What is civilization? writing samples
"A civilization is a society with complex beliefs, achievements, a political system, an economic system, and a social structure." -Deshawn K.
"Second, a civilization has achievements; for example, people in ancient civilizations leaned to build huge temples. They were big because it reassured the people that their government and religion had strength and power. Some more achievements were statues, paintings, and writing. All these things were made to please the gods. Some of the biggest achievements included an irrigation system, bridges, defense walls, and the military." -Owen G.
"Another characteristic of a civilization is a political system; a political system, in ancient civilizations, was a government formed to produce food and oversee projects. The rulers in that government thought gods chose them and that made them more powerful because the people were afraid of the gods. The government became more powerful than in the past with a political system. With a stronger government they were able to produce more and more food, part of the stronger government, the public works (infrastructure) protect the city and ensure the food supply. The many advancements in a civilization wouldn’t be possible without a political system." -Olivia L.
"A fourth characteristic is Economic systems. A Economic system is when people specialize in certain jobs and depend on each other for the things they needed. Soldiers defended cities. Bricklayers built city walls. They had artisans, which are skilled craft workers. They did pottery, carved/woven goods, metalworking, they would make weapons, tools, first copper, then bronze (copper and tin)." -Izzy W.
"To define civilization, historians came up with complex religions, achievements, political and economic systems, and, lastly, social structures. Ancient civilizations were extremely important to human history. Humans have taken their ideas and made them better. These all helped form the modern day."
-Owen G.
"Second, a civilization has achievements; for example, people in ancient civilizations leaned to build huge temples. They were big because it reassured the people that their government and religion had strength and power. Some more achievements were statues, paintings, and writing. All these things were made to please the gods. Some of the biggest achievements included an irrigation system, bridges, defense walls, and the military." -Owen G.
"Another characteristic of a civilization is a political system; a political system, in ancient civilizations, was a government formed to produce food and oversee projects. The rulers in that government thought gods chose them and that made them more powerful because the people were afraid of the gods. The government became more powerful than in the past with a political system. With a stronger government they were able to produce more and more food, part of the stronger government, the public works (infrastructure) protect the city and ensure the food supply. The many advancements in a civilization wouldn’t be possible without a political system." -Olivia L.
"A fourth characteristic is Economic systems. A Economic system is when people specialize in certain jobs and depend on each other for the things they needed. Soldiers defended cities. Bricklayers built city walls. They had artisans, which are skilled craft workers. They did pottery, carved/woven goods, metalworking, they would make weapons, tools, first copper, then bronze (copper and tin)." -Izzy W.
"To define civilization, historians came up with complex religions, achievements, political and economic systems, and, lastly, social structures. Ancient civilizations were extremely important to human history. Humans have taken their ideas and made them better. These all helped form the modern day."
-Owen G.
Paleolithic life vs. neolithic life
The human family tree
paragraphs: what makes us human?
By O. L.: The characteristic that is most important in making us human different from other animals is Spoken Language.
One reason I think this characteristic is important is because humans communicate in a way others can understand. But when it comes to animals, of course they can communicate with each other, but humans can't understand what they are saying. Animals probably have their own language but we don't speak it.
Another reason I think this characteristic is important is if we didn't have spoken language we wouldn't be able to communicate with each other. So we wouldn't be able to talk to each other and would have to communicate in different way. A final reason I think this character is important is we can share ideas through language, we can share opinions and we can express feelings and emotion with language. And the words we use have different meanings, so people know what we mean when we are speaking to them.
This character is important in making us different from other animals.
By I. W.: The characteristic that is most important in making humans different from other animals is they pass on knowledge to young. One reason I think this characteristic is important is humans teach young how to speak certain language whether it's Spanish or English. Another reason I think this characteristic is important is humans pass on to young to be nice and don't judge other people. A final reason I think this characteristic is important is humans pass on how to read and write and how to survive in the world. These characteristics are important because when you're older you will carry them on and know other languages, you won't judge people, and you will have good education.
One reason I think this characteristic is important is because humans communicate in a way others can understand. But when it comes to animals, of course they can communicate with each other, but humans can't understand what they are saying. Animals probably have their own language but we don't speak it.
Another reason I think this characteristic is important is if we didn't have spoken language we wouldn't be able to communicate with each other. So we wouldn't be able to talk to each other and would have to communicate in different way. A final reason I think this character is important is we can share ideas through language, we can share opinions and we can express feelings and emotion with language. And the words we use have different meanings, so people know what we mean when we are speaking to them.
This character is important in making us different from other animals.
By I. W.: The characteristic that is most important in making humans different from other animals is they pass on knowledge to young. One reason I think this characteristic is important is humans teach young how to speak certain language whether it's Spanish or English. Another reason I think this characteristic is important is humans pass on to young to be nice and don't judge other people. A final reason I think this characteristic is important is humans pass on how to read and write and how to survive in the world. These characteristics are important because when you're older you will carry them on and know other languages, you won't judge people, and you will have good education.
reading responses HW
One important class component is the weekly Reading Response HW assignment. To do this, students choose four prompts (from a list of about 25 prompts) to respond to about the book that they are reading independently. Students are learning to develop and explain their opinions and analysis of what they read using evidence and examples-quoted or paraphrased-from the text. Reading Responses are done on Google Classroom and are due every Tuesday. Here are some sample responses from 11/8/16
Prompt 5: My favorite part was when the main character tried to save Marcia but she couldn't and she was really sad about it and she realised she couldn't do anything i liked that because it shows the main character is really caring and she realises that too.
PROMPT #12: “Guilt punches my heart for disobeying him.” This example of figurative language is personification, and the reason it has an impact on readers is because most people could relate to that feeling, where you are guilty of something and you can almost feel the pressure of the guilt in your chest. Also, “punches” is a violent action, so it would greatly enhance the product of the reader’s imagination from a sentence like: Guilt hits my heart for disobeying him. You can imagine being hit in the heart, and then you can imagine being PUNCHED in the heart.
Prompt 5: My favorite part was when the main character tried to save Marcia but she couldn't and she was really sad about it and she realised she couldn't do anything i liked that because it shows the main character is really caring and she realises that too.
PROMPT #12: “Guilt punches my heart for disobeying him.” This example of figurative language is personification, and the reason it has an impact on readers is because most people could relate to that feeling, where you are guilty of something and you can almost feel the pressure of the guilt in your chest. Also, “punches” is a violent action, so it would greatly enhance the product of the reader’s imagination from a sentence like: Guilt hits my heart for disobeying him. You can imagine being hit in the heart, and then you can imagine being PUNCHED in the heart.
notes: "the search for the first human" dvd
Where do history textbooks come from? How do we learn about our past? This is the lens through which we watched this fascinating DVD about the discovery of 6 million year old bones in Kenya. It gives true insight into how we learn about our past and all that goes into the study of history.
Ancient egypt
Figurative Language
Timeline work
Jobs in ancient mesopotamia
Essay writing:
attention to essay structure, transitions, and connections to the focus statement throughout
sorting the Impacts of various geographic features
narrative fun with Eshu Bumpus
First graders and seventh graders are working together to draw self-portraits, tell stories and jokes, and other fun!
Mindset
Author and researcher Carol Dweck believes that the main factor that determines success in life is one's mindset. Specifically, she believes that the key is having a growth mindset (believing that intelligence can change and grow), as opposed to a fixed mindset (believing that intelligence levels are predetermined, or 'fixed', at birth. She presents her case, along with evidence that intelligence levels can, in fact, grow over time, in her book Mindset. We wrestled with her ideas in class during the first week of school-you can get a glimpse of our process below.