TV production in Mrs. Willian's room

Soooooo today we watched a promotion for Baltimore which totally sucked because it was slow and boring. Then we watched a similar one about LA which was super so we have to make one like that for either Athens or Sparta. It's like 100 points which is a lot. This is something you would do if it were TV production class but it isn't because we aren't in the TV room. I miss Graceeeeee. I really hope it snowssssssssss. Have a nice weekend :)

Greece againnnn

Greek city state was about the size of a U.S county- each city state often fought one another
Hoplites- soldiers
Phalanx- army formation
oligarchy- small majority of white land owner males dominated the government.
Trirene- war ship
Women could not hold office or vote.
Peloponnesus is the hunk of land barely connected to Greece
Sparta- army
Athens- navy
Golden age- the time when Pericles ruled (460-430 BC)

Greece cont.

Geography 

-lots of mountains
-about 1,400 islands
-skilled sailors
-poor natural resources
-difficult to unite Greeks because of the terrain; they developed small, independent communities
-20% of the land was suitable for farming
-fertile valleys cover 1/4 of the peninsula
-diet: grains, grapes, and olives
-temperatures ranged from 48 in the winter to 80 in the summer
-lack of resources led to colonization

Mycenaean

-2000 BC
-located on a rocky ridge protected by a 20 foot thick wall
-dominated the area 1600-1200 BC and controlled trade in the region
-Mediterranean means middle earth
-1400 BC they invaded Crete and absorbed their culture and language
-Around 1200 BC "sea people" invaded Mycenae and burnt palace after palace  
Dorians moved into the region
     -they were far less advanced
     -economy collapsed
     -writing disappeared for 400 years known as the dark ages

Homer and Myths

-stories were passed down orally
-lived at the end of the dark ages
-recorded stories of the Trojan war in the Iliad and the Odyssey
     -Iliad- epic poem
     - Odyssey- 12,110 lines long

LO3

• Greek city-state: polis, small places with populations reaching a few thousand. Athens and Sparta were huge city-states, Athens with a population of 250,000. They were extremely competitive, often fighting with one another.
• Acropolis: a religious temple, usually stood on top of a hill 
• Hoplites- soldiers who were equipped with sophisticated weapons and armor. They fought in phalanxes- a formation of several hundred soldiers  
• Forms of government:
•  Oligarchy- "rule by few" a minority of citizens ruled the government 
• Tyranny- ruled by a 'tyrant' or self proclaimed dictator 
• Democracy- where government was ruled by the majority of male citizens
• Spartans- descendants of Greeks who were a minority among helots: non-citizens who were forced to work for land owners. Their government consisted of a council of men chosen by the citizens, and two 'kings' who were priests and army commanders, whose positions were hereditary. The main authority was five elected officials called ephors. Spartan boys were raised to be warriors, and their lives were strictly controlled by the government. Girls were raised to be child bearing wives, and lived withou many rights. 
• Athens- war-like community like Sparta, but gave citizens more freedom and power. It had a large area of fertile land and was a big producer of wine and oil making it a big trading center. Aristocrats: members of prominent and wealthy families.
• Persian war- occurred in the 6th century BC when the Persians conquered land from the border of India to the Nile and the Aegean. The Persians then lost to Athenians at Marathon in 490 BC. Ten years later, the Athenian navy beat the Persian fleet off the island of Salamis. Persians and Athenians made peace in 445 BC. 

Greece

*Greeks invented democracy 

• they were very warlike
• their lives centered around strength, courage, comradeship, and loyalty (arete) 
• tribes were held together by common beliefs and the leaders were usually war heroes 
• their way of life was constantly changing and adapting from their encounters of others
• no permanent government
• barbarians- not Greek 
• developed first idea of "western" 

Grant's birthday

Today in Western Civilization we sang happy birthday to Calvin. Then Kylie had a meltdown because she doesn't want to test in the hallway. Mr. Schick produced Home Alone. Then we got our tests back and went over the answers. The yearly flood of the Nile was caused by spring rains and melting snow in the lands south of Egypt apparently. The average score for our class was 79% which isn't very good. I got a 77% which isn't very good either. We're going to learn about Greece soon which is cool I guess.

PYRAMID CHALLENGE

Today in western civ we did the pyramid challenge which was super stressful. I won ha ha. All it was was a silly game that if you messed up or the pharaoh died then you lose and I almost cried. I miss Grace.

Chapter 3- Greece

- Greeks were the first to have citizen participation in government.
- First Greek civilization was between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean
- Emerged in about 800 BC
- Europeans were the first to use the plow.
- Stonehenge- large, open-air monument built as a religious center
- Europeans traditionally worshiped warriors. When a leading warrior died, he would be buried with his horse, chariot, and weapons so he could go on fighting in the afterlife.
- Ancient Europeans mostly spoke Indo-European languages
- European barbarians: tribal groups of people and the way of life in Europe around 2500 BC
- By coming in contact with other civilizations (either warlike or peacefully) the barbarians began adapting their way of life

Short Answers

A
The ancient Egyptians were responsible for many technological breakthroughs. One of their great feats was the pyramids. They are giant stone tombs for wealthy people who did memorable things in their life. Another advancement they had was a calender with 365 days on it (sound familiar?) based on seasonal cycles. Egyptians also invented sailboats to help transport goods up and down the Nile.

B
Egyptian pyramids are huge stone tombs that were originally coated in marble which was later stripped off. Inside, there are tunnels, and the deceased who was being memorialized was mummified to preserve their body for the afterlife. Many of their organs were removed from their body and jarred in preservatives. All entrances are hidden.

Winter storm watch

Today in Human Geo (and in like every other class) we talked about cyber day. Since everyone's expecting off tomorrow, and we still need one more day to make up, the school decided to basically home-school us for a day. (which sucks 'cause we have to take home 5000 books) For Western Civ we're going to have to answer the Essays for our test that we'll take next time we're in class.
Also in class today Mr. Schick blew up which wasn't fun and I miss Grace.
We should sign a petition to switch out Grace and Arri.
Happy snow/sleet/rain day

Essays

ESSAY A 

     The social hierarchy of the Egyptians starts at the bottom with slaves and servants. These men and women worked for the wealthy with house duties and raising children. Above them are the farmers who raised wheat, barely, lentils, and onions. Next are the artisans who carved statues often featuring soldiers and scenes of the afterlife.
     Higher up on the food chain are the merchants. They used the barter system (for example, accepting a bag of grain for their payment). Later though, coinage came about. Next were the scribes. They kept records, told stories, wrote poetry, and described anatomy and medical treatment. One of the more respected professions was that of a soldier. Back then they used wooden weapons with bronze tips and rode wooden chariots.
     The upper class, also known as the "white kilt class" because they were often identified by their spotless white robes. Those of the upper class were priests, physicians and engineers.
     On top of the hierarchy was the pharaoh. He (and in a few cases, she) was the political and religious leader. He/she was many times referred to as "Lord of the Two Lands" and "High Priest of Every Temple" If maat (or harmony and balance of the universe) wasn't achieved, it was blamed on the pharaoh. This person also owned all land, made laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt from foreigners.

ESSAY B

     Egyptian life centered around the Nile River. In fact about 95% of Egyptians lived within a few miles of it. The Nile flows from South to North and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. The mouth of the river (the delta) flooded every July and every October, left behind fertile silt.
     The lives of Egyptians centered around the Nile because it was one of the only sources of water and rich soil for hundreds of miles. Over thousands of years, the people started to understand the river's patterns and domesticated accordingly. They learned how to use it for many things like irrigation. With the invention of the sail boat, they also could us the Nile for transportation.
     Basically, everything that people need to survive, they found with the Nile River. They had drinking water, bathing water, transportation, fertile soil to plant crops with, and more.

Weird Day

Today in Human Geo Mr. Schick broke Ms. Willian's desk because Arri and Laura were arguing so he spent like a hour reorganizing it while we all just watched. I miss Grace. Erica got a new book from Mr. Teter. Laura has a tumor in her ear.
On the bright side, no school on Thursday. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxdetail2/21050

 Once everyone stopped spazzing we watched a movie on mummies. Then we watched a video of John Green about Egypt and Gods and Pharaohs and stuff. I'm reading one of his books now called "Looking for Alaska". Its super. He's super.

More Egypt

Geography

Egyptian life centered around the Nile
It flows from South to North
Empties into the Nile
Delta- very rich soil ( fertile silt)
Every July it floods
Every October it leaves rich soil


Pyramids

The great Sphinx of Giza
built 2555-2532 BC
Lion with a humans head
oldest monumental statue in the world


Daily life

Slaves and servants
Served the wealthy
helped with the house and raising the children
Farmers
raised wheat, barley, lentils, and onions
Artisans
carved statues featuring soldiers and scenes of the afterlife
Merchants
money/ barter system was used
merchants accepted bags of grain for payment
coinage came about later
Scribes
Kept records, told stories, write poetry, described anatomy, and medical treatment
Soldiers
used wooden weapons with bronze tips
ride wooden chariots
Upper class
"white kilt class"
Priests, physicians, engineers
Pharaoh
religious and political leader
"Lord of the Two Lands"
"High Priest of Every Temple"
Owned all land, made laws, collected taxes, defended Egypt against foreigners
Hatshepsut- a woman who served as Pharaoh  
Cleopatra VII served as a pharaoh in 51- 30 BC


Godesses and Gods

Over 2,000 of them
Sun god- Ra
They "controlled" the lives of humans

Egypt

- The Nile flows from South to North
- Egyptian culture was centered around the Nile
- about 95% of people lived withing a few miles of the river
- Delta: the triangular shape at the mouth of the Nile

Pharaoh
- 3100 BC began the rule of the Pharaoh
- was worshiped as a God
- Mostly men
- had multiple wives- often their sisters (in the sense that helped out with government decisions)

- Maat: harmony and balance of the universe
- Gods were often portrayed with animal heads or bodies
- Egyptians believed in an afterlife and mummified pharaohs to preserve their bodies

Earliest writing forms in Egypt:
- Hieroglyphs: small pictures
- Heiratic script: short hand
- they wrote on papyrus- made from Nile reeds
- stored in the form of scrolls

Calendars and Sailboats
- Astronomers created a calender with 365 days based on seasonal cycles
- wooden sailboats were made to increase transport ability.

Pyramids and Temples
- Pyramids are massive stone tombs originally made with marble but was later stripped off during the Muslim conquest
- The temple of Amon is the largest building in the world.

LO1

LO 1

• All cultural ways of life demonstrated by humans originated in prehistoric times.
• Mesopotamia and Egypt were the first civilizations
• As civilizations came in contact with each other, through trading and conquering, their cultures began to spread and change
• The prehistoric era- the time it took before humans could become civilized
• The earliest and longest prehistoric period is called the Paleolithic Age
• Neolithic age occured around 8000 BC
• Bronze Age- 3000-1000 BC
• Iron age- after 1000 BC
• In the Paleolithic Age people were mostly hunters and gatherers where they didn't stay in one place for very long and went where the food was. Women mostly picked plants, prepared food and cared for children, wile the men butcher animals for food and clothing, and protected their territory.
• The agricultural revolution- the shift from being hunters and gatherers to planting and storing their food. This caused a steep rise in population and a definition of wealth and power.
• Soon people began domesticating animals and inventing tools that make farming easier
• In southwester Asia, around 6000 BC, were the first signs of permanent settlements
• Villagers believed in Polytheism 

Snow and Rain and Ice oh my

Today was a really stupid day. We went to school for like 2 hours and had western civ for 30 minutes. Mr. Schick said we should stay over night and have two class days which was a terrible idea. Everyone was spazzing and screaming all during class which gave me a headache, but they're usually like that. We didn't really learn anything but that's okay. We just kind of talked about snow and stuff. hcps sucks ok. bye. 

I wrote a poem:

I woke up real early

Outside there were flurries

I went to school

With 600 fools 

I'm really tired

I hope Mr. Schick gets fired

(just kidding!)