed to find out what you do not know when applying for or starting a new job, only to be fired because you haven't learned what was expected of you as a graduate. 

Never be ashamed of not knowing something.  Do your best.  Learn what you can.  Ask for help.  Get clarification.  Learn.  Study.  Know. 

Timelines due Tuesday.  Start with Etruscan settlements (900 BCE).  And please remember to keep the integrity of the dates on the line.  Do not place an event from 88 BCE next to an event from 70 BCE and use the same distance to then place an event from 60 BCE.  There should be twice as much space between the first two dates as there is between the last two.  Understand?  If not, google timelines and figure it out.  Time is running out.  It's due Tuesday!  No extensions!!!

Stab Stab Stab!

We watched an episode of Conquest: Roman Weapons today.  After learning about what the Romans used and how they fought, we moved on to Pliny's account of Vesuvius.  There was a little interruption to the video when I talked about sewers, plumbing, and "toilet paper."  I hope you enjoyed the lesson.  We'll correct Ch. 6 work tomorrow, and I'll answer last-minute questions about the timeline which is absolutely, positively due by Tuesday.

Email

I taught you how to forward your MPS email to your personal email.  I was a little disappointed in some of you not knowing your passwords - you had been warned/reminded numerous times.  I think there may be a correlation between being prepared and passing the class.  Check the portal to see if that's true.  grades will be completely updated by tomorrow eve.  You need to turn in the Rome Packet (Ch. 6) so we can correct it in class.  There may be a test of some sort next Tuesday.  PREPARE!!!

Rome, Day 1

You picked up two maps (one sheet, back-to-back).  I projected both for you to copy.  If you did not finish, lost yours, or were not here, you can get the GDoc here.  I also showed you the first 3-4 minutes of the HBO series "Rome" which depicted the organizational structure of a Roman legion in combat.  A soldier was one of a group, rarely fighting as an individual.  We'll be in the computer lab (E118) on Wednesday.  I'll show you how to forward your MPS email, check the calendar, and you'll also complete a chart comparing the Republic with the Empire.  

From now on, I will copy&paste the daily instructions to the blog.

Pick up Map Handout       

        You will need 1color          

    Grade sheets - bring back a signed note from parents for EC            

    Homework:       

        Ch. 6 Packet  (Due Thursday, Nov 18th)   

        Rome Timeline (Due Tuesday Nov. 23rd)   

    Test Results are on the portal

    Open your notebooks to a blank page (Name and Date)       

        Title:  Rome   

            List as much as you can think of regarding Ancient Rome

Veterans

After yesterday's Greece Test, we take a step aside to watch some video segments about Veterans.  Nov. 11 is used to commemorate all of those people who have, are, or planning to serve in the United States military in order to protect the liberties we cherish every day. 

Understand that as we move forward in history, you should become more aware of "the state" as the benefactor of human service.  Citizens and non-citizens alike are often put into positions to fight for, defend, and die for a nation/country.

We will begin the unit on Rome tomorrow.  Read Chapter 6!!!