Click on "Transcript" to view everything said in the Ulbehrt Video. Summaries will follow later tonight of the topics.
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As mentioned in class, I would like for you to think about a few things when writing your paragraphs for your projects; I think it will make things easier for you to put everything together:
1. The intent of this project is for the research to be the challenging part, and the focus, of the project. So, writing these paragraphs should be a demonstration of what you already know and have discovered. 2. Try to make connections between the different sections. If your national hero is celebrated because he defeated an invading army, then it should probably be mentioned in the history section, and maybe even the geography section as well. Try to stay focused on a few themes, rather than pack your paragraphs with details. 3. Speaking of details, please don't make your project a collection of detail-filled paragraphs. Instead of mentioning every single date/battle/peace treaty, summarize. It will make your paper easier to write, and it will be much more readable. Plus, you will learn more. Think about it: would you rather have me go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on with detail after detail during class? It might already feel that way, but I try to keep in mind the "big picture", and use details to emphasize my main ideas. I hope you are able to do the same, because as we both know, paragraphs are not a lot of room to write about the history of an entire country! 4. When writing the source analysis, try to summarize your entire process. Tell me what was easy to find, what was challenging, and how you used your sources to solve problems. That is what I am most interested in. 5. As for the geography section, tell me what the geography of the chosen nation was at the time your person was alive. If that is too challenging, then you can broaden it to something like "The Geography of 12th Century France". We are coming down to crunch time, so I thought I would try to help you out by posting some answers to some frequently asked questions:
1. Is everything due on Monday? Yes, but if you want to get the map in earlier, that would be great. 2. Do I have to turn in two copies of the map? Yes, I need each to be colored properly, and neatly labeled. 3. What colors should I use for my pieces and/or map? Whatever color seems appropriate as a "national" color for your particular project. 4. What if some of my pieces are locations just off of the map? Don't worry about it, just write the name near the appropriate edge of the map with an arrow pointing the correct direction. 5. How many pictures do I need to have on each piece? Only one picture, with the name clearly labeled on the other three sides. 6. What type of picture do I put on the pawn? Find a regular foot soldier (infantry) from the appropriate nationality and time period. If you are stuck, try to look up paintings of battles from that time period. 7. How do I label the map? With the name of the kingdom/empire, and the date you are representing (either specific year, range of years, or century). 8. Can I change the name of a piece from what I turned in with my organizational chart? Yes, but remember that you have to justify each choice you make in your written report. "Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of Today, I collected the organizational charts for the project (5 points out of the 100 total), which I hope to have back to you tomorrow in case you want to work on it over the holiday. Remember, I don't expect you to work on it; but, if you want to get ahead, feel free. I hope you enjoyed the presentation on medieval warfare on Friday; we began a video today that we will review the week after Thanksgiving. It is from a show called "Deadliest Warrior", and the episode can be found HERE. There may be some commercials, but we will watch the entire episode over the next three classes. If you decide to watch it, don't give away who wins! As far as your projects go, a few things to think about when going forward on your pieces: - Be creative; don't hesitate to use "out-of-the-box" thinking to establish a connection between your person and another piece. - Although it would be great if you found two castles, feel free to use other important buildings if necessary. - The pictures for the pawns should be "infantry" of the appropriate time period and nationality. Infantry simply means "foot soldier". - If you can't find a good picture, again, be creative. If you can't find a particular knight, get a good picture of a notable knight from that time period that fits that nationality. Usually, finding a painting of a battle works well. Today we continued researching, and B/D/F periods got their templates for their chess pieces. Be sure to ask if you have any questions on the pieces or maps, and be sure to spend some time over the weekend on your project if you can. The organizational chart is due on Monday for all class periods. Have a nice weekend. Today we went to the computer lab to try to get ahead on some research for the Chess Attack project. A few reminders:
1. Use Wikipedia as an introduction, but then seek out better resources once you have an idea what you are after. 2. Google Books (see below) is a great source, and lets you search through books for specific terms. 3. Remember, you don't have to get an actual collection of people that were all on a battlefield together for your chess set....you just need to be able to relate them to one another during the same time period. For my set, I used a Serbian knight, but when it came to the bishop piece, I investigated who the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church was at the time. For all we know, the knight and the patriarch hated each other, but at least they were on the "same side" (same kingdom). If you take a look below, here are some hints for using Google Books Click on this picture to play Chess Attack online Yesterday, I asked you to think about how chess reflects medieval society. To those of you who read this, you may get bonus points on your next quiz by posting an original, one sentence reply to the question from last night's homework (which we discussed in class) in the comments section below, . I have demonstrated a sample answer below in the comments section. Additionally, if you click on the picture of the IPhone on the blog, you can test your skills against a tough computer opponent in Chess Attack. I will be after school tomorrow if anyone needs any help with their project. On Tuesday, we went over the specifics of the Chess Attack project. Don't forget, the directions for the project are online. A few key things: 1. It is due on December 3rd, but the organizational chart is due this Friday. All you need to do is complete the chart, so I can see that you have been researching your national hero and his counterparts. 2. I don't have a problem if you use Wikipedia, but be sure to back up your intitial factfinding with something more substantial. 3. I don't expect you to be working, unless you want to, over Thanksgiving break. However, I am not giving ANY homework until then (except for the CCA this week), so please plan accordingly. |
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June 2013
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