Changing Seats & Egypt Worksheet

The first thing we did in class today was changing our seats. I am now sitting in Ben's old seat behind Elpris and next to Ella on my left and Will on my right. My seat is pretty good. Sitting in the back of the classroom is fine and sitting in the front is fine too. I really don't care where I sit as long as I can see the board enough to see what's happening and I have some friends around. I really like sitting near Caleb and Ben since they are my really good friends. I also like sitting near Brianna and Joey. Next, while other people were making up the Mesopotamia quiz, Mr. Schick gave us a worksheet about Egypt. On one side we had to define some terms in the textbook. I used the glossary for most of the definitions, but some were not. Three of the words weren't even in the textbook and Mr. Schick didn't know one of the words. Then, on the other side, were fill-in-the-blank questions and four questions weren't in the textbook either! We just skipped over those questions because no one in the class and Mr. Schick didn't know. So, in class today, we changed seats and did a worksheet.

Mesopotamia Quiz & Textbook Terms, Names, and Main Ideas

Today, we took our quiz on Mesopotamia. I think I did really well and got 100%. After everyone finished, Mr. Schick gave us some textbook work to do while he grades our quizzes. The work we have to do in the textbook is page 41 #1, 3, 4, 5.

1.) For each term, write a sentence explaining its significance. 
          - delta: Delta is significant because of the deposits silt from the marshy, broad, triangular area was good 
                      for farming.
          - Narmer: Narmer is significant because he was the king who connected Upper and Lower Egypt.
          - pharaoh: Pharaoh is significant because that is the name for the Egyptian god-kings. In Mesopotamia,                                 the kings were considered to be representations of their Gods, but the Egyptians believed that 
                           their kings were Gods.
          - theocracy: Theocracy is significant because it was a type of government where the rule was based on 
                              religious authority and power.
          - pyramid: Pyramid is significant because that was the kings' resting place after death. Egyptians believed 
                         that their kings ruled over them after death too, therefore the kings still needed luxury and  

                           pleasures like immense structure as there resting place, the pyramid.          
          - mummification: Mummification is significant because its how kings and queens were buried to safely 
                                     travel to the afterlife. Mummification involves embalming and drying the corpse to prevent 
                                     it from decaying.
          - hieroglyphics: Hieroglyphics is significant because it was a more flexible writing system for scribes. 
          - papyrus: Papyrus is significant because it was an easier surface to write on. 

3.) How did being surrounded by deserts benefit Egypt?
          - The desert protected the Egyptians from war and constant warfare and shut out invaders.

4.) How did the Egyptians view the pharaoh?
          - The Egyptians viewed the pharaoh as a god who was responsible for the kingdom as a king.

5.) Why did the Egyptians mummify bodies?
          - Bodies were mummified to preserve them from decaying and for the souls to travel safely to the afterlife.

Test Review of Mesopotamia

Today in class, we reviewed for our test on the information about Mesopotamia. Here are the notes that Mr. Schick walked us through:

• test date - 2/26
• 75 points
• matching
• then, multiple choice
• terms to know:
• cuneiform - the earliest form of writing
• Fertile Cresent - Tigris and Euphrates rivers flood + leave behind silt --> makes fertile land; includes modern day Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Turkey
• dynasty - the rulers are a family (when a ruler dies -- > goes to son)
• city-state - city + surrounding area w/ a form of government
• cultural diffusion - cultures (beliefs) are spread around --> from generations or conquering
• irrigation - a system that controls the direction of water
• polytheism - believing in multiple Gods
• monarch - one king rules (ex. Hammurabi)
• ziggurat - a place of worship + where government meets/is
• silt - rich soil; comes from flooding
• Gilgamesh - a king; "The Epic of Gilgamesh" - story of a big flood --> Gilgamesh saves the world
• paleolithic ere - old stone age; live like hunters and gatherers
• neolithic era - new stone age; technological break thru to farm; ppl made plows + started farming
• Hammurabi's Code - 282 laws; let punishments fit the crime; carved into pillars

Hammurabi Worksheet & Textbook Notes

Today in class, we finished the paper on Hammurabi's code. On the worksheet, we did the personal response and today we wrote Hammurabi's punishments to the specific scenarios. Most of the scenarios' punishments were being put to death which surprised me how harsh the punishments were. Some of the punishments are even to cut the hands or an ear of the person who did wrong. Then, we turned in that paper. After we turned in the homework we had last night on more Hammurabi's Code. I feel pretty good on that homework because it was a bunch of short answer questions. Then, after we turned everything in, we got back the homework paper and I got an 8/8 which is awesome! Then, we started to take notes on the textbook. I didn't get to write a lot of notes because we were all talking about the notes. Here are the notes that I was able to take:

• chapter 2 section 2: Pyramids on the Nile
• main idea: using math knowledge and engineering skills, Egyptians built magnificent monuments to honor dead rulers
• why it matters now: many of the monuments built by the Egyptians stand as a testament to their ancient civilizations

Hammurabi's Code Worksheet

In class today, we worked on a new worksheet on Hammurabi's Code. This worksheet was about taking our 21st-century minds, judgment, and thoughts and "went back in time" to Hammurabi's century. Each of the questions was different but had the same theme. Every question had the theme of someone did something wrong. Some of the specific questions where "something wrong" happened was the murder of a family due to the poor construction of a house, the robbery of someone's belongings, and the wreckage of their friend's boat. Mr. Schick said we could work with a partner while filling out the "your decisions" part of the question, so I worked with Brianne. After everyone finished the worksheet, we all shared our own answers. A bunch of people would put people in jail, put them to work, and some would even use abuse as punishments. However, it was very fun and interesting to hear so many different points of view on the same topic!

Absent Again

I was absent in class today because I am still skiing on vacation.

Absent

I was absent in class today because I am skiing on vacation.

Textbook Notes Pt. 3

• geography of Fertile Cresent
• curved shape & rich land
• Tigris & Euphrates rivers
• living on rivers = unpredictable
• good --> water
• bad --> floods
• silt = rich soil that is good for farming & is left behind after floods
• environmental challenges
• unpredictable floods
• no natural barriers
• limited building material resources (wood, stone)
• solving these challenges
• irrigation ditches
• built mud walls with mud bricks
• traded for things they needed
• had = grain, cloth, tools
• needed = stone, wood, metal
• Sumerians create city-states
• first people to form a civilization
• five characteristics of civilization
• advanced cities
• specialized workers
• complex institutions
• record keeping
• improved tech
• city-state = city and area around it (acts like an independent country)
• have own governments
• ziggurat = pyramid in the center of the city (main building)
• built-in levels
• who is in charge?
• priests because people believed gates to Gods
• sometimes military leaders
• passed to sons if die
• cultural diffusion = one conquers another and bring culture --> cultures mix

Textbook Notes Pt. 2 & Test Review

When we entered the class, we started to take notes from the textbook again. Last class, we took notes on pages 26, 27, and 28 and today, I started to take notes on page 29. I didn't get that far and I don't know if they are important to the section, but here are the notes I took today.

• chapter 2 section 1: City-States in Mesopotamia
• main idea: the earliest civilization in Asia arose in Mesopotamia
• why it matters today: the development of this civilization reflects a settlement pattern that has occurred repeatedly throughout history
• Fertile Cresent is curved and has rich soil

It's not a lot of notes, but that's because we stopped taking notes on the textbook material to get our tests back and to review them. I got a 96% on my test which means Mr. Schick dinged the bell meaning that I got a 90 or above. I'm really happy that I did well on my test!

Textbook Notes & Discussion

When we all came into class, there were textbooks at every desk which was new because we never used textbooks before. Mr. Schick said that he doesn't have enough textbooks for everyone, so whenever we use the textbooks, we use them in class and will never have to take them home and do homework. I think that is super nice of Mr. Schick. Then, we started to take notes on pages 26, 27, and a little bit of 28 in the textbook. These are the notes:

• chapter 2: Early River Civilizations (3500 BC - 450 BC)
• the earliest civilizations farmed on fertile river plains, facing challenges such as seasonal flooding and a limited growing area
• projects such as irrigation systems required leadership and laws (organized government). they were controlled by priests, military leaders, and kings
• early civilizations developed bronze tools (wheel, sail, plow, writing, mathematics). these spread through trade, wars, and the development of peoples
• timeline:
• 3500 BC: timeline starts
• 300 BC: city-states form in Sumer, Mesopotamia
• 2660 BC: Egypt's Old Kingdom develops
• 2500 BC
• 1792 BC: Hammurabi develops code of laws for Babylonian Empire
• 1750 BC: Indus Valley civilization declines in China
• 1027 BC: Zhou Dynasty in China
• map notes:
• China: 3950 - 1000 BC
• Mesopotamia: 3500 - 1600 BC
• Ancient Egypt: 3000 - 2000 BC
• Indus Valley: 2500 - 1700 BC
• **questions in textbook under main ideas could be helpful for test**
• Hammurabi's Code: the first set of written laws that hold people responsible for their actions

We also had a class discussion about something. To be completely honest, I'm still not quite sure what the discussion was about. So many people were bouncing ideas back and forth that I lost track of what the original topic was. My best guess would be that the discussion what talking about the power between people difference of punishments. For example, the difference between the punishments if a person in poverty committed a crime versus if a rich person committed a crime.

Test Day

Today in Western Civilization, we took a test on the notes we have taken on the Guns, Germs, and Steel video
we have been watching in class. I wasn't in class on Friday, so I missed those notes and didn't know about the
test until Sunday. This made me really nervous about the test, but I was also very calm and relaxed about it 
because I really like the material so I was excited to learn more and then retain the information. Because of this, I 
think I actually did pretty well on the test. For the last questions, we had to name 8 of the domesticated animals 
and then for extra credit, we could name 4 more. I answered all of the answers and the extra credit and I'm pretty 
confident that I got them all right. There were a couple questions that I wasn't so confident in, but those were the 
questions that I'm pretty sure were from Friday, so we'll see if I get those right!

Absent

I was absent in class on Friday, Feburary 1 because I was participating in singing with my Chorus class at mass.