Socrates was ugly

I hope you enjoyed your snow day. As we discussed in class, here is your weekend assignment.

As we study ancient Greece, you have been teaching each other about the Olympics, Greek gods and goddesses, the Parthenon and Greek architecture, Alexander the Great, Athens, Sparta, the oracle at Delphi, Olympia, and Greek theater. But we have not covered one of the most important contributions of the ancient Greeks: philosophy.

Your 25-point homework assignment for this weekend is to learn about the most famous and influential Greek philosophers: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. You may go to any websites you choose (such as Wikipedia or the websites listed on my blog) to research these men. Your research will enable you to complete these five tasks:

1. Define "philosophy." Don't just cut-and-paste a definition; define it so you understand it.
2. Create a timeline of these three men. (Remember my in-class tip: if you Google search something and type the word "history" after it - like "Plato history" - you will find a timeline in the search results.) Your timeline should include important dates beyond just their birth and death.
3. Write a brief biography of each man.
4. Post a picture of each man.
5. Describe in your own words the Socratic method.

For all sections: this assignment must be posted before 11:59 PM Sunday night, February 28.

Hopefully, by the time you finish, you will understand why it was so important that Socrates was so ugly... and so heroic.

Why I'm not a meteorologist

Boy, I got that one wrong! I figured there was a "95% chance" we would not be in school today due to snow. But I'm glad we did have class, because we got a chance to see more good presentations from sections 01 and 05.

All three classes should wrap up tomorrow.

However, should we not have class tomorrow (no predictions this time, thank you), please remember to check this blog for your assignment.

Maybe this snowstorm will just sideswipe us instead of hitting us head on...for once.

projects begin; more snow coming

Students began presenting their projects in all three sections today. Some excellent work was presented today!

Urgent notice: If we do not have school tomorrow - a very real possibility, given the forecast - I will be posting work for you to do on this blog. This will include doing some reading and posting some writing to your blog. This will be an assignment with a deadline. Check my blog early tomorrow for details.

completing your project

All three sections spent classtime working on your ancient Greece webquests. These projects are due tomorrow (Wed., Feb. 24).

To review what I talked about in class today:

• at the bottom of the Webquest page is the rubric, listing in the great detail the grading criteria for this assignment
• you are expected to provide a Works Cited, listing your sources for your research (feel free to let EasyBib assist you)
• the presentation to the class is part of the grade, so be sure to have that worked out before you get to class
• if your project is being done on the computer, make sure you have consolidated everyone's work onto one computer
• most importantly, remember that you are instructing the class on your subject - make your project informative, and teach us what you know!

Monday report

Section 03 is the only class that met today, and they spent all three mods working on their webquests. Reminder to all sections: you will require some time out of class to complete the webquests, which are due Wednesday. Make sure you can communicate with the members of your group, whether by email, phone, or FB.

Also, a very special welcome to DaHee "Summer" Chung, who has just joined us in Section 03. We hope you enjoy spending time with us in Western Civilization!

NOW what?!?

Unbelievably, school has been cancelled again, this time due to a break in our water main. (The JC Patriot has excellent coverage of this breaking story here.)

The webquest on ancient Greece that you are all working on is now due Wednesday, February 24. This is the due date for all sections.

The good news? You now have a three day weekend to work on this project. You can collaborate with each other as I described in my last couple blog postings, and have more down time with which to do a good job.

The bad news? Some of you will see this three-day weekend as an opportunity to skip all your school work. I don't recommend you do that, because I do not believe you can do a good job on this project (worth half of the unit's points) if you wait until Monday or Tuesday to start.

It's your project, it's your grade, it's your responsibility.

Questions or concerns? Use the comments below, or email me. See you next week!

webquest work

Today Section 01 began work on their Webquests, and Section 05 continued their "quest."

The plan here is that your independent study, covering festivals, the major city-states

of Greece, the Olympic Games, architecture, Alexander the Great, and Greek theatre,

along with the information I will present to you in class,

will give you a complete picture of what life was like in ancient Greece.

If you put a lot of effort into your reports, two things will happen.

You will get a good grade on your report.

Plus, you will play a vital part in instructing your classmates

about an important feature of Greek life, and as a result,

all of us will learn about ancient Greece.

A lot is riding on you. Rise to the occasion!

final Wednesday post

Sections 03 and 05 are now underway with their Webquest projects, and Section 01 begins tomorrow. As we discussed in class, these projects will be presented to the class starting next Tuesday. This gives you two more class sessions to work together. You will also have evenings and the weekend to collaborate. Email, Skype, and even the old-fashioned telephone are ways you can work together without being in the same room. As long as everyone has work they are responsible for, you will be able to do a great job on these projects.

Post #1 for Wednesday

Here is the first post of the day. Check again later for an update, as I will post again after school.

SECTION 01: You will take the quiz on ancient Egypt in class today.

Sammy - see me about make-up work.

Mike - see me about blog repair.

SECTION 03: The following students need to make up the quiz they missed:

JC, Taylor, Sierra, Brandon, and Rosie.

SECTION 05: The following students need to make up the quiz they missed:

Melissa, Rodney, Montell, Joey, and Matt.

And finally, here are the last of the snow pyramids, from Steph, Autumn, Jenna, and Avery, plus a cat-Sphinx from Avery. Thanks for all your hard work, everybody!

Back in school tomorrow? I think so.

UPDATE: We will be in school tomorrow,

Wednesday February 17, on a two-hour late bell.

Reminder to Section 01: You will be making up your quiz on ancient Egypt tomorrow (Wednesday). Obviously, you have had plenty of time to study for this! Look at my Prezi, and review your notes.

The other sections will get started on ancient Greece tomorrow.

It has been such a long time, I just hope you remember your locker combinations!

Today's snow pyramid is courtesy of Morgan. Enjoy.

Attention, please.

The last time we were in class - 10 days ago - I told you to check my blog for assignments in case we missed school due to the snow.

During that day's afternoon announcements, Mr. Scholl told the student body to check their teachers' websites for assignments.

The JC website also instructed students to check teacher websites.

Many of you have done just that, doing the assigned work and posting it to your blog. This assignment is due at midnight tonight (Mon., Feb. 15, 2010). Details can be found on last Tuesday's blog (Feb. 9).

Can you stand one more snow pyramid? Here you go...

Happy Valentine's Day

Well,

today's snow

pyramid is brought

to you by Fiona and Erin. We

now have six confirmed pyramids (plus

another under construction in Whiteford) in the area.

The extra credit points are piling up like snowdrifts. Keep up the good work!

Eighth day in a row with no school

Good job! Some of you have been checking this blog and doing the homework assignment (it can be found on my Tuesday blog).

Incredibly, some of you have been building snow pyramids for extra credit. Good for you! Harford County is starting to look like Egypt west of the Nile.

The picture on the left is of Lisa's snow pyramid. (Then again, it may be a scene from Paranormal Activity.) The picture on the right is of Pete's pyramid. Pete's pyramid appears to be wearing a golden scarf, but it actually is meant to be the cap at the peak of the pyramid. See Pete for more details.

Tsunami of Tsnow

Another day, another blizzard.

And another pyramid, thanks to Katlyn! Nice work!

So far, three students (all girls, by the way) have earned extra credit for consrtucting giant snow pyramids.

If you're getting cabin fever from being locked in the house, and you need something to do, you can always do your Western Civ homework! Check yesterday's posting for the assignment.

See you... one of these days!

Epic snow - another day off

I hope you're doing something besides shoveling all this snow. You could go sledding (like my family did), or you could build a snow pyramid (like Kailey and Katelyn did).

I know we're not in school today (and who knows when we'll be back), but there is still work to be done as we begin our unit on ancient Greece.

Assignment: read the section on the Olympics found here, entitled The Olympics: Ancient versus Modern. It appears on the BBC History site that is listed to the right under Researching History. After you've read it, find a picture of the ancient Olympics and post it on your blog.

BTW, Kailey's photo can be found in tomorrow's Aegis and on WBAL-TV's website. In addition, Katelyn got her snow pyramid (and Sphinx!) published on WJZ's site. Nice work!

Reminder: Section 01, plus any students who were absent on Friday, will be taking the test on ancient Egypt on the day we return to school. So be ready!

Top Ten Snowstorms in Baltimore History

	1. 26.8" Feb 2003
	2. 26.6" Jan 1996
	3. 26.5" Jan 1922
	4. 22.8" Feb 1983
	5. 22.0" Mar 1942
	6. 21.3" Feb 1899
	7. 21.0" Dec 2009
	8. 20.0" Feb 1979
	9. 15.5" Feb 1958
	10. 14.9" Jan 2000 Four of the top ten snowstorms were in YOUR lifetime. (Soon to be five...!) Get out there and enjoy it!

Snowmageddon approaches

Only Sections 03 and 05 were able to take the quiz today because we dismissed early for the coming snowstorm. Section 01 will take their test the day we return to school - whenever that is - so be ready!

Want to earn some extra credit, and have fun in the snow? Here's the offer: make a snow pyramid bigger than you. Take your picture next to it, and post it to your blog. You, and any of my students who help you, will receive 10 extra credit points. Get your picture in a local paper, or get a TV station to cover you, and receive 25 EC points. (It would probably have to be pretty epic for that to happen, but give it a shot!) It can be a Giza-style pyramid, or a ziggurat-style step pyramid. If you are feeling really creative, you can even make a Sphinx! I can tell you this: this is a perfect snow for building/sculpting - wet and sticky.

Check in on my blog from time to time this weekend, especially if our schedule changes next week. Feel free to make comments, too. Hopefully, some of you will make some incredible pyramids and we can all feel like Egyptians - only colder.

quiz on ancient Egypt tomorrow

Whatever the weather, whatever the schedule, if we have class tomorrow, we have a quiz tomorrow. If we don't have school tomorrow we will have the quiz on the day we return. Please check my blog over the weekend for updates.

As promised, I have posted the Prezi on ancient Egypt here.

If you you are visiting prezi.com for the first time, the right side of the prezi home page has a sign up box. Click it.

On the next page, scroll down and the left side of the screen has a Student/Teachers Licenses box. Click Go. This option is free.

Our presentation is found at http://prezi.com/71z1ztc726mv/

At the bottom of the screen is a large play button. Use it to advance your way through the presentation, just like we did in class.

Even if you are unable to open the Prezi, I am confident that if you have been paying attention in class, and if you were conscientious about taking notes this week, you will be prepared for tomorrow's quiz.

I will be checking my email tonight if you have any last minute questions.

Good luck, and we'll see you tomorrow...probably!

Student Appreciation Day!

More discussion of Egypt today, featuring:

• pyramids
• Pharaohs
• daily life
• geography
• Goddesses and Gods

More to follow tomorrow for 01 & 05 - quiz for all on Friday.

(Mr. Schick likes his Prezi and can't wait to get good at it.)

our studies of Egypt continue...

It's Groundhog Day!

Despite plagues of locusts, earthquakes, and getting fired multiple times, Sections 01 and 05 built pyramids today. Section 03 focused on the upcoming quiz on ancient Egypt, which will feature the role of Pharaohs, daily life for the average Egyptian, their goddesses and gods, the pyramids, and geography. 50 point quiz on Friday for all sections whether we have a snow day this week or not.

Reminder: every day you have class, post to your blog. Describe what we did in class (for example, what did you learn from building pyramids), or transfer the notes you took. Post something of substance, not just "We played a game in class today".

building the pyramids

Section 03 built pyramids in class today. Don't forget to blog about it: Did you enjoy it? Learn anything? Want to do more stuff like that?