In Class Essays

Today in class, we had to write our essay portion of our westciv exam. We had to choose three essays to write out of about five. I chose the one about what Jared Diamond's theory of "geographic luck" was about and how it applied to what civilization is like today. I though that essay was one of the easiest ones because the answer to it was easy and I already had a good idea as to what I was going to write. The second essay I chose was the one about the differences and similarities of ancient Rome and ancient Greece. You also had to talk about the type of entertainment and culture that ancient Rome and ancient Greece had. That essay was kind of easy I mean it was a little harder to write because I had to remember things about ancient Greece and we talked about that a while ago. The third essay I chose was one I did on the last exam which was the one about Socrates and his famous quote about life. I already knew what to write for this essay also because I already did it before and we talked a lot about it in the first and second semester. The essay writing wasn't as bad as I thought, but we really needed more time and maybe another class to finish because there was a lot of writing in the whole combination of the three essays. I also didn't think it was really fair that we had to write three and another class had to only write two essays. I am just happy it's over with and done.

3RD DAY OF PRESENTATIONS

Today in class, it was the last day of our Rome project presentations. We have a smaller class so only two groups needed to go today and that was my group and Suky and Christina's. Sky's group went first and they made a drawing to go along with ancient Rome of the plebeians and patricians. I think they did a really good job on the drawing it was really neat. They also made a video on YouTube that described the Colosseum and it talked and read the facts to you which I thought was a unique idea and it was a really good video and wasn't too short or too long. They also had a third part of the project where they made a model of the Colosseum and it was really well built and it was big enough to look like an actual model of the Colosseum. Katie and I's project was good too I think we presented it well and I am just happy we are done with the projects and that the presentations are over with.

2ND DAY OF PRESENTATIONS

Today in class, it was the second day of presentations and again we had to grade the groups that went today and there were three groups that presented. The first group was Chris' group and they made a model of the Colosseum and made a cake that the Romans who were rich named the patricians would eat during the time there were doing something for a special occasion. I really liked the cake and how they made the model. The second group was Reece's group and they made a video on a fight going on between the Romans and a barbarian. I think that it was far too short and they didn't really explain anything so I felt like there wasn't much done to that project. The third group was Jack's group and they built a catapult and had a program to go with it explaining the parts of the catapult and other facts about how it was used in ancient Rome. We went outside to test it and I think that they did a good job on how they built it. It was really well done. Tomorrow is the third day of presentations and I want to see what else the other groups did.

1ST DAY OF PRESENTATIONS

Today in class, it was the first day of presentations for our class. There were three presentations presented today. The first group was Gabby and Meghan who did a powerpoint and made pottery on the ancient pottery of Rome. I think they did really well presenting the powerpoint and explaining what types of pottery were more significant in ancient Rome. I also like the pottery they made with clay and how they glazed it and had it painted. The second group was Gabi's group and they made a program about the Circus Maximus. I really liked the idea they had to make a program because no one else would really think about doing something like that. It was very creative and the information was organized really well on the program. The third group was Sammi's group and they did a tri-fold and made a model of the Pantheon. I thought the board looked presentable with the pictures and the information. I also liked the model of the Pantheon. I think, for the first day, all the groups that went did well and had good ideas for this project.

5-15-15

Yesterday in class, we finished watching the Rome video we were watching earlier this week. Some of us started to watch it last week, but I never really got a chance to watch it. It was about Tiberius Gracchus and how after his father died, he was the one expected to be just like his father and put Rome in a good place. He went to war with Rome's enemies at the time and made a truce with them and the Senate of Rome didn't agree with that so they started to hate Tiberius and wanted him dead so they eventually ended up murdering him and turned him away from the Assembly and his people. When he died, there was no funeral for him, they just put his body in the Tiber river and that was the end of Tiberius Gracchus.

NOTES FROM POWERPOINT OF ANCIENT ROME

Notes - 
     
Poor Plebs

1. The poet Juvenal, said the people of ancient Rome (plebs) "anxiously hopes for two things: bread and circuses"
2. Bread and the entertainment which was the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum, partly to keep them alive, and partly to keep them quiet 
3. Tiberius Gracchus recognized the advantages of courting the plebians
4. Military generals worked that angle and lead an army that conquers a land, then give them a share in the spoils
5. Soldiers' loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic

Julius Caesar

1. Lived from (100-44 BCE)
2. Highly successful general 
3. He conquered the huge territory of Gaul
4. Made common folks happy
5. Made friends in high places
6. Pompey (a general who conquered Syria and Palestine)
7. Crassus (the richest man in Rome, one of the richest men in all history)
8. These three men formed the First Triumvirate ("rule of three men")

POP QUIZ

Today in class, we had a pop quiz which was very unexpected and everyone was worried about it because there is so much information on Rome so no one knew what it would be on. I only got one wrong which made me really happy and I was really thankful because I need any good grade I can get. We also worked on our project which is stressing me out because it is due in two days ad there is a lot of work to get done in other classes too and I just feel like I have to make time that really isn't there. I am going to work on as much as I can tonight so tomorrow night I won't have anything to do since I know I will have a lot of homework tomorrow night.

VIDEOO

Today in class, we started re-watching the Rome video we watched on our own last week. I think we watched it again so we could review it and the project and test are very close by so we need to start reviewing for what is to come and our exams start soon so it is really important to start studying and getting ready since a lot of this month is going to be hard because it is really busy. Almost every class I have just keeps getting more stressful because of our exams and the end of school is near. It is going to be a crazy next few weeks so I am hoping that I get a good final grade for this class and do well on the final project.

Absent

Yesterday I wasn't in class because I had an orthodontist appointment.

Rome Video

Today in class, we watched a video on Rome and it was about the battles the ancient Romans fought and their lifestyle. Rome's lifestyle was very different from other ancient groups such as Greece and Egypt. We already had units on those countries and what their center of life was like Egypt having the Nile River as the center. Rome had pretty evil kings in its time when people were ruled by kings and that was before they had a different form of government that they wanted to try. They never went back to having kings rule them, because they didn't like the way the kings would run things. So, they decided to have their own form of government and have ruling on their own terms. This changed everything and we even use their ancient form of government today. It is a little different though because it has evolved over the years. Rome changed the way we do things today.

5-6-15

Today in class we reviewed the powerpoint again as usual and took more notes. There are so many notes I thought we were actually almost done with this unit on Rome. I think it is such a big unit for this class because the school year is almost over and it will be the last thing we have a test on and have our last big project on. It is a lot of work, but I feel like it's not that bad because in my other classes it is the same and there is still a lot to have done before the end of the year. I hope it will be fine though and the rest of the year will be as smooth as it can be.

TAKING MORE NOTES

Today in class, we took more notes off the powerpoint we usually work with. There were a lot more than I expected to take today and there was a lot of information to learn and look over. We are mostly going through the rap like one line at a time and taking notes on the things we need to know from the information provided in the rap song. There is a lot to know just from one line of the rap, I didn't realize it until it was all laid out in a powerpoint and we have been analyzing each day. I hope we work on our projects during our next class though because I think we need some more class time to work on it.

1920's junior project

Yesterday in class, we learned about many important people from the 1920's by going to the second floor during the first mod. This project was one for the juniors who were in Mr. Hollin's class. They had to dress up as their person that they did research on and tell everyone who wanted to hear about them their life story. I think it was a neat project that you have the chance to do when your a junior. Everyone that I talked too knew the story that they were supposed to tell very well and I think they did a good job on their project. I thought it was a really interesting project too because I have never seen anything like it before. I learned a lot from the people that talked about women's rights and the actors in the 1920's. I hope to do the same project maybe when I am a junior.