Day 2: The Sumerians: Wheels, Walls, Words, and More…

Hey gang,

      Today is Tuesday, October 27, 2015.  Yesterday we looked at "Leveled Questions".  More specifically, we focused on literal questions.  Today, we are going to try and tackle some inferential questions.  These are a bit harder and will require a little more effort.  Here is the link to yesterday's blog post.  You will find the videos from yesterday in this post.

1. Housing-

What were houses made of?
How does the location determine where you are in the social hierarchy?
What would be one advantage of having farmland outside the city walls?

2. Ziggurat-

What is a Ziggurat?
What are some distinguishing features of a ziggurat?
What is the significance of placing the ziggurat in the center of the city?

3. City Wall-

What is the purpose of the wall?
Why was protecting the city so important?
What are some disadvantages of having the wall around the city?

4. Sumerian Wheel-

What is this artifact?

What was the original purpose of the wheel?

Why is the wheel so important to modern society?

5. Cuneiform -

What is Cuneiform?

If you knew cuneiform, what kind of job opportunities would present themselves to you?

Why do you think writing is one of history’s most important cultural advances?

Let's see how we do today.  Good luck and have fun learning.

Sincerely,
Mr. C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
Kenosha Unified School District

The Sumerians: Wheels, Wall, Words,and More...

Happy Monday Kids,

      Today is Monday, October 26, 2015.  I hope you all had an outstanding weekend!  We have a big week ahead of us together in ancient history.  This week, you will be assigned a group for an activity called "Group Inquiry".  Below you will see some of the  topics we will be discovering throughout the week.

1. Housing-

What were houses made of?

2. Ziggurat-

What is this artifact?

3. City Wall-

What is the purpose of the wall?

4. Wheel - 

What is this artifact?

5. Cuneiform - 

What is this artifact?

We will be adding questions to these topics as our knowledge increases.  In class, we will continue to check into the blog.  Have a great Monday.  Do your best and forget the rest!

Sincerely,
Mr. C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
Kenosha Unified School District

Agriculture In Mesopotamia: Agriculture and Civilization...

Happy Friday Kids of Kenosha,

      Today is Friday, October 16, 2015.  What made civilization possible in Mesopotamia?  We have been watching VIDEO MEDIA to answer this question and learn a new strategy called Two Column Notes.  Yesterday, during an academic period, Isaiah made a great observation.  He called Two Column Notes by a different name.  He said it was TWO COLUMN THINKING.  I love it!!


      Two Column Thinking is our way of making information in videos usable information.  Today, we are going to try to use the information we recorded in our Two Column Thinking to better understand what we have watched.  Here is the video we have watched so far:

WHAT MADE CIVILIZATION POSSIBLE IN MESOPOTAMIA?

        As we have watched we have tried to find information that answers an essential question.  The question is posted above the video.  All of the answers can be found in the first 5 minutes of the video.  We have recorded all of this information and we have re-watched the video multiple times.  Your mission, is to post the answer to this question in the comments below.  Also, respond to a comment someone else has posted.  Good luck and happy hunting.

Love, peace, and taco grease,
Mr. C



From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
Kenosha Unified School District

Async Day 1: Farming, Agriculture, & The Neolithic Revolution...

Good Morning and Good Day Lovelies,

      Happy async day everyone!  Today is Friday, September 25, 2015.  If I were in your shoes, I would love to have some time to myself today.  Your friendly neighborhood social studies teacher volunteered to post the async work today.  So, Cougar House's async assignment is fairly simple.

      As you probably know, we have been talking about, watching, and reading about AGRICULTURE.  The invention of farming was probably the most important invention/innovation human beings ever discovered.     Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to define agriculture, find a photo/image that represents agriculture, and give an example of agriculture today.  Below is a new video that may help you.  Good luck and good hunting.

Love, peace, and taco grease,

Mr. C

From the cluttered mind of C,
Teacher, Kenosha Unified School District

Welcome to THINK SPOT Kenosha Kiddies!

Good morning and good day to you all,

      Today is Thursday, September 24, 2015.  Here is your friendly neighborhood classroom blog: THINK SPOT.  On it, you will find classroom updates, daily agendas, videos, comments, articles, links, and FUN!  At least that's my hope for you all.

      So far in this World History course, we have spent A LOT of time watching.  We have spent a lot of time watching documentaries and clips describing in great detail the innovation we know as AGRICULTURE.   One of those clips we have watched is below.  It is the short 2 minute 37 second clip of David Christian describing AGRICULTURE.  As you read on and explore this blog, click on the videos included

      As you probably already know, your first major assessment will be next Tuesday.  We have already gone over most of the questions and answers together in class.  I have tried to set you up for success for this Basic Proficiency Exam.  Remember, the items included on the assessment are there to evaluate you on the "Basic" needs you will have to apply in this course.

      We have also begun to think about two reading strategies.  Both of them we have practiced together.  The #1 reading comprehension strategy that is the most unused by middle school students is REREADING!  In our case, we have practiced rereading by "RE-WATCHING".  The second reading strategy that we have been practicing together is READING WITH A QUESTION IN MIND.  That is what we will continue to practice today in preparation for the assessment next Tuesday.  There are two questions that we will be "WATCHING" with in mind:

      1.) Why was AGRICULTURE so important and how did it change the way early societies lived?

      2.) Why did early humans migrate and how did migration affect their lives?

      Now, this second question is a DOOZY!  However, if you are able to WATCH WITH A QUESTION IN MIND, then you will be able to find your answers in this second video also by David Christian.  If you fastforward to part 2 you will find the answers to the second question.  Good luck and good hunting.

Love, peace, and taco grease,

Mr. C

P.S. F-O-R-E-V-E-R!
   

From the cluttered mind of C.
Teacher, Kenosha Unified School District

What Really Motivates Us to Stick to a Project?

Luke Christianson shared with you: What Really Motivates Us to Stick to a Project? Zen Habits - That's not surprising, given how deeply Goals are ingrained in us. And while these days I play with the line between having goals and not having them (it's not solid line), I've learned a lot about myself by allowing myself to let go of how tightly I was holding onto my Goals. Available on the App Store.

Sent from my iPhone