last day of 4Q... plus an update on the exam

Monday is the last day of regular classes for the year. In Monday's class, Section 3 and Section 6 will go over their test on Rome, then review for the semester exam. Section 4 does not meet on Monday. If anyone from Section 4 wants a copy of the Rome test for studying purposes, stop by my room or flag me down in the hall.

You do not have to write a blog about Monday's class.

On Wednesday, June 6, all sections take the objective (Scantron) portion of the semester exam. In order to make the test more representative, it has been expanded to 150 questions, broken down as follows:

Questions 1-25: Guns, Germs, and Steel
26-58: Prehistory, Mesopotamia, Egypt
59-108: ancient Greece
109-150: ancient Rome

Finally, if you want your project back, please come and get it out of the TV Studio after school Monday. After Monday, it will be disposed of.

See me if you have any questions.  Good luck this week!

tick, tock, tick, tock...

End of the year is fast approaching.  Here's hoping for a strong finish in Social Studies!

Thursday, May 28

• Section 3 takes the essay portion of the semester exam
• Section 4 takes the essay portion of the semester exam
• Section 6 does not meet

Friday, May 29

• no school!

Monday, June 1

• Section 3 reviews for exam
• Section 4 does not meet
• Section 6 reviews for exam 

Wednesday, June 3

• all sections take objective (Scantron) portion of semester exam

crunch time

Wednesday, May 27 (tomorrow)

• Section 3 takes the unit test on Rome
• Section 4 reviews for the semester exam
• Section 6 takes the essay portion of the semester exam

Thursday, May 28

• Section 3 takes the essay portion of the semester exam
• Section 4 takes the essay portion of the semester exam
• Section 6 does not meet

Friday, May 29

• no school!

Monday, June 1

• Section 3 reviews for exam
• Section 4 does not meet
• Section 6 reviews for exam 

Wednesday, June 3

• all sections take objective (Scantron) portion of semester exam

Finish strong, people!

the test, test, test, test on Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome

The test on Rome is ready for you.  Are you ready?

Sections 4 and 6 are due to take the unit test on Rome tomorrow.  Section 3 will take theirs on Wednesday.  There are 40 questions, all multiple choice.  To prepare, study my PowerPoint, listen to the song a few times, and review your notes.

Semester Exam schedule; exam essay questions

Here is your schedule for semester exams:

• Tuesday, June 2
• Math
• World Language
• Wednesday, June 3
• Religion
• Social Studies (10am - 11:30am)
• Thursday, June 4
• English 
• Science

Section 3 takes my test in Room 315 with Ms. Ferry proctoring.

Section 4 takes my test in Room 318 with me proctoring.

Section 6 takes my test in Room 223 with Mr. Fabriziani proctoring.

Reminder:  You will only take the objective (Scantron) portion of the exam on June 3.  The essay portion of the exam will be given in class on Wednesday, May 27 for Section 6, and on Thursday, May 28 to Sections 3 and 4.

In the essay portion of the exam, you will be asked to write on three of the following subjects: 

• A.  Consider Jared Diamond's theory of "geographic luck," and describe how it applies to the civilizations of ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome.
• B.  Detail the development of culture, entertainment, and the arts from ancient Greece and Rome.
• C.  Compare the social hierarchy of Ancient Egypt with that of ancient Rome.  Among other things, you may wish to describe the differences between middle class life in these two societies.
• D.  Compare and contrast the government of ancient Rome with the government of the United States in the year 2015.
• E.  Give a thoughtful analysis of the following statement:  "The unexamined life is not worth living."  You may wish to compare it to the experiences of your freshman year at John Carroll.  (Note: if you use the phrase "live life to the fullest" in your answer, you will receive a zero.  That is not what Socrates was about.  Do some research into the actual philosophy of Socrates, or choose another essay to write.)

slight change in the schedule

We are due to wrap up the Roman project presentations tomorrow, but you won't be taking the unit test on Rome until next Tuesday (or Wednesday for Section 3).  This will give us a chance to review the old material, and squeeze in a little new material, on Friday.

The good news is that those of you going to Ocean City for your three four day weekend will no longer be racked with guilt at not being able to take the test with your classmates.

More good news:  the essay portion of your semester exam will be given next Thursday in class (or next Wednesday for Section 6).  Be sure to watch my blog to learn what the actual questions will be ahead of time.  You will still take the objective (Scantron) portion of the semester exam on Wednesday, June 3.

Check in with me in class if you have any questions.

project progress

I really like where these projects are going.  Hard work is paying off.

Here is a little dance music to reward you for all your effort:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrdTcp_yVzQ&feature=youtu.be

project schedule

I have updated the schedule for next week's projects.  Check it out here to see what day you will give your presentation, and if you are going first, second, or third that day.

50% penalty if you are not ready to go at your assigned time.

In class tomorrow I will be happy to answer any questions.

grading criteria for project on Rome

I have posted helpful info for you regarding your project on Rome.

Here is a description of the objectives, instructions, and grading criteria.  This is also in my Links sidebar.

And here is the actual rubric for the oral presentation of your project.  This is also linked under Linkage.

See me with questions, either in or out of class.

Tiberius' friend Octavius explains his theory of the concentration of wealth.

This seemed to be a great time to be a rich aristocrat.  But was it a good time to be a member of the Roman middle class?

(a gift for Section 4) http://share.gifyoutube.com/Kk7z0d.gif

revolution

The death mask of Big Daddy Gracchus

So now you get the picture

All the rich are getting richer

And they’re livin’ on the latifundia

Farmers can’t cope

They’re low on hope

They moved to Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome...

I can hear the brothers Gracchus

Sayin, “Rich, please don’t attack us,

“We got a feeling that the senators will whack us!”

They hit the floor

Next thing you know

It’s civil war, war, war...


The video only concentrated on one of the two Gracchus brothers, and the Roman Republic is too often described as a democracy.  Otherwise, this is a pretty accurate depiction of the events that saw Rome transition from a Republic to an Empire.  I hope you're enjoying it!

in class work for today

Sorry I won't be with you in class today.  You will use class time to work on your Ancient Rome projects.  The subs all know I expect you to work seriously and quietly, since the due date for the project is coming up soon.  It is likely that this will be the last class period where you can work on this project.  You also have this weekend, next week, and the following weekend, before presentations begin on Monday, May 18.

Make good use of the time, and I will see you all next Monday. Thanks!

a break from the Big PowerPoint is coming

This PPt is just filled with information, and I know you are excited at the prospect of viewing even more slides and hearing all my words of wisdom.  But there is a great video series done by the BBC all about ancient Rome.  We will watch some of that in class to take a break from my lectures.  The video is also linked on this blog.

roamin' with the Romans

Our studies of Rome continue, the Big PowerPoint of Rome expands, and we compare Rome with the USA.  

Today we considered post-monarchy Roman government, and the Punic Wars.

more Rome

Three different experiences for my three sections today.  One group got to compare life in Ancient Rome with life in America in the 1920s.  One section caught up with the others and heard about the harrowing, horrible behavior of Tarquin the Proud and his nasty wife Tullia.  And the third class worked on Ancient Roman projects.

Have a good weekend, and we'll see you next week!