Semester II here we come!

You are now halfway officially halfway through either the 10th or 11th grade. Fill out this form as todays warmup. If you finish early work on you RAFT assignment, which is due Friday.

The State of the Union

Crunch Time.

[warmup]
The semester is fast coming to an end. The last day of the semester is this Thursday, January 27. Look up your current grades using SchoolView. If you don't have a login/password we need to get you setup for second semester!
1) Calculate your current semesters GPA using http://www.back2college.com/gpa.htm. (All your courses this semester are worth 1 credit hour) What is it?
2) Is it lower or higher then you expected?
3) Outline a plan of what you can/should do over the next three or four days to raise your GPA?
4) What are three reasons for caring about your GPA even though you are only a sophomore in high school?

Colosseum

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

[warmup]
We'll be watching this short clip above together to start class. Answer the following questions:
1) What impression did this video leave for you of the ruins of the Colosseum?
2) What sorts of "games" did the Romans hold in the Colosseum? Why did they hold them?
3) Can you see any parallels (things that are similar to gladiators) in our moderns society? What and how?

[guiding questions]
How was the city of Rome organized?
How did gladiator culture effect the Roman Empire?
What was life live for the people of Rome?

After-School Matters

[warmup]
After-School Matters... no seriously it does.
Read through the registration guide. What classes are you going to signup for or look interesting? What classes are missing or would you like to see for the spring session?

Once you finish you can fill out your form so that your parent/guardian can sign it tonight. Put down ELT for at least one night a week. Do it! Having a quiet space with tutors available will help every student in this class.

MLK Day

[warmup]
Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (A Holiday for the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. which is observed on the third Monday of January.) The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of his dream that one day people would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. How close have we come to realizing Martin Luther King's dream*? (be sure to explain/defend your answer)

*Thanks MPR for the question. If you would like to see what some other Minnesotans answered click here.
You can also go here to read about 2011 MLK Day and watch a slideshow of photos from Minneapolis/St. Paul.

[guiding questions]

Freedom!

[warmup]
We'll be learning about the Roman Republic and its founding today. Read the preamble (introduction) to the US constitution.

“

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

”

Translate each of these sections into your own words:
1) We the People of the United States
2) in Order to form a more perfect Union,
3) establish Justice
4) insure domestic Tranquility
5) provide for the common defence
6) promote the general -Welfare
7) secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
8) establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

[guiding questions]
How did the Roman Republic come into existence?
What kind of rules were set out by the Roman Twelve Tablets?
Which seems like a better document? The Roman Twelve Tablets or the Bill or Rights?

[links]
The Twelve Tablets- http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/12tables.html
The Bill of Rights- http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rights1.asp
Document- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KK5-7j3jXNVDOm8TMUSYAFTeg-3SIxHuMZFFthaxv4g/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIDtqbkP

[warmup]
Romans not only took over the greeks land they also stole their gods. For example:

Mars- Roman God of War [Greek god Ares]
God of war, spring, growth in nature, agriculture, terror, anger, revenge, courage and fertility. Protector of cattle. The son of Jupiter (Zeus) and Juno (Hera), he was the god of war. He was the most prominent of the military gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only to Jupiter (Zeus). His festivals were held in March (named for him) and October.

Below are some of the major Greek/Roman gods. Choose one and answer the following questions:
1) What god(s) did you choose?
2) What does this god rule over (and what kind of god was he/she)?
3) Why might the Romans have taken this god and only changed his/her name? (Give me at least two reasons.)
4) Make two guesses about how Roman society based on them taking over the Greek gods.


Greek God----->Roman God
Aphrodite---> Venus
Apollo---> Apollo
Ares---> Mars
Artemis---> Diana
Athena---> Minerva
Hades---> Pluto
Hephaistos--->Vulcan
Hera --->    Juno

Hermes---> Mercury
Poseidon---> Neptune
Zeus---> Jupiter

[guiding questions]
How was & who founded Rome?
What does Roman mythology tell us about the Romans?
How was Roman society organized?

[links for today]
http://flockdraw.com/

The Rise of the Romans

[warmup]
"We are heirs of Roman Culture whether we like it or not!"

1) Restate the quote in your own words? What does it mean?
2) Do you agree with this quote? Why or why not?
3) What in particular do you wish to learn from or about the ancient Romans? If you don't know specific things what in general? (I don't know, nothing and similar responses will not work as answers.)

Order a bus for the After-School Matters program.
Please fill this form out to guarantee that you will have a bus stop after the After-School Matters program. We are still in the process of finalizing the courses for the winter session of the After-School Matters program but some of the offering include the following: Personal Training at the YMCA Downtown, “Y” Scholars ACT/SAT Prep, ELT, Leaders Club with the "Y", Green Team, Vocal Lessons, Music Production, Musicianship, Culinary Arts & Japanese Language Club.

If you are uncertain about participating in After-School classes we can still add a bus for you later but it takes about a week to add you to a bus route. Go here.

[guiding questions]
What are some reasons for studying Roman history?
What role did the geography of Europe and the Italian Peninsula play in the rise and success of the Romans?
Where did Roman history take place?

Alexander the Great.

[warmup]

Today's warmup is a mini-quiz. Based on the video we watched in class write a summary of the life of Alexander the Great. You can use your video notes or the web to help you but you must meet all the following criteria to receive full credit:

-Include a paragraph about each of the following Alexander's childhood/upbringing, his campaigning/conquests, and his legacy/death.

-Information from the web must be restated in your own words.

-Use your best spelling and grammar. 

You will have 15 minutes.

IF YOU WERE NOT HERE FRIDAY WRITE THAT ON THE FIRST LINE OF QUIZ & WRITE ONE PARAGRAPH WITH INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET (instead of the three the other students will be writing).

Decoded

[warmup] Read this article about Jay-Z's new book, Decoded, and write about what you think of it. GO here!

Here is an except that ties into Greece and Greek philosophers:
"Cornel West praised Jay-Z as playing Plato to Biggie’s Socrates—that is, of making the world safe for poets of the hip-hop stripe."

Leadership

[warmup]

Throughout history there have been many great people who change the world because of how good of a leader they are. Think about a person you consider a great leader. What makes them a leader? What traits do they possess that makes them so good at getting other to follow his/her lead? How do they win over people who initially don't agree with them?

[guiding questions]

Who was Alexander the Great?

What made him so great?

How did he change the world for Greeks, other people from the Mediterranean and the Middle East?

What happened to his empire after his death?

Greek Thinkers

SCROLL DOWN FOR TODAY'S WARMUP.

Schedule for Wed. Jan 5th

Staff/Student Basketball Game

8:40 - 9:30 Core 3 (50 min)

9:35 - 10:45 Core 4 (70 min)

10:50 - 11:55 Core 1 (65 min)

12:00 - 12:20 Lunch

12:25 Leave for Target Center to watch Staff/ Student Basketball Game

1:00 - it’s over =  Game

Around 2:00 Leave for FAIR

2:20ish - 3:10 6th hour

Don’t bring book bags or computers, just yourself. :)

80+ FAIR Crystal Students are visiting today & will be going to Target Center with us.

Reminders about Behavior:

The WHOLE school is going to this event!

Represent yourself & FAIR Downtown well.

Help the little kids out if they need it.

- Mind your language.

- Be polite and courteous.

- Stay together.

Seating at the Target Center:

Preferential seating given to the lower grades so they can sit with their classes.

High school all sit together & as close to the court as possible (within first 5 rows or as needed)

[warmup]
-Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half.

Free-write about this quote for 5 minutes. You will need to write at least a paragraph of 5 or more sentences to receive ANY credit for todays warmup. If you run out of stuff to write about you can go to http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/plato.html and choose a second quote to write about.

Our New Year's Resolution.

According to the Greek tradition, New Years Eve coincided with the rebirth of Dionysus (god of the grape harvest, chaos and ecstasy). In modern tradition, “Old Man Time” is frequently retired on New Years Eve as a younger incarnation ushers in the events of the New Year.

-What old habits (bad habits) could you get rid of for a successful and happy 2011?

-Do you have a New Year's resolution for 2011 yet? Why or why not?

Our world history class's resolution. 

I spent much of my winter break catching up on all my grading... thus you either already have a grade printout in front of you or will very shortly. My personal resolution is to not fall that far behind in grading again. :)

Luckily for us the end of the semester is not until the 27th of January because there are many missing assignments. We are going to start our 2011 in world history off by having a quiet study hall to catch up. Everyone needs to work quietly and independently in his/her seat. I am here to answer questions and help so don't be afraid to ask for it. You can get right to work. Also next Monday I'll be calling every student in danger of not passing world history (a D or lower).