Today we discussed the similarities between the representative democracy of the Roma Republic and the federal government of the United States.  Students began work on a chart comparing the two governments.  They should finish as homework.  We will discuss their answers tomorrow during class.

Students continued to work on their concept webs today in the computer lab.  Check out a few quick pictures below!  We will be back down in the lab on Friday to put the finishing touches on their work. 

No homework tonight.

Today students set up accounts on Bubbl.us.  We will use this site to create concept maps (idea webs) throughout the school year.  Students can save their visual notes and I can view/edit them to help them understand how concepts are connected.  I used this site last year a few times, but with the updated internet explorer in the computer labs, it will work much more efficiently this year.  Have a great weekend, the weather should be warm and sunny!

Below is a video by Hunter Rawlings III in which Dr. Rawlings talks about the ancient Greek's concept of freedom and how we tend to view freedom as United States citizens.  Dr. Rawlings earned his PhD. from Princeton University and served as President of Cornell University for 8 years.  Please feel free to watch the video and leave a comment.

Today we took a quick 3 point quiz to see what students retained concerning the three forms of government we have been discussing.  Students were asked to define/explain each of the 3 types of government using only 1 sentence for each form of government.  We will continue to work with dictatorship, direct democracy and representative democracy.  Today we looked at the idea of symbolism and expressing ideas without using words.  Tomorrow we will see a few examples of political cartoons and then students will have time to work on creating 3 images (that have yet to be asigned).

Tomorrow students will also have the chance to add ideas to a GoogleDoc that is being shared between several teachers in several school districts.  The document is part of the National Day of Writing and the theme is that students need to think of 3 words to share with the world.  It can be 3 individual words: live, love, laugh; or students can create a 3-word phrase: create lasting friendships.  A great way for Chardon students to spread a message to the world.

Finished up our notes on Dictatorship, Direct Democracy and Representative Democracy.  Tomorrow we will take a brief look at the idea of symbolism and political cartooning...Expressing ideas using imagery can be a challenge and requires abstract/critical thinking skills.  We will use "drawing" activities throughout the year to help students express their knowledge of different subjects.  We will combine our brief look at governments with what we learn about symbolism to help finish off our notes on government.  Then we will take a look at how ancient Greece and Rome actually used Direct and Representative Democracy in their civilizations.

Today we started to talk about government in the ancient world and today.  I showed a brief film clip of several famous people reading the Declaration of Independence.  We talked about why we have government/what government does and how government is an evolutionary process.

We also started to discuss what it means to be a citizen.  If any parents out there are lawyers, or know any lawyers, students had many questions about citizenship that I could not answer very well.  I would love the opportunity to forward some of the students questions to an expert for better answers.

Homework is to keep studying for Thursday's Test

Today we discussed Thursday's test.  Students and I completed the study guide for the test.  Pretty cut-and-dry test Thursday.  Tomorrow we will start talking government with a quick reading of the Declaration of Independence and discussion about how government has evolved.

Several classes doing several different things today.  A few classes finished up some presenations, one class had a substitute (I had a meeting) and two classes begin to think about the first thing a new civilization needs to establish once they decide to become a civilization.  All classes with

discuss/debate this topic tomorrow.  Check tomorrow's post for student comments about this topic...it should raise some controversy. 

So after what seems like a month, I finally get to see all my classes again.  IOWA testing and picture day meant no class for more than a week.  Know it's time to get re-focused and get our momentum back!!  Today we finished up presentations and tomorrow we will jump back into geography.  We will finish up our look at the importance of geography to people being able to create civilization. 

Homework is to check TeacherEase...do you owe me or any other teacher work?  NOW IS THE TIME TO GET YOUR LATE WORK TURNED IN!!