Homework over the vacation

Over the vacation, you are to read Chapter 18 in the textbook.

You also should take some time to work on your character in the Mongol Trial! We will have a few days to work once we get back, but there won't be a lot of time...

You also have the vacation book/film project to complete over vacation.  The information on what to do is linked up here.  It is the same list as last time for acceptable books and films!  Anything not on the list already needs to be approved by me ahead of time.  And by that I mean you should not be sending me an email on January 1 saying "I'm going to watch 300, is that ok?"  I cannot guarantee that I will see your email in time to reply, so take care of this sooner, not later!

Genghis Khan

Your first task in assessing the Mongols is to consider Genghis Khan.  Based on what you've seen in the Biography, do you consider him to be merely a leader who does whatever needs doing to achieve his goals, or is he more toward the sociopathic/psychopathic end of the spectrum of human behavior?

Post your thoughts on your blog and bear them in mind as we begin to examine the Mongols and their impact on the greater world...

Mongols!

We are going to be spending a little time with everyone's favorite world-dominating nomads, the Mongols, in the time leading up to vacation, and when we come back, we will be putting them on trial for various crimes against humanity.

The handouts for the trial (all the information) is linked up below:
Overall description
The process of the trial
What the Witnesses do
What the Lawyers do
The score guide for the trial
The rubric for the project

The videos we will watch parts of in class are all available on YouTube:
World Conquerors,
Tartar Crusaders
Khan of Khans

Also in the series, but not one we watched is the video Mongol Hordes: Birth of An Empire. We watched the A&E Biography of Genghis Khan, which is available on DVD in the school library.

Homework for December 12

For tonight, read pages 450-454 (finish the chapter.)  We will play a review game tomorrow for the test on Monday.  The test will cover chapters 13-17 inclusive, and will be made up of 70 multiple choice questions.

Homework for December 10

For tonight, read pages 444-449. On page 448 is an excerpt of "Life on a Manor." Read that and post an answer to the italicized question on your blog.

To cycle back to Diamond and one of his arguments, check out http://goo.gl/wgzawx. An interesting way to look at people and their adaptation to the world around them. For better or worse.

Southernization Homework

For this weekend, you should read the article linked up here entitled "Southernization" by Lynda Shaffer.  There is a subsequent article by John O Voll, however, don't read that yet.

When you open the reading up, I strongly encourage you to open it in Notability or some other app that allows you to mark it up. The reading is a little dense, and you'll want to have the ability to highlight and/or take some notes as you read it to keep track of her argument.  We will discuss it on Monday, and in that discussion I will expect you to be able to articulate her argument, the support she provides for her position and then evaluate it for validity and take a position on whether or not you agree with her. We will then take a look at Voll's response, and do the same thing.

Homework for December 4

First of all, here's a link to the presentation today about the COT essay.  We will be writing one in class on Friday.  It will be about either China or India (one of the themes of the course as seen in those regions) and will be looking at the classical and post classical eras.

Please read pages 418-428 in the textbook.  There is material there that is fair game for the essay, so be sure to pay attention while you are reading!

At the moment, I am looking at a test on Monday, December 16th.  It will be on the Post-Classical era, so chapters 13-17. We will be looking at only a part of chapter 17 next week.  We will review on Friday, Dec. 13th.  If Monday proves to be too full with other tests, let me know and I can move it to Tuesday.

Homework for December 3

For tonight, read pages 410-418 in the textbook.  We will have a quiz tomorrow!

Homework for December 2

For tonight, read pages 405-410 in the textbook.

We will have a quiz on Wednesday on the names and terms from chapter 15.  It will be the same format as the last quiz: two names/terms, write an identification for each and then give an explanation for how the terms are connected.

On Friday we will have an in class Change Over Time essay.  The score guide is linked up here.  It will be possible to re-write the essay, following the "regular" procedures. (wait 24 hours, then talk with me and complete the essay within 3 days of our conversation for an averaged mark.)