Current Event Mapping and Ancient Egypt Webquest

Flocabulary: The Week in Rap  Let's get our Friday started by reviewing some of the important news events took place this around the world this week with our friends at Flocabulary.



Mapping Current Events  Can you place the key current events featured in the "Week in Rap" on a map? That's your task today. To begin, go to your Google Drive, click on "New," scroll down select more, and locate "Google My Maps." Name your map Current Events World Map. I want you to select at least two of the events featured in today's "Week in Rap" video and place them in the geographic location where they took place on your map. You should also include a title for the event, the date(s) the event took place, a brief summary of what happened, and include an appropriate photo or video. Please follow along as a model how to use Google Maps.
 

Ancient Egypt Webquest  Today will continue working on an Ancient Egypt Webquest, which can be found here. You will be acting as an online Egyptologist, being sent all over the Internet, to gather information about this important and supremely interesting civilization. You will record your findings using the document Ancient Egypt Webquest, which is located in your Social Studies Google Classroom. This assignment will be due next Friday, October 16.  

Homework  Due to Back to School Night, the deadline for the assignments that were to be due today were changed to Monday, October 12. Please make sure the following assignments are completed and 'turned in' by Monday: You Be Judge: Hammurabi's Code, Ancient Achievements Timeline Assessment, and History of Mesopotamia Timeline. 

From Mesopotamia to Egypt

Mesopotamia Timeline Project  Today will be your last class period to work on your timeline about the history of Mesopotamia. Remember to select at least five significant events from Mesopotamia's history, arrange them in chronological order with dates, and include an image and description of its importance with each event. Additional directions can be found with the assignment History of Mesopotamia Timeline, which is located in your Social Studies Google Classroom. Due to Back to School Night, this assignment will now be due on Monday, October 12. 

Ancient Egypt Webquest  Tomorrow will be our official launch of Ancient Egypt. However, if you have completed your Mesopotamia Timeline and would like to get a head start on Ancient Egypt, you may. We will be working on an Ancient Egypt Webquest, which can be found here. You will be acting as an online Egyptologist, being sent all over the Internet, to gather information about this important and supremely interesting civilization. You will record your findings using the document Ancient Egypt Webquest, which is located in your Social Studies Google Classroom.  Good luck and have fun! We will continue working on this assignment tomorrow. 

Homework  (1.) Encourage your family to come to Back to School Night tonight! (2.) Due to Back to School Night, the assignments that would have been due tomorrow will now be due on Monday, October 12. 

Out Sick and Mesopotamia Timeline Project

Mr. McGinty Out Sick  Class, I'm so sorry I couldn't be with you today. I'm not feeling well and am at home trying to get better. I am confident that you will be on your very best behavior today and treat your substitute teacher(s) with the respect they deserve. I hope to see you tomorrow. Make me proud today! 

Mesopotamia Timeline Project  Today you will continue to construct your own timeline about the history of Mesopotamia. Remember you are to select at least five significant events from Mesopotamia's history, arrange them in chronological order with dates, and include an image and description of importance to accompany each event. Additional directions can be found with the assignment History of Mesopotamia Timeline. You may want to use your Social Studies textbooks, the class Blog, Mesopotamia assignments, and trusted websites as resources (such as The British Museum and Ancient History Encyclopedia) to help find the events and dates for your timeline. This assignment will count towards your assessment grade and be due this Friday, October 9.  
 
Homework  Continue working on both your History of Mesopotamia Timeline, as well as the Ancient Achievements Timeline Assessment, both of which are due this Friday, October 9.  

Mesopotamia Timeline Project

Hammurabi's Code Reflection  Last week we studied acnient Mesopotamian emperor Hammurabi who was responsible for one of the world's first written law codes. After reviewing and analyzing Hammurabi's code, what do you think? Which of Hammurabi’s laws did you find fair?  Which did you find unfair? Provide details and examples from the laws to support your claims. I have provided some sentence starters for "Scholarly Discourse" to help guide our discussion. 

 

Mesopotamia Timeline Project  Now let's combine our understanding of timelines with our knowledge about Mesopotamia. Today you will construct your own timeline about the history of Mesopotamia. You will select at least five significant events from Mesopotamia's history, arrange them in chronological order with dates, and include an image and description of importance to accompany each event. Additional directions can be found with the assignment History of Mesopotamia Timeline. You may want to use your Social Studies textbooks, Mesopotamia assignments, and trusted websites as resources (such as The British Museum and Ancient History Encyclopedia) to help find the events and dates for your timeline. I will also model how to get started on your timeline, so please pay close attention. This assignment will count towards your assessment grade and be due this Friday, October 9.  
 
Homework  Continue working on both your History of Mesopotamia Timeline, as well as the Ancient Achievements Timeline Assessment, both of which are due this Friday, October 9.  

Analysis Skills: Understand Timelines

 Today's Focus Questions  What are the components of a timeline and how do we interpret the information timelines provide?

CNN Student News  As Social Studies students our focus should not only be on studying events from the past, but also on making sense of the news and events taking place all around the world right now. In order to be the responsible citizens and global leaders of tomorrow, we need to be understand the world we live in. Today we will watch a segment of CNN Students News which provides a run-down of some of the key news events shaping the world today. Which news story surprised you? Inspired you? Made you angry? What questions do you have? What do you want to know more about?

Learning Analysis Skills: Understand Timelines  Timelines can give historical information a beginning a middle, and an end, organizing it into a story that can improve your comprehension. Today's lesson will teach you how to use the components (or parts) of a timeline and help you interpret (make sense of) that information.  

We will first practice working with a timeline together by following the steps and answering the questions outlined below. 

Apply Analysis Skills: Understand Timelines  Now that you understand the components of a timeline and how they work, you are going to apply your acquired knowledge and demonstrate what you've learned by completing a timeline assessment. Your task is to study the timeline below and then answer the accompanying series of questions about the information included.  

The document Ancient Achievements Timeline Assessment can be found in your Social Studies Google Classroom. If it is not completed in class today, it must be completed for homework and is due Friday, October 9. Reminder: This assignment counts towards the assessment portion of your grade. 

Homework  Complete the Ancient Achievements Timeline Assessment, which is
due Friday, October 9

Mesopotamia: Hammurabi and Hammurabi's Code

 Today's Focus Question  Who was Hammurabi and what was the significance of Hammurabi's Code? 

Warm-Up: Early Mesopotamia Quiz  Show me what you have learned about the geography and early civilizations of Mesopotamia so far by taking the short quiz here. I will read you the questions and answers aloud, and then provide you time to finish. If you finish early, you may silent read or work on one of your digital assignments. 

Who was Hammurabi?  According to your textbook, Hammurabi "became king of the city of Babylon around 1792 B.C. For more than 30 years, he built up his army. Then he launched a series of all-out attacks against his rivals. Within a few years he had united Sumer and northern Mesopotamia into a new Babylonian Empire." 

To learn more about Hammurabi, watch the brief video below. 

Hammurabi's Code  Why was Hammurabi's law code so historically significant? To begin to understand, watch the video below. 

Hammurabi's Code Activity  Now you will have an opportunity to examine Hammurabi's code of laws in detail at the website here. You will explore real situations that Hammurabi actually faced. You will then decide what you think to be a fair way to deal with the problem. Finally, you will discover what Hammurabi declared. You will use the document You Be the Judge: Hammurabi's Code, which can be found in your Social Studies Google Classroom.

 

Homework  Complete the You Be the Judge: Hammurabi's Code assignment, which is due next Friday, October 9. 

Mesoptoamia: The First Empires

Sargon the Great was the first ruler to unite the city-states of Sumer into one empire.

 Today's Focus Question  What is an empire and how did they first develop? 

The First Empires: Guided Reading  Today we will learn how strong rulers finally conquered Mesopotamia's independent city-states to create the world's first empires. We will read the excerpts from our textbook below.  

Concept Map: Empire  In order to better understand what an empire is we will make a concept map today. You can find your Empire - Concept Map in your Social Studies Google Classroom. We will also watch the video below to learn some examples from history of empires.     

Homework  (1.) Complete your Empire - Concept Map, which will be due Thursday, October 1. (2.) We will be having a short quiz on early Mesopotamia and the Sumerians tomorrow. Please review your assignments, textbook excerpts, and Blog entries so that you are prepared.