Thursday, November 20, 2008

Intro to Civilization IV: Colonization




Civilization IV: Colonization is a standalone title in the Civilization series, released in September 2008 for the PC, approximately one year after Beyond the Sword, the next most recent Civ4 expansion. Despite the fact that Civ4 is not needed to run the game, many elements have stayed the same, making Colonization both an old and new game. On the one hand, it is very similar to the 1994 classic, Sid Meier's Colonization, keeping intact the founding fathers system, economic model, and overall goals (see below). However, this game utilizes the Civ4 engine, interface, and graphics, enhancing it for sure, but relying on the quality of Civ4 to provide a foundation.

In short, this game is unique: instead of spanning a few thousand years, like in Civilization, Colonization zooms in on just a few centuries. The focus is the Age of Discovery, exploration, empire-building, and, later, indepedence. Players must found and grow their colonies while simultaneously balancing the requests and demands of natives and European kings, all with the intention of one day, if successful, creating a new nation through war. Though many common elements (war and peace, diplomacy, expansion, etc.) are present, Colonization combines them in a way that provides for an unparalled experience.

Below are key features of the game. Be sure to check out the other pages on this site for even more detailed info!

Economics
The colonial, supply-and-demand economy plays a key role in the growth of your empire. The primary goal of the game is simple: acquire raw resources from the neighboring land, bring them to cities via boat or wagon, and manufacture them into finished goods for sale in Europe, generating a profit and allowing the cycle to repeat. Although the process may sound one-dimensional, the methods certainly are not, and there are various ways to generate cash: finding treasure, parttaking in the Columbian Exchange with the natives, trading with other colonies, or sailing all the way to Europe. Unlike in Civ4, resources are in specific amounts: for example, creating a soldier requires 50 guns, not simply access to some resource. Thus, Colonization contains a much more realistic and in-depth economic model than Civilization 4.

Europe
Trade with Europe is the cornerstone of the game and vital to your colonies' success. Goods can be bought and sold, and individuals can be recruited to join your empire. In particular, Europe supplies experienced workers who are much more efficient than typical, unspecialized colonists. However, they also cost more, making your decisions regarding the workforce important. Your European King will also request money and tax increases from you, providing for potential conflict and affecting his stance towards your revolution.

Natives
In addition to other European countries, you must handle the natives who already inhabit the lands. They come into play in a variety of ways: offering the occasional gift of resources if relations are strong, demanding that you compensate them for their territory if you found a colony near them, or even declaring war on you if they deem you too invasive. Conversely, they might help you out in your fight versus the European king. Native burial grounds, like Civ4 goody huts, also cover the land, offering bonuses of gold, experience, treasure, or more to the first to discover.

Founding Fathers
Founding Fathers essentially are to Colonization what Great People are to Civilization 4: historical figures that provide a significant boost to your empire. By acquiring Political, Religious, Exploration, Trade, and Military points, you increase your chances of getting an offer from a Founding Father to join your empire and take a place in your Continental Congress. These individuals might provide an economic boost (increased production of a resource, for example) or military bonus (free promotions, etc.). Keep in mind that only one colonial empire can receive each Founding Father.

Revolution
Finally, once a player's colonies have become sufficiently developed and contain enough "rebel sentiment", a revolution can be declared and war with the motherland will ensue. As you scramble to defend your colonies, equipping colonists with guns and horses, the king will send over a Royal Expeditionary Force to squash the rebellion. In order to win the game, you must defeat all the king's land forces.

Multiplayer
Multiplayer is fully supported for Colonization, and players have the option of squaring off in a variety of ways: traditional Internet lobby or LAN games, Play by Email, Direct IP, or Hotseat. Games can have a maximum of 8 players, meaning that two players can work cooperatively to control one colony. Visit the Multiplayer forum for more info.

Customization
Like Civ4, Colonization is extremely moddable: Python, XML, and even the SDK (Software Development Kit) can be used to create simple mods or total conversions. The in-game WorldBuilder allows map editing, resource and unit placement, and the creation of scenarios on historical maps. For more discussion about modding, check out the Creation & Customization forum!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Ch. 4 Sections 1-4

Ch. 4 The Monarchs of Europe

The Homework for each Section is to answer the “Assessment” at the end of each section, Sections 1-4.

The Test for this chapter is scheduled for next Friday. We will finish the chapter by next Friday.

World History 2
Dr. Smith

Monday, June 02, 2008

Upcoming Attraction

Upcoming Attraction is a cumulative Test.

In particular, the Final Assessment material will consist of:

Chapter 4 Ancient Greece: 1750 B.C.–133 B.C.;

Chapter 5 Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity: 509 B.C.–A.D. 476;

Chapter 10 Muslim Civilizations: 622–1629.

Be sure to study these chapters.

Good luck.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

On Applying to Upper Tier Schools

Ethan Nguyen
"On Applying to Upper Tier Schools"
12 May 2008

Nguyen's background at Vassar is in British Literature, in particular Milton. He was a Thomas J. Watson Fellow. He is at Penn working on a double degree of Public Health and an MBA at Wharton.

The Ivy Scholar Initiative will assist low-income students when applying to the top tier colleges.

The question is, with so many applicants offering perfect scores, and not getting in, what can applicants from poor, urban schools do?

You have to "sell" yourself. The posture, speech, and way that you present yourself is critical.

You do not want a laundry list of many student activities but concentrate on three crucial elements: community service, leadership, and academics. You should tie these three together. Package yourself correctly and you are a stellar buy.

In the Asian Health Initiative, Nguyen has hired two students. 5-10 students were selected to be in the program, their essays were reviewed, they wrote hundreds of essays.

Students need to compete with applicants who have 25K in cash for college guidance and a coach.

How do you compete with that?

They have the name game going for them. They know high-powered people and get recommendations from them.

You have to develop the charm and charisma in order to negotiate as an applicant with fewer funds.

If your family makes less than 100K annually and you are accepted, you can attend Penn for free.

Read a great deal. Read the daily newspaper and stay abreast of current events. Be involved, don't follow a path. You have to be high achieving, motivated, have a sense of preparation. Take college summer classes. Connect to your community, and the globe.

Rhodes/Gates/Fulbright are all grants that pay for foreign travel and experience.

You need recommendations that work for you from leaders in the community.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Election Day Questions

Election Day Questions, 22 April 2008, Dr. Smith

Name: _________________________________________________________

Period: _____________

Questions to ask the voters:

What, in your opinion, is the biggest political issue or issues in American politics today?


Do other questions, such as the views of Obama's pastor, or Hillary's role in Bosnia, play a role in determining your vote?


Do the negatives about a candidate, lack of experience, lack of credibility, or associated with the Iraq war, play a role in determining who you will vote for?



In the general election, will you vote your political party, or would you consider voting for someone outside your political party?


What is your political party?

Who do you think you will vote for in the 2008 Presidential election?


Other than the three leading candidates for the Presidency, Ralph Nader and Ron Paul are also running, would you consider voting for them? Why or why not? Do you know much about them or their positions?


Where do you get most of your political information? Media? Books? Family/friends? Somewhere else?

Why is voting important to you?



Thank you very much for your time.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Chapters 6 & 7 Completed

Following the Mid-Term, and now having completed Chapters 6 and 7, students can answer and finish Chapter 8 material on seedwiki: per the directions provided in class.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Research on Bridge Collapse/Repair

Friday, August 03, 2007
Bridge collapse points to national problem
By Eric Kelderman, Stateline.org Staff Writer, and Chris Hamby, Special to Stateline.org

(Updated at 10:05 a.m. Friday, Aug. 3, EDT)

The Minnesota bridge that collapsed this week is just one of 73,518 "structurally deficient" bridges across the country that state and federal inspectors have deemed in need of significant repairs. While the total failure of a busy bridge is shocking, the problem of deteriorating bridges and not enough money to fix them all is well-documented.

At the time of the collapse Aug. 1, some lanes of the 40-year-old span of Interstate 35 over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis were closed while construction workers made surface repairs. But there were several flaws that in 1990 landed the 458-foot bridge over the Mississippi River on a list of "structurally deficient" structures compiled by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

That rating means "significant load-carrying elements of the bridge are found to be in poor or worse condition" and "typically require significant maintenance and repair to remain in service." The designation does not mean a bridge is necessarily unsafe, according to the FHWA.

The cause of the collapse, which killed at least five motorists and injured nearly 80, is not yet known. At least 8 people still were reported missing. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) was quoted as saying the bridge had been inspected in both 2005 and 2006 and was not slated to be replaced until 2020. Pawlenty now has ordered a statewide inspection of all bridges with a similar design, although it is not known how many other similar bridges there are, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters also called on states to immediately inspect any steel deck truss bridges similar to the I-35 structure.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (R), in an interview on MSNBC's Hardball Thursday (Aug. 2), predicted that every governor now would order similar inspections for all major infrastructure.

The tragedy highlights a nationwide problem of deteriorating bridges -- as well as roads -- that states and the federal government are struggling to maintain in the face of fast-rising costs of construction and the shrinking value of gasoline taxes.

More than 26 percent of the nation's bridges were rated either structurally deficient, meaning the Minnesota bridge and more than 73,000 others were in need of major repairs, or "functionally obsolete," a group of 79,427 bridges deemed no longer adequate for the amount of traffic they carry. It would cost an estimated $9.4 billion a year for 20 years to bring all of the existing bridges up to date, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

In fact, Minnesota's bridges fare well when compared with the rest of the states: 12 percent of the state's bridges were rated deficient or obsolete, according to 2006 FHWA data. Only Arizona has a smaller percentage of bridges needing major repairs.

Oklahoma has the highest percentage of bridges rated structurally deficient -- 27 percent. More than half of the bridges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts were rated either deficient or obsolete, according to the federal figures.

Bridges are just one piece of the transportation network strained by long-term neglect, a steady increase in the number of drivers, a stagnant source of funding and rampant inflation of road-building costs, according to a March 2007 study by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

The biggest hurdle to improving roads is that federal gasoline taxes, which pay for more than 45 percent of the nation’s transportation infrastructure, have not been raised since 1993 and are not even sufficient to cover the spending in the 2005 federal transportation law. While gasoline prices have skyrocketed to more than $3 a gallon, federal taxes to support road work have not because the 18.4-cent federal tax is added on each gallon -- not each dollar -- of gas sold. Federal gas taxes will fall $11 billion short of planned road projects by 2009, but the gap could be as big as $19 billion the following year, AASHTO found.

A longer-term problem is that the cost of building and fixing roads has grown rapidly in recent years. Between the last gas-tax hike in 1993 and 2015, construction costs will have increased by more than 70 percent, according to AASHTO. Federal gas taxes would have to go up at least 3 cents by 2009 and 7 cents more by 2015 just to maintain the current highway system and keep pace with the fast-rising cost of roads, the association estimates.

Instead of raising the federal gasoline tax, U.S. Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) introduced a bill, just hours before the Minnesota bridge catastrophe, to create an independent national bank to provide government financing for major infrastructure projects.

Some states have been willing to raise taxes for road construction. Fifteen states have hiked fees at the pump since 1997, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

But in the face of high gasoline prices, Minnesota's Pawlenty vetoed a $5 billion transportation package this year that would have been financed in part with a 5-cent hike in the state's 22-cent gas tax, last raised in 1988. In 2006 voters passed a ballot initiative to dedicate increased vehicle registration fees for transportation projects.

Pennsylvania, with one of the highest percentages of structurally deficient bridges, increased money for bridge repairs from $250 million to $600 million last year, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) told Stateline.org Aug. 2 at the opening of the annual Capitolbeat conference for statehouse reporters and editors. "Despite that, we can barely make a dent in bridge repair. To repair all 5,900 bridges would cost $8 billion," he said.

Noting that economic competitors such as Japan and Germany have undertaken massive infrastructure repairs, Rendell said the U.S. government also should invest in a massive repair program that states would have to help support to fix bridges and roads but also water and sewage infrastructure.

This year, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) vetoed a $19 million increase in transportation funding that would have been paid for with a 1.8-cent increase in that state's 28-cent gas tax. Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) both worked to scuttle bills to increase gas taxes for road construction.

Ridge told Hardball: "There's not a governor and state legislature on an annual basis that doesn't go through the political torment and anguish every year about how to pay for these things. Everybody knows there's a need and everybody is kind of reluctant to raise taxes."

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Government Security Graded

Feds get C- security grade but Defense fails, DHS gets a D by ZDNet's Richard Koman -- The conventional wisdom is that the federal government deserves failing grades for computer security. After all, the big VA breach of a year ago has been followed by many more stories of agencies losing computers, suffering data breaches and failing to encrypt sensitive data. Today a House committee handed out security report cards for all [...]

Will America Be a Second Rate Power?

Universities Pressure Presidential Candidates for Science Debate

3/13/2008

By Dian Schaffhauser

Drexel University, Carnegie Mellon University, Temple University, Lehigh University, Lafayette College, and a number of other institutions of higher education, as well as museums and private companies, have called on the presidential candidates to participate in a science-focused debate on technology, climate change, health policy, and education.

"What we need is a debate focusing on how we're going to move this nation ahead in terms of the global economy and high quality jobs, tackling clean energy and climate change, reinvigorating science and math education, and solving our health care system," said debate organizer Shawn Lawrence Otto, CEO of Science Debate 2008. The grass roots debate has been scheduled for April 18 at The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia.

Among business leaders calling for the forward-thinking debate is Intel Chairman Craig Barrett. "This is not a niche debate," said Barrett. "The future economic success of the United States depends on out-performing the competition with smart people and smart ideas. Without the best education system and aggressive investments in basic research and development, we will become a second-rate economic power. With its outstanding universities and transforming economy, Pennsylvania is a perfect place for this discussion, and we hope the candidates for president take this very seriously."

At the time of this writing, no candidates had announced their participation.

Organized by a couple of out of work screenwriters, ScienceDebate2008.com signers represent 140 American universities.

Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business. Send your higher education technology news to her at dian@dischaffhauser.com.

Cf. Dian Schaffhauser, "Universities Pressure Presidential Candidates for Science Debate," Campus Technology, 3/13/2008, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=59863

Monday, March 17, 2008

Chapter 5 Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity

Chapter 5 Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity: 509 B.C.–A.D. 476




Chapter Preview

Learn

Chapter Focus Question

How did Rome grow from a single city to a huge, diverse

empire?

The Roman World Takes Shape

From Republic to Empire

The Roman Achievement

The Rise of Christianity

The Long Decline

Section 1 The Roman World Takes Shape
Objectives

*

Describe the physical and cultural settings in which Roman civilization arose.
*

Outline how the Roman republic was structured and governed.
*

Understand the rights and religious practices that characterized Roman society.
*

Explain how the Roman republic grew and maintained its conquests.

Terms, People, and Places

Etruscans

republic

patrician

consul

dictator

plebeian

tribune

veto

legion

Note Taking

Chapter 5, Section 1
Roman Civilization Arises in Italy

Map
Ancient Italy About 500 B.C.
Map Skills

At the time the state of Rome was founded, the Romans’ many neighbors on the Italian peninsula included other speakers of Italic languages such as Latin.

1. Locate
(a) Rome (b) Apennine Mountains (c) Mediterranean Sea (d) Carthage (e) Tiber River

2. Region
Based on this map, which group would you think most influenced the Romans? Explain.

3. Make Generalizations
What do you think are some advantages and disadvantages of living near a variety of different peoples?

Checkpoint (s)

How did geography influence the origins and expansion of Rome?

How did the membership of the senate change over time?

What social rights did Roman women have?

Infographic
The Roman Cursus Honorum

HW
SECTION 1 Assessment

Note Taking
Reading Skill: Identify Causes and Effects
2. Use your completed cause-and-effect chart to answer the Focus Question: What values formed the basis of Roman society and government?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking
Summarize
3. Describe the cultural setting in which Rome developed.
Identify Central Issues
4. In both Roman politics and Roman society, equality was prized. Describe an example of Romans achieving political or social equality.
Recognize Cause and Effect
5. What were two reasons for Rome’s success in expanding its power across Italy?

EC
Writing About History

Section 2 From Republic to Empire
Objectives

*

Understand how the Roman republic grew through a series of conquests.
*

Identify the events leading to the decline of the Roman republic.
*

Describe the nature of the new age that dawned with the Roman empire.

Terms, People, and Places

imperialism

latifundia

Tiberius Gracchus

Gaius Gracchus

Julius Caesar

Augustus

census

Hadrian

Note Taking

Map

Growth of Roman Power to 44 B.C.

Map Skills

Although Hannibal (below) posed a challenge, the Roman republic gradually gained control of lands around the Mediterranean Sea through conquest and diplomacy.

1. Locate
(a) Spain (b) Gaul (c) Asia Minor (d) Macedonia (e) Pyrenees Mountains

2. Region

During what period did Asia Minor come under Roman control?

3. Synthesize Information

What does this map tell you about the outcome of the Punic Wars with Carthage, which lasted from 264 B.C. to 146 B.C.?

Checkpoint (s)

What challenges did Rome face while building an empire around the Mediterranean Sea?

What central issue sparked the warfare that eventually led to the decline of Rome?

How did Augustus lay the foundation for stable government in the Roman empire?

Biography

Julius Caesar

The bold rise to power of Julius Caesar (100 B.C. [?]–44 B.C.) echoed his boldness on the battlefield (at left). His brilliant conquest of Gaul made him enormously popular. Romans were thrilled by reports of his many victories, which added great riches and huge territories to the empire. In nine years of campaigning, Caesar lost only two battles. His tactics in Gaul are still studied at military academies today.

When Caesar, in defiance of Pompey’s orders, crossed the Rubicon River from Gaul back into Italy, he said, “iacta alea est,” or “the die is cast,” meaning there was no turning back. Today, people use the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” to mean making a decision from which there is no turning back. Painters and writers such as William Shakespeare have also immortalized Caesar in their works.

In what different ways did Caesar leave a lasting impact on the world?

HW
SECTION 2 Assessment

Note Taking
Reading Skill: Recognize Multiple Causes
2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: What factors led to the decline of the Roman republic and the rise of the Roman empire?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking
Make Comparisons
3. Compare the positive and negative results of conquest for Rome. Which do you think had the most impact?

Predict Consequences
4. Do you think the reforms Caesar enacted would have been enough to maintain the Roman republic, had he not been killed?

Analyze Information
5. How do you think the founders of the Roman republic would have viewed the government of the Roman empire?

EC
Writing About History

Section 3 The Roman Achievement
Objectives

*

Summarize the works of Roman literary figures, historians, and philosophers.
*

Describe the art and architecture developed by the Romans.
*

Understand how the Romans applied science and mathematics for practical use.
*

Explain how Rome’s legal codes protected everyone in the empire.

Terms, People, and Places

Virgil

satirize

mosaic

engineering

aqueduct

Ptolemy

Note Taking

Primary Source

In this passage, Livy (shown below) comments on the importance of studying history. In what ways does he say we can learn from history?

“. . . in history you have a record of the infinite variety of human experience plainly set out for all to see; and in that record you can find for yourself and your country both examples and warnings: fine things to take as models, base things, rotten through and through, to avoid.”

—Livy, The History of Rome

Checkpoint

How did Roman writers promote patriotism?

How did Roman architecture differ from Greek architecture?

Who in the Roman empire engaged in scientific research? Who put science to practical use?

What were the basic principles of Roman law?

Infographic
Remnants of Roman Daily Life

HW
SECTION 3 Assessment

Note Taking
Reading Skill: Understand Effects
2. Use your completed concept web to answer the Focus Question: How did advances in arts, learning, and the law show the Romans’ high regard for cultural and political achievements?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking
Make Generalizations
3. How did Greek culture influence the development of Roman civilization?

Synthesize Information
4. How did Romans use science and mathematics to improve life in the empire?

Determine Relevance
5. Give two examples of how Roman principles of law affect life in the United States today.

EC
Writing About History

Section 4 The Rise of Christianity
Objectives

*

Understand the diverse religions included in the early Roman empire.
*

Summarize the teachings of Jesus and how they were spread.
*

Outline the development of the early Christian Church.

Terms, People, and Places

messiah

apostle

Paul

martyr

Constantine

clergy

bishop

patriarch

pope

heresy

Augustine

Note Taking

Checkpoint

What was Rome’s policy toward most of the religions in the empire?

What aspects of Jesus’ message were unique?

What factors enabled Christianity to spread throughout the Roman empire?

How was the early Christian clergy organized?

Primary Source

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus (below) summarized his ethical message, which echoed Jewish ideas of mercy and sympathy for the poor and helpless. What does he say is the reward for being merciful?

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”

—Matthew 5:5–9

Map Skills

Aided by the work of Paul and other missionaries, Christianity gradually spread across the Roman empire.

1. Locate

(a) Jerusalem (b) Ephesus (c) Antioch (d) Constantinople (e) Alexandria

2. Movement

In what areas did Paul travel on his first journey?

3. Analyze Information

How did the extent of Christianity in A.D. 325 compare to that in A.D. 476? Was there a significant difference?

Biography
Peter

As the chief apostle, Peter (d. A.D. 64(?)) devoted his life to spreading the teachings of Jesus. He had been born with the name Simon, but according to the New Testament Jesus changed his name, saying, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.”

Peter became a missionary and is said to have later become the first bishop of both Antioch and Rome. However, his devotion to Jesus and Christianity cost him his life. Tradition tells of Peter’s persecution under the Roman emperor Nero. In one account, when Peter learns he is to be crucified, he insists on being turned upside down, saying he is not worthy of dying in the same way that Jesus had. What does Peter’s behavior indicate about his devotion to his faith?

Chart Skills

HW
SECTION 4 Assessment

Note Taking
Reading Skill: Understand Effects

2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: How did Christianity emerge and then spread to become the official religion of the Roman empire?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking
Identify Central Issues
3. Why were many Jews unhappy under Roman rule even though the Romans were tolerant of their religion?

Synthesize Information
4. What were three basic teachings of Jesus?

Summarize
5. What practices and organizational structures helped establish the early Christian Church?

EC
Writing About History

Section 5 The Long Decline
Objectives

*

Explain how and why the Roman empire divided.
*

Describe how waves of invaders contributed to the decline of the Roman empire.
*

Identify the various types of problems that led to the fall of Rome.

Terms, People, and Places

Diocletian

inflation

Constantinople

Huns

mercenary

Note Taking

Infographic
Redefining the Empire

Checkpoint (s)

How do you think Rome’s unstable government affected the economy?

How did the Hun invasion weaken the Roman empire?

What social problems contributed to the decline of the Roman empire?

Comparing Viewpoints
What Kind of Downfall?

Historians have long held that the “fall of Rome” was an important historical event, but they argue over many details.

Critical Thinking What about Rome’s end most surprises Gibbons? How does Brown differ with Gibbons on this point?

HW
SECTION 5 Assessment

Note Taking
Reading Skill: Recognize Multiple Causes
2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: How did military, political, social, and economic factors combine to cause the fall of the western Roman empire?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking
Summarize
3. Describe the crisis that afflicted the Roman empire after the Pax Romana ended. How did Diocletian try to resolve the crisis?

Express Problems Clearly
4. How did the successes of invaders such as the Huns reveal the fading power of the Roman empire?

Identify Central Issues
5. What features of the western Roman empire survived after the year 476?

EC
Writing About History

Monday, March 10, 2008

Chapter 4 Ancient Greece

Chapter 4 Ancient Greece: 1750 B.C.–133 B.C.

Section 1 Early People of the Aegean
Objectives

*

Identify the influences on Minoan culture and how the civilization prospered.
*

Summarize how Mycenaeans ruled the sea trade and started the Trojan War.
*

Describe the works of Homer and their influence on Greek culture.

Terms, People, and Places-

Knossos

shrine

fresco

Trojan War

strait

Homer

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

How does the art at Knossos reflect Minoan culture?

How did trade shape Mycenaean society?

What do Homer’s epics reveal about Greek culture?

HW
SECTION 1 Assessment

Identify Main Ideas

2. Use your completed table to answer the Focus Question: How did the Minoans and Mycenaens shape early Greek civilizations?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Determine Relevance

3. How did trade contribute to the development of the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures?

Draw Inferences

4. What values of the ancient Greeks are found in the poems of Homer?

Demonstrate Reasoned Judgment

5. Do you think the epics of Homer are a reliable source of information about the history of the ancient Greeks? Why or why not?

EC
Writing About History

Section 2 The Rise of Greek City-States
Objectives

*

Understand how geography influenced the Greek city-states.
*

Define the three types of government that developed in the Greek city-states.
*

Explain how Sparta and Athens differed.
*

Identify the culture and values shared by Greeks.

Terms, People, and Places

polis

acropolis

citizen

monarchy

aristocracy

oligarchy

phalanx

Sparta

Athens

democracy

tyrant

legislature

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

How did the sea contribute to Greek commerce?

How was a city-state shaped by its citizenry?

Why was discipline important to Spartans?

How was democracy limited in Athens?

What factors united the city-states of Greece?

How did the geography of Greece differ from that of other ancient civilizations?

Primary Source
Spartan Education
Describe the Spartan student dress code. What was its purpose?

Map
Ancient Greek civilization was shaped by rugged mountainous terrain and the surrounding seas. These geographic features worked as both a barrier and a link.

1.

Locate

(a) Greece (b) Crete (c) Mycenae (d) Athens (e) Sparta (f) Aegean Sea (g) Peloponnesus

2.

Region

How did the geography of Greece present obstacles to unity?

3.

Analyze Information

WH
SECTION 2 Assessment

Reading Skill: Identify Supporting Details

2. Use your completed outline to answer the Focus Question: How did government and culture develop as Greek city-states grew?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Summarize

3. How did geography influence the development of Greece?

Synthesize Information

4. Why do you think the three different forms of government evolved over time?

Draw Conclusions

5. (a) In what ways was Athenian democracy limited? Hint (b) Despite such limits, Athens is still admired as an early model of democracy. Why do you think this is the case?

EC
Writing About History

Section 3 Conflict in the Greek World
Objectives

*

Summarize how the Persian Wars affected Greece.
*

Explain how Pericles instituted a direct democracy in Athens.
*

Understand the causes and effects of the Peloponnesian War.

Terms, People, and Places

alliance

Pericles

direct democracy

stipend

jury

ostracism

Note Taking

Map Skills

When the Persian empire attacked Greece, the Greek city-states briefly joined forces to defend their ­independence.

1.

Locate

(a) Athens (b) Sparta (c) Marathon (d) Thermopylae (e) Salamis

2.

Movement

Describe the routes of the Persian army and navy toward the city-state of Athens.

3.

Making Inferences

Why do you think Xerxes’ fleet hugged the Greek coastline instead of sailing directly across the Aegean Sea?

Checkpoint (s)

What factors led to the Persian defeat?

Describe Pericles’s influence on Athens.

How did conflict lead to the decline of Athens?

HW
SECTION 3 Assessment

Reading Skill: Identify Supporting Details

2. Use your completed table to answer the Focus Question: How did war with invaders and conflict among Greeks affect the city-states?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Summarize

3. How did the Persian Wars affect the Greek city-states?

Analyze Information

4. How did Pericles contribute to Athenian greatness?

Demonstrate Reasoned Judgement

5. Do you think the process of ostracism is fair or unfair? Explain.

Recognize Cause and Effect

6. How did the growth of Athenian power lead to war?

EC
Writing About History

Section 4 The Glory That Was Greece
Objectives

*

Analyze the political and ethical ideas developed by Greek philosophers.
*

Understand how balance and order governed Greek art and architecture.
*

Identify the themes explored by Greek writers and historians.

Terms, People, and Places

philosopher

logic


rhetoric

Socrates

Plato

Aristotle

Parthenon

tragedy

comedy

Herodotus

Note Taking

Biography
Socrates

Contrasting with his glorified image in Jacques-Louis David’s painting The Death of Socrates (above), to most Athenians, Socrates (469 B.C.–399 B.C.) was not an impressive figure. Tradition tells us that his clothes were untidy and he made a poor living. But young men loved to watch him as he questioned citizens and led them to contradict themselves.

Many Athenians felt that Socrates was annoying, but Plato had a different view of his teacher. He called Socrates “the wisest, justest, and best of all I have ever known.” As for Socrates himself, he knew what he was doing. When he was put on trial, he told the jury, “All day long and in all places I am always fastening upon you, stirring you and persuading you and reproaching you. You will not easily find another like me.”

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” How did his actions support this idea?

Checkpoint (s)

Why might some of the philosophers’ ideas be a threat to Greek tradition?

How did Greek art reflect the idea of an ideal form?

How was drama used to influence Greek society?

Why is Herodotus considered the “Father of History”?

HW
SECTION 4 Assessment

Reading Skill: Identify Supporting Details

2. Use your completed concept web to answer the Focus Question: How did Greek thinkers, artists, and writers explore the nature of the universe and people’s place in it?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Make Generalizations

3. (a) Why did Plato reject democracy? Hint (b) Describe the ideal form of government set forth in Plato’s Republic.

Summarize

4. What standards of beauty did Greek artists follow?

Analyze Information

5. (a) How were Greek plays performed? Hint (b) What were the topics of Greek poetry and plays?

Identify Central Issues

6. Why do you think research and avoiding bias is important to the writing of history?

EC
Writing About History

Section 5 Alexander and the Hellenistic Age
Objectives

*

Explain how Alexander the Great built an extensive empire.
*

Describe the empire’s cultural impact.
*

Identify individuals who contributed to Hellenistic civilization.

Terms, People, and Places

Alexander the Great

Philip II

assassination

assimilate

Alexandria

Pythagoras

heliocentric

Archimedes

Hippocrates

Note Taking

Map Skills

The ambitions of Alexander the Great led him to conquer lands across an expansive area.

1.

Locate

(a) Mediterranean Sea (b) Arabian Sea (c) Indus River (d) Nile River (e) Euphrates River (f) Babylon

2.

Region

Locate the map entitled Assyria, Persia, and the Phoenician Colonies, which appears in an earlier chapter. (a) Which of the empires was largest? (b) Which parts of Alexander’s empire had not been part of the Persian empire?

3.

Predicting Consequences

Judging from this map, do you think Alexander’s empire would be difficult to keep united? Explain your reasoning.

Checkpoint (s)

Why was Alexander the Great able to conquer the Persian empire?

How did Alexander encourage the blending of cultures?

In what fields did Hellenistic civilization make advancements?

Primary Source

The methods ancient Greek doctors used to diagnose disease are so unlike those of today that scholars find many ancient Greek medical writings difficult to decipher. However, the ancient Greek code of ethics—the Hippocratic oath—is still used by medical professionals today.

“I will use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgment; I will abstain from harming or wronging any man by it. . . .

Whatever I see or hear, professionally, or privately, which ought not to be divulged, I will keep secret. . .

If, therefore, I observe this oath and do not violate it, may I prosper both in my life and in my profession, earning good repute among all men for all time.”

Why do you think the Hippocratic oath has continued through the centuries as a guide to doctors?

HW
SECTION 5 Assessment

Reading Skill: Identify Supporting Details

2. Use your completed outline to answer the Focus Question: How did Alexander the Great expand his empire and spread Greek culture throughout the realm?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Summarize

3. What was the extent of Alexander’s vast empire and how did he acquire it?

Synthesize Information

4. How did Alexander’s conquests lead to a new civilization?

Recognize Ideologies

5. What new ideas did the Stoics introduce?

Draw Conclusions

6. Why do you think the Hippocratic oath is considered a medical advance?

EC
Writing About History

Book Cover Project Results

Book Cover Project results and student #

1st Place 32
2nd Place 36
3rd Place 33
Honorable Mention 55

Thursday, March 06, 2008

McNamara, on the Gulf of Tonkin states: "It didn't happen."

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, in a clip from "The Fog of War," explaining the context of the Gulf of Tonkin incident that was used as the excuse for starting the Vietnam War. McNamara concludes: "It didn't happen."

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

The Military Industrial Complex

President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned Americans in his exit speech on 17 January 1961 about the military industrial complex. He was concerned that Americans would lose their liberties.


What You Can Do from the film, "Why We Fight" consists of interviews with leading figures on the current American military-industrial complex.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Mario Savio & Kent State

This is a clip of Mario Savio from 1964.


"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"


Mario Savio


In addition, there is a contemporary application based on the inspiration of Savio.


Chris Goodman is a young man who states he is willing to get arrested in his push for quality education. He reads his acceptance speech for the Mario Savio Youth Activist Award at the Algebra Project's 25 year anniversary forum. Chris won this award for his work with the Algebra Project.


Likewise, this is a short summary of the events that occurred at Kent State.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

What's the Difference Between Them?

Primary Sources Secondary Sources
Definition: Main text or work that you are discussing, actual data or research results, or historical documents, or first-hand testimony

Examples:
Diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts, memoirs, autobiographies, government records, records of organizations (e.g., minutes, reports, correspondence).

Published materials (books and journal/newspaper articles) written at the time of a particular event.

Documentary: photographs, audio recordings, movies, or videos.

Public opinion polls, field notes, scientific experiments, artifacts.

Reprinted primary sources (often in reference books).

Maps, oral histories, postcards, court records, paintings, sculptures, consumer surveys, patents, schematic drawing, technical reports, personal accounts, jewelry, private papers, deeds, wills, proceedings, census data.

Secondary Sources

Definition:
Records generated by an event but generally written by non-participants in the event. Based on or derived from primary sources--but the most important point is that they have been interpreted, or analyzed.

Examples:
Encyclopedias, chronologies, fact books.

Biographies, monographs, dissertations.

General histories.

Most journal articles (except those discussed under primary sources).

Most published books (except those discussed under primary sources) such as textbooks.

Neanderthals On Trial, Video Vocabulary

Neanderthals on Trial
Video Vocabulary
Dr. Smith

Name: __________________________________________________________
Per: _______________

1. Neanderthals
2. Neander Valley
3. DNA
4. colleagues
5. mitochondria
6. lineage
7. mutation
8. paleoanthropology
9. excavation
10. exquisite
11. symbolic
12. self-awareness
13. salvage
14. mosaic
15. adaptation
16. anthropology
17. anatomy
18. kin
19. clan
20. genetic
21. hominid
22. interbreed
23. polarization
24. occipital
25. Tayacian
26. flint
27. hearth
28. prey
29. archaic
30. digital
31. laser
32. statistics
33. perpendicular
34. illusion

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Book Cover Project: 7 March 2008

World History Book Cover Project
Due: 7 March 2008

This project will demand creativity and self-expression. You will cover your WH textbook in a manner that shows who you are and what you think WH is. Wouldn't it be more pleasant to see a well designed book cover when doing those long nights of HW? Of course it would, so design a book cover that will brighten and enlighten yourself and those around you. This project will be distinctively you. This is your first small project and if you listen and follow directions, you will score easy points.

Requirements
The textbook must be covered in a way that is protected from wear and tear.
The cover can be made out of anything that you want, but it must be funcitonal (i.e., the book must open, the book must still fit in your locker).
Please no edible covers or glitter that will fall off over time.
The cover must be durable enought to survive the semester without any major casualities.
So that our World does not become History, at least one item on the book covere must be recycled. (5 bonus points if it is all recycled).
Your name, the name of the class, and class period must be clearly displayed somewhere on the cover.
On the due date 7 March 2008, you will present your textbook to the class and briefly explain what you did.

Grading Rubric:
Project: 60 Points

Clear World History elements 10 points
Clear personality elements 10 points
One recycled item 10 points
Clear Name, Subject, Period, Room 10 points
Overall Appearance (neat and creative) 10 points
Presentation to the class 10 points

Total 60 Points

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Chapter 3 Ancient India and China

Chapter 3 Ancient India and China: 2600 B.C.–A.D. 550

Chapter Preview

Learn

Chapter Focus Question

In what ways did the civilizations and empires of ancient India and China lay long-lasting social and political foundations?

Early Civilizations of India and Pakistan

Hinduism and Buddhism

Powerful Empires of India

Rise of Civilization in China

Strong Rulers Unite China

Section 1 Early Civilizations of India and Pakistan
Objectives

*

Describe the Indian subcontinent’s geography.
*

Understand the clues archaeology has provided about the rise and fall of the Indus civilization.
*

Analyze the main characteristics of the Aryan civilization and the Vedic Age.
*

Explain what ancient Indian epics reveal about Aryan life.

Terms, People, and Places

subcontinent

plateau

monsoon

Harappa

Mohenjo-Daro

veneration

Vedas

rajah

Indra

brahman

mystic

acculturation

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

How has geography affected where people live in the Indian subcontinent?

What evidence shows that Indus civilization included a well-organized government?

How were Aryan society and government structured?

What types of values are revealed in Indian epics?

Map Skills

The earliest civilization in the Indian subcontinent developed in the Indus Valley.

1. Locate

(a) Himalayas (b) Deccan (c) Indus River (d) Ganges River (e) Harappa

2. Place

What natural features did people benefit from by living in the Indus River valley?

3. Make Comparisons

How do you think the Narmada River valley would have compared to the Indus River valley as a site for a civilization to develop?

Biography

Mortimer Wheeler

Much of what we know about Indus civilization comes from the work of Sir Mortimer Wheeler (1890–1976), who directed the excavations of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in the 1940s. Previously, Wheeler had led one of England’s first university archaeology departments, run a museum, and headed the first archaeological excavation to use trained volunteers rather than untrained laborers.

As well, through publications and frequent appearances on popular radio and television shows, Wheeler inspired thousands of people to visit his research sites. Indeed, Wheeler succeeded in fascinating the public with the work of archaeologists.

What did Wheeler contribute to archaeology?

Primary Source

Primary Source (2nd one in this section)

The gods’ creation of the universe is described in the Rig Veda. It says they divided the body of Purusha, the first man, into four parts to create the four social groups of ancient India. Which parts of the body became the warriors?

HW
SECTION 1 Assessment

Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence

2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: How have scholars learned about India’s first two civilizations, the Indus and the Aryan?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Analyze Information

3. Describe two ways in which geography and climate have influenced the people of the Indian subcontinent.

Recognize Sufficient Evidence

4. What types of evidence do you think archaeologists should look for to explain how the Indus civilization declined and became unknown to the world for 4,000 years?

Draw Conclusions

5. How reliably do you think epic literature tells us about Aryan life?

EC
Writing About History

Section 2 Hinduism and Buddhism
Objectives

*

Outline the essential beliefs of Hinduism.
*

Analyze how the caste system shaped India.
*

Understand the key teachings of the Buddha.
*

Explore how Buddhism grew and changed as it spread beyond India.

Terms, People, and Places

atman

moksha

reincarnation

karma

dharma

ahimsa

caste

Siddhartha Gautama

Four Noble Truths

Eightfold Path

nirvana

sect

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

How do the Hindu gods relate to brahman?

How did caste provide a sense of order in society?

What did Gautama hope to learn when he left home?

How do you think the collecting of the Buddha’s teachings helped the religion to spread beyond India?

Map Skills

Missionaries and merchants spread Buddhism to many parts of Asia. It still thrives there today—though it is not practiced much in India.

1. Locate

(a) India (b) China (c) Sri Lanka (d) Korea

2. Movement

How did Buddhism spread to Japan?

3. Synthesize Information

Looking at both maps, which arrows on the large map do you think represent the spread of Theravada Buddhism?

HW
SECTION 2 Assessment

Note Taking

Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence

2. Use your completed flowchart to answer the Focus Question: In what ways were religion and society intertwined in ancient India?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Summarize

3. Explain the roles of karma, dharma, and reincarnation in the process of achieving moksha. Hint

Analyze Information

4. What aspects of the caste system relate to basic Hindu beliefs?

Recognize Ideologies

5. According to the Buddha, how can people escape worldly suffering?

Draw Conclusions

6. What about Mahayana teachings do you think appealed to many people?

Writing About History

Section 3 Powerful Empires of India
Objectives

*

Analyze how Maurya rulers created a strong central government for their empire.
*

Explore the kingdoms that arose across the Deccan.
*

Explain why the period of Gupta rule in India is considered a golden age.
*

Understand how family and village life shaped Indian society.

Terms, People, and Places

Chandragupta Maurya

dissent

Asoka

missionary

golden age

decimal system

joint family

dowry

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

How did Chandragupta organize Maurya government?

How do you think trade helped link the separate kingdoms of the Deccan?

How did religion influence learning and the arts in Gupta India?

Describe the structure of a typical Indian family.

Map Skills

Maurya and Gupta emperors were able to unite much of India under their rule.

1. Locate

(a) Ganges River (b) Indus River (c) Tamil Kingdoms (d) Hindu Kush (e) Nalanda

2. Movement

How did geography limit the northward expansion of both empires?

3. Analyze Information

What region of the Indian subcontinent remained separate from both the Maurya and the Gupta empires?

HW
SECTION 3 Assessment

Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence

2. Use your completed timeline to answer the Focus Question: In what ways did Maurya and Gupta rulers achieve peace and order for ancient India?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Make Comparisons

3. Compare the approaches of Chandragupta and Asoka to ruling the Maurya empire.

Analyze Information

4. Describe three achievements of the Gupta period that made it a golden age.

Recognize Ideologies

5. How did the roles played by family and village in Indian life reveal the value of placing the needs of the community or group above those of the individual?

EC
Writing About History

Section 4 Rise of Civilization in China
Objectives

*

Understand how geography influenced early Chinese civilization.
*

Analyze how Chinese culture took shape under the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
*

Describe the religions and belief systems that developed in early China.
*

List some achievements made in early China.

Terms, People, and Places

loess

clan

dynastic cycle

feudalism

Confucius

Laozi

philosophy

filial piety

oracle bone

character

calligraphy

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

In what different ways did people live in ancient China?

How was China governed during the Shang dynasty?

Explain three ways that China expanded during the Zhou dynasty.

What did early Chinese communities do to ensure good harvests?

Explain the different ways in which Confucianism and Daoism taught that people should live their lives.

For what purpose did writing begin in China?

Map

Shang and Zhou Civilizations

Map Skills

Today, China extends west from the Pacific Ocean deep into central Asia. Its first civilizations existed in the eastern part of the modern-day country.

1. Locate

(a) Chang River (b) Gobi (c) Huang River (d) Anyang

2. Place

What physical features acted as obstacles to contact outside China?

3. Draw Inferences

In which directions from China do you think it was easiest for the Chinese to make contact with other people? Why?

Confucius

Confucius (551 B.C.–479 B.C.) decided at an early age to dedicate himself to education and public service. He felt that educated people had a responsibility to serve in government so that they could translate their good ideas into action.

As a teacher, Confucius spread education to both rich and poor. He inspired thousands of followers with his guidelines about the proper way to live. As a public servant, he did not fare so well, however. His high standards of conduct often brought him into conflict with corrupt officials. According to Confucius, “The superior man understands righteousness. The inferior man understands profit.”

Why do you think people were inspired by Confucius’ teachings?

HW
SECTION 4 Assessment

Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence

2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: What characteristics defined the civilization that developed in China under its early rulers?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Summarize

3. What geographic challenges did China’s early rulers face when trying to unite China or make alliances with peoples outside of China?

Synthesize Information

4. What were the characteristics of the Shang and Zhou government and social structure?

Analyze Information

5. What aspects of Confucianism and Daoism do you think contributed to their long-lasting influence?

Draw Inferences

6. How do the various cultural developments of early China still affect the lives of people today?

EC
Writing About History

Section 5 Strong Rulers Unite China
Objectives

*

Understand how Shi Huangdi unified China and established a Legalist government.
*

Describe how Han rulers strengthened the economy and government of China.
*

Outline why the Han period is considered a golden age of Chinese civilization.
*

Analyze why many Chinese people accepted Buddhist ideas.

Terms, People, and Places

Shi Huangdi

Wudi

monopoly

expansionism

civil servant

warlord

acupuncture

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

What kind of government did Legalists favor?

How did Han emperors further economic growth?

What sorts of achievements made the Han period a golden age?

Why did Buddhism appeal to many people in China?

Map

Qin and Han Empires

Map Skills

Under the Qin and Han dynasties, Chinese rule expanded significantly, as did the Great Wall (pictured below).

1. Locate

(a) Great Wall (b) Qin empire (c) Han empire (d) Chengdu (e) Takla Makan Desert

2. Place

What natural barriers helped protect China from invaders?

3. Draw Conclusions

How did the Great Wall’s placement relate to the extent of the empires? What does this tell you about where invaders came from?

HW
SECTION 5 Assessment

Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence

2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: How did powerful emperors unite much of China and bring about a golden age of cultural achievements?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Summarize

3. What were three steps Shi Huangdi took to unify China?

Demonstrate Reasoned Judgment

4. What aspects of the civil service system do you think allowed it to last for such a great length of time?

Determine Relevance

5. Select three achievements made during the Han period and describe why you think they were significant advancements.

EC
Writing About History

Definition of Blu-ray

Blu-ray Disc: Cf. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


Blu-ray Disc


Blu-ray Disc (also known as Blu-ray or BD) is an optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are high-definition video and data storage. The disc has the same dimensions as a standard DVD or CD.


The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the blue-violet laser used to read and write this type of disc. Because of its shorter wavelength (405 nm), substantially more data can be stored on a Blu-ray Disc than on the DVD format, which uses a red (650 nm) laser. A Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 GB, almost six times the capacity of a dual layer DVD.


Blu-ray was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, a group of companies representing consumer electronics, computer hardware, and motion picture production. The standard is covered by several patents belonging to different companies. As of March 2007, a joint licensing agreement for all the relevant patents had not yet been finalized.


As of February 19, 2008, more than 450 Blu-ray Disc titles have been released in the United States, and more than 250 in Japan.


Blu-ray was locked in a format war against HD DVD until the format emerged as the winner on February 19, 2008 when Toshiba — the main driving force behind HD DVD — announced it would no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. Some analysts believe that Sony's PlayStation 3 video game console played an important role in the format war, believing it acted as a catalyst for Blu-ray Disc, as the PlayStation 3 used a Blu-ray disc drive as its primary source of media-reading technology. They also credited Sony's more thorough and influential marketing campaign. It must also be noted, that Blu-ray players can reproduce AVCHD content, recorded by modern high definition camcorders, while HD DVD could not.

Strace and Thursday's Pep Rally

Strace et. al. at Thursday's Pep Rally.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Yorba Linda Public Library 2008 Teen Film Festival

"Iraq War" is an entry by Nolan Mendoza in the Yorba Linda Public Library 2008 Teen Film Festival.

Free DreamSpark Tools from Microsoft



Microsoft has offered its development and design tools to students for free and in a move announced yesterday the company will open these tools to as many as many as 1 billion high school and college students.


The Microsoft tools, in the DreamSpark program, is available to 35 million college students in the U.S., China, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K.


The tools are ones that young people can build a career around or they can just build fun software for themselves. The basics of good software architecture and the data structures have been consistent for the last 30 years and therefore the skills of design and recognizing good code, is a valuable skill to have for the 21st Century.


DreamSpark is available to students of technology, design, math science and engineering, and students can access Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition, Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition, and XNA Game Studio 2.0. As a part of the package students are also eligible for a free 12-month academic membership to the XNA Creators Club.


The program will also include Microsoft's Expression Studio design tools, including Expression Web, Expression Blend, Expression Design and Expression Media. Students also can access SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition and Windows Server Standard Edition for free.


The timetable for roll-out of the program is six months when Microsoft plans to expand DreamSpark to college students in Australia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, and more countries in the Americas, Asia and Europe. The program will be extended to high school students by the third quarter of 2008.


Microsoft works with academic institutions, governments, and student organizations, such as the International Student Identity Card Association, to ensure the necessary local student identity-verification technology infrastructure exists to provide access to DreamSpark.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Birth of Civilization, Video Vocabulary

Birth of Civilization



Name: _________________________________________________________________ Per.: ___________



1. civilization

2. city

3. metropolis

4. monuments

5. transportation

6. urban

7. artifacts

8. scholarship

9. levy

10. amenities

11. origins

12. agriculture

13. peasant

14. Near East

15. Mesopotamia

16. alluvial

17. torrents

18. Sumerian

19. city-state

20. hegemony

21. Sargon

22. Syria

23. Mediterranean

24. centralized

25. Ur

26. ziggarat

27. Persian

28. Nineveh

29. Amorites

30. Hammurabi

31. cultivation

32. Tigris/Euphrates

33. Menes

34. dynasty

35. rural

36. Aswan

37. Indus

38. Pakistan

39. Indo-European

40. Harappa

41. Mohenjodaro (Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan)

42. Huang

43. steppes

44. Shang

45. ritual

46. scribes

47. Babylon

48. Nebuchadnezzar

49. Hanging Gardens

50. Cheops

51. hierarchy

52. differentiation

53. bureaucrats

54. specialization

55. craftsmen

56. utilitarian

57. diadem

58. priests

59. Lagash

60. pictographs

61. cuneiform

62. script

63. Linear A & B

64. calendar

65. formulae

66. equations

67. Crete

68. Minoan

69. Mesomerican

70. metallurgy

71. oligarchy

72. democracy

73. dichotomy

Sunday, February 17, 2008

1950 Original airing of Defense film, "Duck and Cover"

This a typical Cold War film, "Duck and Cover."


Duck and Cover was a suggested method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear detonation which the United States government taught to generations of United States school children from the late 1940s into the 1980s. This was supposed to protect them in the event of an unexpected nuclear attack which, they were told, could come at any time without warning. Immediately after they saw a flash they had to stop what they were doing and get on the ground under some cover—such as a table, or at least next to a wall—and assume the fetal position, lying face-down and covering their heads with their hands. Similar instructions were given in 1964 in the United Kingdom by Civil Defence Information Bulletin No. 5. and, in the 1980s, by the Protect and Survive series.


Critics have said that this training would be of little, if any, help in the event of thermonuclear war, and had little effect other than promoting a state of unease and paranoia.


The United States' monopoly on nuclear weapons was broken in 1949 when the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear device, and many in the government and public perceived that the United States was more vulnerable than it ever had been before. Duck-and-cover exercises had quickly become a part of Civil Defense drills that every American citizen, from kids to the elderly, practiced so as to be ready in the event of nuclear war. In 1950, during the first big Civil Defense push of the Cold War; the movie Duck and Cover was produced (by the Federal Civil Defense Administration) for school showings in 1951. At the time, it was believed the main dangers of a Hiroshima-type nuclear blast were from heat and blast damage: radioactive fallout itself was not clearly identified until 1954, after the Castle Bravo nuclear-weapon test in the Marshall Islands caused sickness and death in Japanese fishermen on the Lucky Dragon fishing vessel.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Chapter 2 Sections 2-5

Section 2 Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders

Terms, People, and Places

Sargon

Hammurabi

codify

civil law

criminal law

Nebuchadnezzar

barter economy

money economy

Zoroaster

colony

alphabet

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

How do civil law and criminal law differ?

Name a significant contribution made by the Hittites, Assyrians, and Babylonians after each group’s conquest in the Middle East.

What are two steps that Darius took to unite the Persian Empire?

How has the Phoenician development of an alphabet been a lasting contribution to civilization?

Map Skills

Money and Economics

HW

SECTION 2 Assessment

Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas

2. Use your completed table to answer the Focus Question: How did various strong rulers unite the lands of the Fertile Crescent into well-organized empires?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Demonstrate Reasoned Judgment

3. What do you think was the most important achievement of Sargon? Of Hammurabi? Why?

Draw Inferences

4. How do you think the Persian policy of tolerance helped the empire grow so large?

Draw Conclusions

5. One effect of warfare and conquest was that knowledge and beliefs spread among different peoples. How else did people of the ancient Middle East spread their ideas?

EC

Writing About History

Section 3 Kingdom on the Nile

Terms, People, and Places

cataract

delta

dynasty

pharaoh

bureaucracy

vizier

Hatshepsut

Thutmose III

Ramses II

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

How did the yearly floods of the Nile influence life in ancient Egypt?

How was Egyptian government structured during the Old Kingdom?

In what ways was the Middle Kingdom turbulent?

What role did Egyptian conquest of others play during Egypt’s New Kingdom?

Map Skills

Biography

For what reasons do you think Hatshepsut wanted to leave a record of her accomplishments?

HW
SECTION 3 Assessment

Reading Skill: Identify Supporting Details

2. Use your completed outline to answer the Focus Question: How did the Nile influence the rise of the powerful civilization of Egypt?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Summarize

3. How did the Nile play a crucial role in uniting Egypt?

Analyze Information

4. What knowledge did Egyptians gain from their conquerors the Hyksos? How do you think this helped them later on?

Draw Conclusions

5. What types of information about ancient Egypt can we learn from colossal monuments such as the Great Pyramids or the building projects of Hatshepsut and Ramses II?

EC
Writing About History

Section 4 Egyptian Civilization
Terms, People, and Places

Amon-Re

Osiris

Isis

Akhenaton

mummification

hieroglyphics

papyrus

decipher

Rosetta Stone

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

Which details about the Egyptian gods show the importance of agriculture to Egyptian society?

How did mummification reflect Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife?

Which social class grew in size as a result of trade and warfare?

Describe three advances in learning made by the ancient Egyptians.

What art forms were common in ancient Egypt?

Primary Source

HW
SECTION 4 Assessment

Reading Skill: Identify Supporting Details

2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: How did religion and learning play important roles in ancient Egyptian civilization?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Predict Consequences

3. Egyptians believed that their pharaohs received the right to rule from Amon-Re. How do you think replacing him with the god Aton would have affected the authority of the pharaohs?

Make Comparisons

4. How do the Book of the Dead and the tomb of Tutankhamen offer different types of information about Egyptian views of the afterlife?

Summarize

5. What jobs were Egyptian women allowed to hold? What jobs were they not allowed to hold?

Analyze Information

6. Considering the materials that ancient Egyptians used to create their writing and art, what do you think are the challenges of locating examples of them today?

EC
Writing About History

Section 5 Roots of Judaism

Terms, People, and Places

monotheistic

Torah

Abraham

covenant

Moses

David

Solomon

patriarchal

Sabbath

prophet

ethics

Diaspora

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

How did the beliefs of ancient Israelites differ from those of other nearby peoples?

According to the Torah, where did the Israelites go once they left Egypt? What was special to them about this place?

How did the prophets help Jews uphold the law?

HW
SECTION 5 Assessment

Reading Skill: Identify Supporting Details

2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: How did the worship of only one god shape Judaism?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Recognize Ideologies

3. Which events recorded in the Torah reflect the Israelite belief that God had a plan for the people of Israel?

Summarize

4. At which points in its early history was Israel unified, divided, or ruled by outsiders?

Categorize

5. What types of laws does Judaism uphold?

EC
Writing About History

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Chapter 2 Section 1 City-States of Ancient Sumer

Chapter 2 Section 1 City-States of Ancient Sumer

Terms, People, and Places

Fertile Crescent

Mesopotamia

Sumer

The Epic of Gilgamesh

hierarchy

ziggurat

cuneiform

Note Taking

Checkpoint (s)

What geographic characteristics made the Fertile Crescent a good place for civilization to develop?

How was Sumerian society structured?

What advances did the Sumerians make in mathematics and astronomy?

Map Skills

The Story of the Stars

HW, SECTION 1 Assessment

Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas

2. Use your completed concept web to answer the Focus Question: What were the characteristics of the world’s first civilization?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Draw Inferences

3. Sumerians faced significant geographic challenges, such as floods. How do you think facing these challenges played a role in the formation of a strong government?

Determine Relevance

4. How might the invention of cuneiform writing have strengthened Sumerian government and religious practices?

Analyze Information

5. Describe ways in which later peoples built on Sumerian learning. Would this have been possible without the invention of writing?

Writing About History

Friday, February 01, 2008

Freeciv Illustrates Chapter 1, Section 3



Graphic source: Wikimedia Commons.


Freeciv is a multiplayer, turn-based strategy game for workstations and personal computers inspired by the commercial proprietary Sid Meier's Civilization series. The latest stable version of Freeciv is 2.1.3, released on January 23, 2008. The game's default settings are closest to Civilization 2, both in gameplay and graphics (including the units and the isometric grid).

Freeciv is included with most desktop Linux distributions, and continually rated as one of the best available free/open source games. Released under the GNU General Public License, Freeciv is free software.

Description

Players take the role of a tribe leader in 4000 BC and have to guide their people through the centuries. Over time, new technologies are discovered, which allow the construction of new city buildings and the deployment of new units. Players can wage war on one another or form diplomatic relationships.

The game ends when one civilization has eradicated all others, accomplished the goal of space colonization, or at a certain deadline. If more than one civilization remains at the deadline, the player with the highest score wins. Points are awarded for the size of a civilization, its wealth, and cultural and scientific advances.


Freeciv can be downloaded for free here.

Agenda Chapter 1 Section 3 Beginnings of Civilization

Section 3 Beginnings of Civilization
Objectives

*

Analyze the conditions under which the first cities and civilizations arose.
*

Outline the basic features that define civilization.
*

Understand the ways in which civilizations have changed over time.

Terms, People, and Places

surplus

traditional economy

civilization

steppe

polytheistic

artisan

pictograph

scribe

cultural diffusion

city-state

empire

Note Taking

Checkpoint (3) in section.

In what ways were river valleys ideal locations for civilizations to develop?

What roles did governments play in early civilizations?

How have different types of challenges encouraged peoples and civilizations to change over time?

SECTION 3 Assessment

Reading Skill: Summarize

2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: How did the world’s first civilizations arise and develop?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Make Comparisons

3. How were the conditions under which early civilizations developed in Asia and Africa different from those of the Americas?

Synthesize Information

4. In early civilizations, how did religion influence government and social classes?

Identify Central Issues

5. (a) Give three examples of cultural change in early civilizations. Hint(b) Give two examples of cultural diffusion today.

EC
Writing About History
Quick Write: Make an Outline

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Chapter 1 Section 2 Turning Point: The Neolithic Revolution

Ch. 1 Section 2 Turning Point: The Neolithic Revolution

Terms, People, and Places

Old Stone Age

Paleolithic Period

New Stone Age

Neolithic Period

nomad

animism

Neolithic Revolution

domesticate

Çatalhüyük
Jericho

Note Taking

Checkpoint (3 in section).

What skills did Old Stone Age people develop in order to adapt their surroundings to their needs?

What major lifestyle changes did farming allow people to make?

What new technologies did people invent as a result of agriculture?

HW
SECTION 2 Assessment

Reading Skill: Summarize

2. Use your completed chart to answer the Focus Question: How was the introduction of agriculture a turning point in prehistory?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Predict Consequences

3. How do you think the development of spoken language influenced people’s development of skills and religious beliefs?

Determine Relevance

4. How are our lives today affected by the Neolithic Revolution that occurred 11,000 years ago?

Make Comparisons

5. How was settled village life different from nomadic life? Consider population size, social status, and technology in your answer.

Writing About History
Quick Write: Gather Information

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Agenda Honors WH I

Chapter 1 Foundations of Civilization : Prehistory–300 B.C.

Section 1 Understanding Our Past

Terms, People, and Places

prehistory

historian

artifact

anthropology

culture

archaeology

Mary Leakey

Louis Leakey

Olduvai Gorge

technology

Donald Johanson

Note Taking

Checkpoint (3 in section)

What kinds of evidence do historians use to study the past?

What types of evidence do anthropologists and archaeologists study to learn about prehistory?

What have anthropologists learned about the use of tools during prehistory?

Biography

Louis Leakey

Louis Leakey (1903–1972) was born in Kenya, where his English parents lived with the Kikuyu people. Leakey was initiated as a Kikuyu warrior at age 13 and continued to speak the Kikuyu language for many years after leaving Kenya. Leakey moved to England to attend Cambridge University, where he studied anthropology. Afterward, he returned to East Africa to search for the remains of early humans. He and his wife, Mary, found many tools, bones, and other artifacts. In later life, he traveled all over the world, lecturing and raising funds for new research projects. Leakey’s enthusiasm inspired a generation of anthropologists. Why might someone devote his or her life to studying early humans?

Mary Leakey

Mary Leakey (1913–1996) was born in London, England. During her childhood, she traveled throughout Europe and visited numerous prehistoric sites, which increased her interest in the fields of archaeology and geology. Because of her natural artistic talent, Leakey began working as an illustrator at archaeological sites during her teenage years. In particular, she focused on drawing Stone Age tools. Through this work, she met Louis Leakey, whom she married in 1936. Together they spent 30 years digging for early humans in East Africa. Mary Leakey found many remains that have become key to our understanding of early hominids. How did Mary Leakey become interested in studying the ancient past?

HW
SECTION 1 Assessment

Reading Skill: Summarize

2. Use your completed concept web and table to answer the Focus Question: What have scholars learned about the ancestors of humans, and how have they done so?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Express Problems Clearly

3. What types of obstacles do historians have to overcome to give a straightforward account of events? How do you think they might do this?

Analyze Information

4. In what ways do archaeologists work with new technologies and other scholars in their work?

Synthesize Information

5. Describe the story that anthropologists think the bones and tools they have discovered reveal about prehistory. Hint

EC
Writing About History
Quick Write: Explore a Topic

6C55BE72F39D2AFF7EE4 Enroll in Course 211-01 1st Period Honors World History I Spring 2008 textbook site

Class/Group and Student Information

Teacher name: Dr. Smith
Class/Group name: 211-01 Per. 1 Honors WH I Spring 2008

Class access code: 6C55BE72F39D2AFF7EE4
When you enroll or register, type the access code exactly as shown above.
Use all uppercase letters, and include dashes.

Student Name:

User Name:

Registration/Enrollment Instructions
First time users:
To register in SuccessNet:

1. Go to www.pearsonsuccessnet.com
2. Click Register
3. On the first screen, type the class access code above in the access code field.
4. Follow the instructions to register, and write your user name on the blank line above exactly as you typed it.
5. At the end of registration process, the SuccessNet login page appears.
6. Log in by typing your user name and password.

Existing users:
To enroll in this class:

1. Go to www.pearsonsuccessnet.com.
2. Log in by typing your existing user name and password.
3. From your Home Page, click My Account.
4. Click Add Class/Group
5. Follow the instructions, and use the class access code above to enroll in this class or group.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Back to School Night

Back to School Night: 29 January 2008

World History I and AP Government according to the Social Studies Standards of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

COURSE GUIDELINES AND INFORMATION

a) Lesson Plans, Homework, course information can always be found on my blog:
http://gmicksmithsocialstudies.blogspot.com/

b) World History Online textbook, notices, assignments:
http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/

c) World History Textbook Code/Student Information
Period 1: TBA

d) Page for collaboration:
http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/gmicksmith/gmicksmith.cfm

e) Course information and additional content can always be heard on my Podcast:
http://www.gcast.com/u/gmicksmith/

f) Grades can always be found on:
http://www.gradeconnect.com/

Listed below are expectations for the class.

1. Be in your seat and prepared for class when the bell rings with pencil/pen, notebook, and textbook(s), or any other assigned materials.
2. Obtain permission by raising your hand before speaking, or leaving your seat for any reason once the bell rings.
3. Follow directions and complete all assignments on time.
4. Remain alert, awake, and on task during the entire class period.
5. Above all, respect yourself, your teacher, and others and their possessions.

Grading Calculation is a “Straight Point Based” system. I do not calculate grades on GradeConnect, the programming algorithms perform this task automatically, and all I do is accurately enter the student points earned.

I adhere to a policy of PDP (Positive Daily Performance), which is based on my understanding that lifetime success arises out of what you do, day in and day out. Being prepared and ready to apply yourself with your school materials everyday is crucial.

Absence Policy on Test Day or any class work:
If you are absent for a test/quiz it is your responsibility to make arrangements with me to take it. This is scheduled the day after you return to school. Points will be deducted each day you fail to do make up work.




Contact Information and Brief Biography

Dr. G. Mick Smith, Room #267, and contact info: gmicksmith@muchomail.com (fastest and direct contact), 215.276.2300 (slower, indirect contact).

Dr. Smith earned his PhD in History at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was also awarded a Masters degree in History from UCLA, and he obtained a second Masters in Theology. Smith was a Johannes Quasten Scholar in Patristics at The Catholic University of America and he holds a Distance Learning Administrator’s Certificate from Texas A&M University and the Center for Distance Learning Research. He has published over 110 mostly peer-reviewed publications in history, technology and education, and computing. Dr. Smith has been President of the American Association for History and Computing. Smith has also taught at colleges on the Left and Right Coasts as well as locally at Northeast Catholic High School, Lansdale Catholic, Villa Maria Academy, Phila Academy, and Hahnemann University. At Cardinal Dougherty Smith is Assistant Chair of the Technology Committee and Moderator of Mock Trial. Dr. Smith is a widower and a full-time single parent; he wrote his first novel about parenting the greatest daughter ever born.