gonna miss you guys...

We're leaving tonight, off to visit our girl!  As you can imagine, I'm pretty excited.

Here is a gentle reminder of what you are going to do for the three class days that I will be gone.

• Work on your group paper.  There are lots of details about this assignment, including the essay and the rubric that are linked, on my previous blog posts.  You are expected to hand me a paper copy of this assignment at the start of class on April 1.  Make sure more than one of you has a printed copy so you aren't unprepared.  The paper is worth 100 points, so it's worth putting serious effort into it.
• Study for the test you will take on April 1.  Focus on my Google Sides presentation, the video I have linked, and the notes you took during your presentations.    The test is going to be 50 Scantron questions, and it's worth 100 points, so be ready.
• Watch the Greeks: Crucible of Civilization video.  It can be found in my Linkages sidebar.  Essential viewing if you want to do well on the test.  If you watch the movie in class, remember your earbuds or headphones so you don't disturb the others.

Thank you in advance for being so responsible, and for being nice to my subs.  I'll be back on Wednesday, April 1, the last day of school before we go on break!  Woo-hoo!

Vaarwel, mijn vrienden!  

Kasteel Well, where Martha has been living and taking classes this semester.

the thrills continue

One of the highlights of Section 4's class 
was hearing Alex and Arthur 
give a terrific presentation on 
Ancient Greek Art and Architecture.  

One of the highlights of Section 6's class was hearing various theories 
about my imaginary wife.

help on your paper

Your 1000-word group paper is due in a week and a half.  You can find an essay that has guidelines regarding formatting, Works Cited lists, parenthetical citations, spelling, and more, listed under Linkage.  I wrote the essay in the exact format that your paper should be written in.  I provided this guide to students a few years ago, in response to an assignment I gave back then.  In the essay, I am describing the 500-word essay, and illustrating what 500 words looks like when properly formatted.  Keep that in mind when writing your 1000-word essay.  We'll briefly discuss this essay in class before I leave.  Feel free to ask questions if anything in my essay is unclear.

the evolution of ancient Greek governments

Today's class lecture focused on how Greek government evolved from an aristocracy, to a tyranny, eventually becoming (tah-dah!) a democracy.   Check my Google Slides presentation for more details.

Reminder - be ready to give your 5 minute presentation on Friday.  That's assuming we are actually in school Friday.  The weather forecast (1-3 inches of snow in Bel Air; 3-5 inches in my neck of the woods) has me starting to wonder if there is another Cyber Day in our future.  Brace yourself!

today's classes

Please enjoy this bucket full of puppies.

Section 4 started off by having their opportunity to work on their Google Slides projects.  A reminder to all: the rubrics for the Slides and for the paper are posted on this blog.

Section 6 will celebrate Kelsey's birthday, Pierce's birthday, and St. Patrick's Day.  Sadly, I can't be there because we have our Academic Team playoffs today at Loyola.  I'll supply napkins for any PB&J sammiches you guys come up with.  While you eat, you can check out / take notes on the next few slides on my (Ancient) Greece is the Word presentation, or you can work quietly on your Google Slides project.  Please be nice to your sub, and maybe even offer him a sandwich!     

Thank you, and I'll see you all tomorrow!

final opportunity

Today is the last day that Sections 3 and 6 will be given class time to work on their Google Slides project.  Everyone will present in class Friday, March 20.  You should be ready to give a 5-7 minute presentation.

It's been interesting to watch how you work in class.  Many of you get right to it, and use the time to get things done.  Other people spend most of the time goofing off.  For example, there are a lot of interesting stories I overheard regarding last week's basketball games.  Not the best use of your time if you are presenting later this week.  But it's your grade, isn't it?

You will have class time to work on your 1000-word paper on March 26, 27, 30, and 31. The paper is due April 1.

how you will be graded on your project and paper

Here is the rubric for the Google Slides project.  It would be a good idea to look it over to make sure you are covering all the bases as you work on your project.  It will also be posted under Linkage if you want to refer to it later.  Everyone presents in class on Friday - be ready!

Here is the rubric for your paper, to be handed in on April 1.  It too will be posted under Linkage.  Read it and be informed.

you're welcome

Today's class was devoted to working on the upcoming projects, catching up on pop quizzes, and updating grades.

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with how hard you all worked on your Slides, and i'm looking forward to seeing your presentations next Friday.

Have a great weekend!

Project assignments

Hoplites and Triremes - Warfare on Land and Sea
(Section 4 - Zaire, Jayla, Karson)
(Section 6 - Kelsey, Dimitra, Ariana, Delaney)

Athens, Sparta, and the Peloponnesian War
(3 - James, Colin, Jack)
(4 - Caitlyn, Trish, Rosemary)
(6 - Jude, Stevie, Pierce)

Art and Architecture in Ancient Greece
(3 - Katie, Sydney, Sophia)
(4 - Alex, Arthur)
(6 - Kyle, Jake, Avery)

Homer the Storyteller - His Life and Writings
(3 - Gabi, Gabby, Megan)

(4 - Steven, Paj, Evan)

(6 - Meredith, Kacey, Alayna)

Pericles and the Golden Age of Greece
(3 - Luke, Tucker, Immanuel)
(4 - Rory, Ellee, Kendall)
(6 - Adam, Adam, Josh)

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle - Three Great Philosophers
(3 - Chris, Suky, Christina)
(4 - Chesca, Jessica, Alyssa)

Aristocracy, Tyranny, and Democracy  
(3 - Reece, Nate, Skylar)
(4 - Jeremiah, Dylan, Parker)
(6 - Pierce, Luke, Ryan)

Gods and Goddesses - The Role of Mythology in Ancient Greece
(3 -  Nicole, Sammi, Callie)
(4 - Veronica, Megan, Adam)

a closer look at the Ancient Greece unit

Here's how this unit will unfold as we continue to study ancient Greece.

Today: pop quiz.  (BTW... Average score: 84%.  20 of you - out of 55 - got 100%.  Nice!)

From now through March 19, we cover more material on Greece.

On March 20, you will present your group Google Slides (PowerPoint) in class.  This is a 100 point assignment.  I'll get grading criteria posted this weekend.

March 26, 27, 30 and 31, I will not be in class with you.  You will have the option of working on your group term paper in class, or watching the video I will have posted for you on my blog.  This video will be very helpful to you as you prepare for the unit exam.  If you watch the video in class, bring earbuds or headphones.  If you don't watch it in class, definitely watch it on your own.

April 1, you will take the 100-point unit exam on ancient Greece.  You will also turn in a hard copy of your group 1000-word paper.  This paper will be worth 100 or 200 points.  You can give me feedback on how much it will count, plus I will have a rubric available this weekend.

April 2, our 11-day Easter vacation begins!  April 13, we begin ancient Rome.

If you have questions or input, ask me in class, send me an email, or stop by the TV Studio.

Homer pays a visit

The Odyssey is a timeless story that has been entertaining listeners for thousands of years.  Today Homer's words had quite an impact on Section 4.  And Section 6 finally answered that eternal question:  Are you crying?

life in the early days of Greece

In order to understand the ancient Greeks, you have to understand what influenced their culture.  Their geography - a mountainous peninsula - sent them to the sea, and kept them from being united in their Greek-ness.  They lacked arable land, but the grapes, grain, and olives they were fortunate enough to grow were in demand with trading partners.  The Myceneans ruled, but gave way to "sea peoples" and Dorians.  More to come...!

Yes... another Cyber Day

We did a little shoveling yesterday...

Can you imagine if these were all snow days? We'd be going to school until the Fourth of July. Cyber Days rock.

Today's Cyber Day assignment is for all three sections.

There are three great philosophers from ancient Greece: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.  Pick one of these men, post a picture of him on your blog, and tell me all about him in a well-written paragraph. Suggested details might include his approach to philosophy, when he lived, what writings he is known for, what he may have done for a living (besides philosophizing), and why he is still important today.

This 20-point assignment must be posted to your blog by midnight tonight.  This will, of course, count as your Friday blog.  This means that once you post this blog, you will have the weekend off.

Thanks for all the hard work, and I will see you Monday!

Cyber Day IV

A Cyber Day today?  Gosh!  Who saw this coming?  (Um... I did.)

As we discussed yesterday, your Cyber Day assignment is to discover the wonder and splendor of ancient Greek architecture.  Find three terrific examples of ancient Greek buildings, post pictures of them, and write a short paragraph about each one.  Feel free to mention details like when and where they were built, what style they were built in, what materials were used to build them, what architectural details were included, and why the Greeks built these particular structures.

I have included some good sites for you to use.  However, you are required to write in your own words.  You all received the guidelines from Mr. Powell about doing your own work on Cyber Day assignments.  This means you don't copy other people's work, and you don't cut and paste from websites.  Read, learn, then tell me what you learned.

Some good sources (although you are free to use others):

• Ancient History 
• Ancient Greece
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• History World
• Famous Historic Buildings

Post this assignment to your blog today, before midnight.  It's worth 20 points.  Late penalties will apply.  Write well, with a lot of detail, and you will receive a good grade.  Do a crummy job, receive a crummy grade.

We shall see how much snow falls, and how it impacts school tomorrow.  All three sections should be prepared to check my blog tomorrow if we have another Cyber Day.

Have a great day, and I'll see you... eventually!

March is coming in like a lion

Weather disruptions seem to be the name of the game this semester.  And with a weather forecast like this, it's easy to see us having another Cyber Day tomorrow.

So, if the Weather Service is on target, Sections 3 and 4 should be ready for their Cyber assignment tomorrow morning.  And, if we really get clobbered with some major accumulation, all three sections should keep their eyes on this blog Friday.

Have fun shoveling!

Greece - at the middle of the earth

A full day of school.  Ya don't see that every day...

Section and 4 and Section 6 were introduced to Greece today. 

The focus was on geography,
and how Greece's culture was shaped by its mountainous terrain,

its position on the water, and its location on the Mediterranean Sea.

A Google Earth's-eye view of Greece

ANOTHER Cyber Day

Since only Sections 3 and 6 meet today, they are the only ones REQUIRED to do this Cyber Day assignment.  Section 4, feel free to check it out and get a jump on things.

Cyber Day Assignment

Today we begin to study ancient Greece.  Go to the Google Slides titled (Ancient) Greece is the Word.  Take notes and answer questions on the first seven slides.  Post these notes to your blog.  Earn a maximum of 20 points by being thorough and detailed.  Earn far fewer points if you are lazy and do slapdash, minimal work.  Earn zero points if you don't do it.  I leave it to you to get this unit off to a good, strong start.  This assignment is due at midnight tonight.

Thanks, and enjoy your Cyber Day!