HW#8 Due Friday

Write a letter to a friend and describe how Mongolia differs from Staten Island in landforms, water, food, music, vegetation (plants) and climate. Explain to your friend how the environment in Mongolia helped create a unique civilization.

Aim: What impact did Marco Polo have on the world?

Do Now: (Please look in you textbook for the answers to the two following questions.)
1.  Who was Marco Polo?
2.  What was the Silk Road?

Marco Polo Notebook File

Silk Road and Marco Polo Worksheet

Mongol Map

HW#7 Due Thursday

1. What sorts of items were traded from China? From Western Asia and Europe
2. What are some dangers of traveling on the Silk Road?
3. What about for those living along the Silk Road?
4. It took years for Silk Road travelers and merchants (traders), like Zhang Qian and Marco Polo, to reach their destinations. What kinds of preparations (planning) would have been needed at that time for such a journey? What sorts of resources (goods) would need to be available along the way for the trade routes to function (run) successfully?
5. The ancient Silk Road has been called the "Internet of ancient times." What do you think this means?

Aim: How did Africans create their art and literature?

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5o3YTdxlxB3ZDE3NTExMDQtZTVlMC00ZWFiLWI0NTItMjEwZDVhYzFmMjM1&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

West African kingdoms

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5o3YTdxlxB3OGQ1Y2Q4ZGUtOThlOC00MTIyLWEwNjMtNDMzMTIyZWI0OWE0&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

Aim: East African kingdoms

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5o3YTdxlxB3YmFmY2JiZmItNTIxMC00MDhlLWFkMDAtOWY0OWY3ZTQ5OTEy&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

Aim: How did Geography affect the growth of Africa?

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5o3YTdxlxB3Y2IzNmVlNDUtMjE4MS00MjVkLWFmZGItZjQzYjIwM2YyMWUw&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

HW#6- Current Events Africa

Current Events

STATE OF THE WORLD - 2011

Keeping up with Current Events, or the State of the World, is an important task for any historian.  History students must always ask this very important question:  Is there a relationship between the historical events/people we are learning about and the state of the world today?  Asking and answering this question forces us to connect the present with the past and makes history more relevant.
1.  Find and cut out an interesting article about international news in Africa.  Neatly tape (do not paste) the entire article to an 8 ½" X 11" sheet of paper.  Yes, often you will need to use several sheets of paper.  Do not come to class with parts of the article hanging off or folded onto the paper.  Cut and tape neatly.
2.  You will find articles from the following print sources:  Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Newsweek, Time, U.S. News and World Report, Economist.  You may also the use the Internet to find articles.
3.  When you have found an article, you will do the following:
  A.  UNDERLINE  unfamiliar vocabulary words and names.  Be sure to look these   words/names/terms up before coming to class because you will have to explain them to the class.
  B.  On a separate sheet of paper, type a brief summary of what the article is
  about.
1. Who is being affected?
2. What happened?
3. When did this the event take place?
4. Where was this event located?
5. Why did this event take place?
6. How will this event impact the world?

HW #5 Due 2/17 Period 6

1.  Why did the U.S. become involved in the war in Iraq?

2.  Explain the differences between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims.

3.  What are the problems faced by Iraqis in creating a unified country?

4.  Please offer 3 solutions to creating lasting peace in Iraq.

Aim: Why did Islam Split?

Do Now:  Why do people fight?

Sunni

1. 80 % of Muslims
2. Koran should be interpreted
3. Leader should be elected

Shi'a

1. Strict
2. Koran should be followed exactly
3. Leader should be a relative of Muhammad (Imams)

Project Movie maker, Power point, Comic Book, or Graphic Novel Period 3 and 5

Empire Information
http://www.historyforkids.org

Choose one of the following ancient world civilizations you are interested in learning more about: Greek, Hellenistic/Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine or Mongol empire.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING 11 KEY QUESTIONS

Gather the following information:

1. When and how did this empire begin?
2. What areas did the empire conquer(take over)?(need map)
3. What impact(effect) did the empire have on the areas it conquered (took over)?
4. How did geography(landforms) contribute (add) to the success of this empire?
5. Explain the impact (effect) of the empire’s military (army) and the tactics (plans) it used?
6. Who were the major (key) leaders of this empire?
7. Explain the type of government (rule) this empire had.
8. What were the positive (good) aspects (views) of the empire and its conquests (places it took over)?
9. What were the negative (bad) aspects (views) of the empire and its conquests(places it took over)?
10. What led to the fall (end) of this empire?
11. How has this empire impacted (changed) the world?

You will need at least one map.
You will need 15 -20 images to support your movie.
You will also need at least two songs to support your movie.
Please limit yourself to one or two sentences per slide.

Aim: What was the the Rise of Russia?

Aim: What was the the Rise of Russia?

Cloze 9-I

HW #4 THE RISE OF RUSSIA Due Tuesday the 15

HW #4 THE RISE OF RUSSIA

1. Which mountain range is considered a boundary between the continents of Europe and Asia?

2. Europe and Asia form a large landmass known as…

3. By about the A.D. 400s, which group of people settled into Eastern Europe?

4. Which group of people from Scandinavia drove into Eastern Europe during the A.D. 800s?

5. Which early Russian city prospered because of its location along the rich trade route between Constantinople and the Baltic Sea? This city also served as the capital for nearly 300 years.

6. Who were the Russian boyars?

7. Which early Russian leader converted to Christianity in A.D. 988 and then ordered all of his people to do the same?

8. Which form of Christianity did the Kievan Russian’s adopt?

9. List 5 products traded by the Russians.

10. Name the largest and lowest class in Russian society.

Aim: How did the Byzantines engineer an empire?

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0bwsNpW7pxaMTZiYzhiNGQtZThiYi00MGJhLWI4OTktOTUwZDY0YzVkNmMz&hl=en&authkey=CNTK2ssE

Byzantine Empire 1-5
The Empire Strikes Back
Notes:
Constantine inherited an empire divided into two parts.
He reunited the two parts of the empire.
He builds a new center of the empire, Constantinople, the City of Constantine.
There is a large Christian presence in the empire.
He is a ruthless(cruel) dictator(ruler).
He killed his son, his step-son, and his second wife.
The city only had one aqueduct(water channel). The people were dying of thirst.
The city needed a water system larger than Rome's.
This fell to Valens who reigned from 364-378 AD.
It brought water a distance of 400 miles from Thrace.
Byzantine Empire 2
 Notes Day 2-
Water was stored in underground cisterns.
Population swelled to 500,000.
410 AD Rome fell to Visigoths.
Attila and the Huns are threatening.
  Constantinople is fortified with the strongest walls ever built.
 Theodosius II (401 - 450) was the emperor.
The walls were built to withstand earthquakes.
A huge earthquake made the city vulnerable.
The Theodosian walls were repaired by the people.
A moat was added.
A new outer wall was added.
The inner wall was completely rebuilt.
Byzantine Empire 3
Notes Day 4
Attila could not get into the city.
A giant chain was made to cut off the harbor.
City was safe but the land was being ravaged.
476 the last Roman emperor abdicated.
Justinian was born a peasant.
He was ruthless.
Justinian married Theodora a burlesque dancer.
He promoted her talents.
He named her co-empresses.
He tried to regain the bygone glory of ancient Rome.
He reclaimed lost western territories.
The Hippodrome was the center of life in Constantinople.
532, Nica Riot, at the Hippodrome of the Blues and Greens left a third of the city in ashes.

Byzantine Empire 4
Notes Day 4
Theodora convinced Justinian not to run.
Justinian calls the rebels back to the Hippodrome.
The gates are locked and  the Imperial army kills 30,000 people.
Justinian rebuilds the churches.
Church of Holy Wisdom, called The Eye of Sophia. Largest dome in world.
It was dedicated in 536.
It became the centerpiece of Christianity.
Under Justinian the empire grew to its largest size.
Three emperors would rule after Justinian deaths.

Notes Day 5
Basil was a military genius.
Basil's greatest enemy was Czar Samuels of Bulgaria.
986 Samuels defeats Basil. He was only eighteen and walked into an ambush.
He swore revenge.
Basil crushed revolts within his empire.
Basil has his engineers design a siege weapon called the trebuchet.
Basil's army was unstoppable.
He returns to fight Bulgaria.  He destroys there infrastructure.
1014 July 29, Basil launched a surprise attack conquering the Bulgarians and capturing 14,000 men.
He blinded everyone, leaving every 100th with one eye to lead the others back home.
Basil II.
1453, Ottomans unleash cannons against the walls.
Constantinople became Istanbul

HW # 3 Due Thursday the 10th

Name:  ________________________                                                Date:__/___/___

                                                            HW #3

Justinian and Byzantine Greatness

Read the selection below and then answer the questions in complete sentences.

Under the rule of emperor Justinian, 527 to 565 A.D., the Byzantine Empire reached the pinnacle (top) of its power and grandeur (greatness). Constantinople was called the Queen City by travelers who admired its magnificence (glory). They came from both East and West, for its merchants were extremely active in the ports of the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, and Constantinople had trade connections which reached far into Europe and the Near East.

The rich farmlands of Asia Minor and Egypt provided an abundance of food, a steady supply of precious metals was mined from the Balkan Peninsula. Raw materials such as furs, hides, slaves and horses were brought from the plains and forest to the north. From the ancient civilized countries of the East came manufactured goods. But it was not long

before Constantinople became famous for its own manufactures, chiefly textiles, leather goods, armor and jewelry.

 More Hellenistic than Roman, a new appreciation for art and literature was a hallmark of Byzantine culture. Greek served as the official language after the sixth century, but the legacy (inheritance) of Roman law and literature (writing) remained preserved. The civil administration (government) of the empire was so well-organized that routine affairs continued even under mediocre (average) and incompetent (useless) emperors. The Byzantine Empire, like its Western predecessor, endured periods of strife (fighting) and decline.

Justinian assumed control after one of these periods. He was not a popular emperor at first, and in 532 A.D. there as a revolt against him. The revels set fire to a part of the city, and the young emperor might have accepted defeat had it not been for his wife Theodora. As he was about to board a ship and leave the city, she challenged him, “Go if you

want to, but for me—I stay! Imperial purple will make me a splendid shroud (grave-clothes)!”

With his wife, the emperor stayed and not only put down the revolt but also became an expansionist of sorts, defeating the Persians, Vandals and Goths and adding large areas of Spain, Italy, and northern Africa to the Empire.

 At home, he worked unceasingly to beautify the city and is responsible for the construction of the church of Saint

Sophia. He became learned at law, and wrote two great volumes: Corpus Juris Civilis , which incorporated all the Roman laws, and Institutes , a digest (summary) and explanation of them for law students.

After the time of Justinian, the Byzantine Empire began to decline dramatically, plagued by many of the same symptoms that were the causes of the fall of the western empire. The Lombards seized northern Italy and moved steadily southward. Other invades moved from the other areas until finally, Constantinople fell to invading Turks in 1453.

1. What were the geographic advantages of Constantinople’s location?

2. Why did the Roman Empire last much longer in the East than in the West?

3. What part did economic factors play in the survival of the Eastern Roman Empire?

4. What role did Theodora play in the preservation (continuation) of the Byzantine Empire?

5. Describe two of Justinian’s achievements while in power in Byzantium.

HW # 2 Due Tuesday the 8th

Name of Group: Byzantine Empire

Time Period of Civilization: _______________ to ________________

Location of Civilization:

Important Neighbor Civilizations (including Friends and Enemies):

Leaders (3 important leaders and the impact of his/her rule):

1.

2.

3.

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Impact on Neighbors (including Friends and Enemies):

Legacy (What was passed down to future civilizations

HW # 1 Due Friday the 5th

Essay
Discuss the social, political, and economic aspects of Feudalism.

I. Introduction (Remember-Point of View)_______________:

Define Feudalism: A social, political, and economic system that dominated all aspects of medieval European life.

A. Thesis statement: Feudalism was the social, political and economic driving force of the Middle Ages.

II. Body:
A. First Supporting Idea(Remember-Transition Words-For one thing, Another, Finally):

(Topic Sentence): Feudalism was the social driving force of the Middle Ages.
Define: Social

1. For one thing___________________________________________

2. Another__________________________________________________

3. Finally_____________________________________________________________


B. Second Supporting Idea (Remember-Transition Words-For one thing, Another, Finally)

(Topic Sentence): __________________________________________________
Define: Political

1. _______________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________



C. Third Supporting Idea (Remember-Transition Words-For one thing, Another, Finally)

(Topic Sentence): ____________________________________________________
Define: Economic

1. ________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________

III. Conclusion (Remember-Point of View)

A. Restate topic: _______________________________________________________