WELCOME BACK, TEAM!!! I know we all may be feeling a little out of sorts today, and waking up so early was certainly not easy! But we are back together… new year, new unit, new pug pictures 🙂

1/6 Quick Write:

We are starting a new unit today…. ANCIENT CHINA! Predictably, we will first take a look at China’s geography, assessing how China’s land forms effected earl settlement and survival. To do this, we will start by defining six important vocab terms during a gallery walk.

Below is the handout with both Chapter 19 and Chapter 20’s vocab on it.

KEEP THIS SAFE. Today we will just focus on the Chapter 19 side.

Here are the vocab definitions you will record during a gallery walk in class.

As always, after a long gap from school it feels a bit odd to get back into the academic routine. I can also relate to this! However, it will be more pleasant for everyone if we (myself included) all come prepared and on time, ready to learn some new stuff about old dead people. Cheers!

Whoohoo! Almost on break– thank goodness!

12/20 Quick Write: (You are turning this in today!)

We are wrapping up presentations today!

You will turn in two things today:

1. Your Quick Write– FIVE completed answers and your name on top
2. Your Presentation Note-taker where you have been documenting information on the other religions as they’ve been presented.

If we finished presentations yesterday, we will have other plans 🙂

We will not see each other for two weeks, so please… PLEASE… get some sleep, have some fun, and be SAFE!

See you next year 😉

Happy Thursday!!!

12/19 Quick Write:

We are continuing our presentations today!

If you already presented, than you will be nice and relaxed while respectfully listening to other presentations.
If you are presenting tomorrow, you’ve had a lot of time to practice, so I expect good work from you!
If you are presenting today, remember the tips below.

The note-taker for the presentations is attached… keep this safe since you will turn it in on Friday!

Have a great day, team!

Almost halfway through the week… and presentations begin today!

12/18 Quick Write:

We are starting our religion presentations today! 🙂

If you are presenting, remember the presentation tips we’ve talked about!

If you are an audience member, remember to treat each presenting group the way you will want them to treat you when you’re standing up there!

During presentations, you will be completing a note-taker, documenting information from each other religion. Find the note-taker below.

Depending on how much time we have at the end of class, we may or may not have time for a quick debrief on the religions that were presented.

Good luck, and have a jolly day!

Hey, happy Tuesday!

12/17 Quick Write:

The presentation sign-up sheet is posted on Google Classroom… check it so you know when you and your group are presenting!

Today your group will be wrapping up slideshows. For those of you presenting tomorrow, if you would like to come into lunch today or tomorrow to practice, you are welcome to.

As you finish your slideshows today, you need to determine who will present what information. Everyone needs to speak during the presentation.

I know, I know… a lot of you do not like public speaking. But avoiding speaking to groups doesn’t make the anxiety go away… you have to practice! That is why towards the end of class, once your group has figured out who is discussing which info, I will have note-cards for you write down the key points you want to present.

So often when we are nervous, we get distracted and end up forgetting important info. The note-card will have a short list of important information on it, so you won’t forget any of it!

When you are presenting, keep this in mind!!

1. You are NOT reading the slides. We in the audience can read for ourselves.
2. In your own words, you are simply telling us about your topic. You should know this information since you researched it!
3. Make eye contact and speak loudly.
4. Use your note-card only to remind yourself of important things you want to cover… you’re not reading a speech!
5. Everyone must speak.
6. Someone must explain the physical or auditory artifact.

If you know that you get really nervous when presenting, get together with your group and practice presenting your info together!

Have a smooth day, today!

Welcome back… hope you had a restful weekend!

12/16 Quick Write:

We are continuing our research for our religion projects today. After you are done researching, you will begin working on your slideshow today. Don’t forget to share the slideshow with all members of your group, and me!!

Before we get into groups, I will explain the expectations of the slideshows, including the physical (or auditory) artifact that each group must have. See the slides below.

There will also be a Presentation Sign Up sheet circulating around class as you work. Your group will select the day and order they want to present. Keep these factors in mind:

1. 3-4 groups will go each day
2. Each presentation is between 5-10 minutes long
3. There must be different religions presenting each day– no repeats! (In other words, two groups who have the same religion cannot present on the same day)
4. If you know you will be absent on a particular day, your group must sign up for a day you’re here

Be productive with your time! Presentations start on Wednesday! Just because you’re not presenting on Wednesday doesn’t mean you’ll have class time to work on your presentation– you must be an active audience member!

Have a happy Monday!

Friday the 13th…. spooky 🙂

12/13 Quick Write:

Today you will get together with your group and figure out who will research what information, and which role you each will play.

The roles and the information you need to find are on the document below.

Then you will begin your research, using reliable sources! Use the note-taker below to document the information you find.

Use your time well, and communicate with your team!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Hello…. after today we only have one more Thursday until break!

12/12 Quick Write:

Today we are wrapping up our notes on Kush, and you will share out your summary question (and two pieces of evidence to support your summary). See section questions below.

After this, I will introduce the Religion Project we will work on until break. You will be randomly assigned a group and a religion. As a group, you will create a slideshow that y’all will present to us next week. Since there is a lot of information that you will need to learn, you will split up the research among members of your group. Find project directions and the notetaker you will use below.

We will continue our research tomorrow and Monday, and begin constructing our slideshows Monday and Tuesday. Presentations will be on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week.

Have a great day!

Halfway to Winter Break! We are so excited, I know. Let’s get there smoothly and with grace, aye?

12/11 Quick Write:

Today we are taking a closer look at Ancient Egypt’s complicated neighbor to the south… the Kingdom of Kush! Another extremely advanced, wealthy and powerful African civilization, Kush and Egypt interacted and overlapped for thousands of years.

The two empires have a complex relationship; Kush conquered Egypt at one point, and Egypt took over Kush at another. There was a time when they were united and at peace, and also they found themselves in conflict with each other. Much of the culture, architecture, gods and lifestyles were shared between the two civilizations as well.

All of this being said, Kush was an innovative and influential Kingdom, and I wish we had much more time to study it. For now, we will simply focus on how its geography, much like Egypt’s, affected its settlement.

We will examine geographical maps to remind ourselves of the three important geographical features…. water, topography and vegetation.

Then we will watch a quick video, thinking about what environmental resources allowed Kush to become so powerful, a resource that would also became its partial downfall.

We will read the introduction of Chapter 10 together, while I demonstrate how I want you to take notes. Then each table group will have a different section of the text, and will be considering a specific question.

Remember, you need two pieces of evidence from the text to support your answer!

Have a knowledgeable and quick day!

Hello! Today… we are focused on MUMMIES!!

12/10 Quick Write:

We are expanding on the Afterlife conversation we had yesterday, and taking a deeper look at the purpose of mummies and the process of mummification. Today we are going to look at Mummies through the lens of Ancient Egyptians’ belief in the Afterlife.

First, you will read the article below and answer the following questions in your table groups.

THEN you will create a DEATH MASK– a personalized mask which would be put on your sarcophagus (or coffin) if you were an Ancient Egyptian. Since these masks were believed to help guide the soul back to the correct body, you need to make your mask unique to you!

The questions and reading must be done at the end of class. If you need more time on the mask, you may work on it at home, to be turned in tomorrow!

Have a lovely day 🙂