What is Democracy?

What does the public know about Democracy? Well, I took my video camera and a microphone to the Mall in Sioux Falls, SD to ask people that very question. The results were a little surprising. Check out this video to see what random people at the mall know about democracy, our government, and presidents of the United States. Don't forget to check out the deleted scenes!

Interviewing Greek Mythology

You have all selected a character from Greek Mythology. Before you "become" that character and practice your speech giving skills, you are going to interview the character you selected. This is going to be an informative interview. You are pretending that you are interviewing your character in front of a large audience who came to listen and learn about the character. You will be asking the character questions, but it is okay for the character to ask you questions, if you want. The interview needs to be written like a dialogue, with quotation marks and correct punctuation. Also, make sure you show who is talking. Below, is an example for you to use as a guide.
Task: Write an interview dialogue between you and your Greek Mythology character. In the interview, your character needs to share at LEAST 3 things about themselves. Make sure you have your character introduce themselves so the reader knows who is talking. The name does NOT count as one of the three facts. 
Example:
Me: "Hi! What's your name?"
Artemis: "Hello sir. My name is Artemis."
Me: "Wow! That's a cool name. My name is Dan."
Artemis: "Wow, that's a plain name."
Me: "That's not very nice. Plus, it has three versions: Dan, Danny, and Daniel. So there."
Artemis: "Whatever."
Me: "Why do you have that silver bow?"
Artemis: "Well, I am the goddess of the hunt and moon. So I take my special bow with me at all times."
Me: "It kinda looks like the silver bow Katniss Everdeen uses in the Hunger Games."
Artemis: "Katniss who?"
Me: "Katniss Everdeen. From Hunger Games. She's way cooler than you."
(Artemis draws back an arrow with bow right at me)
Me: "Hey now!!! Wait!!! What are you doing???"
(Artemis pulls back arrow further...)
Me: "Okay, okay!! Stop!! You are cooler than Katniss! Way cooler!!"
Artemis: "That's what I thought, you weak mortal."
Me: "So, do you have any siblings?"
Artemis: "Yes, I actually have a twin. His name is Apollo."

Me: "Why do you have a picture of a Christmas tree on your shirt?"

Artemis: "It's called a Cyprus tree, you maniac, and it's my symbol."
Me: "Oh, that's cool. Good for you. Well, I gotta go. Bye."
Artemis: "Ok. Whatever. Bye."
(As I'm running away): Me: "Katniss is actually cooler!!!!!"
(Artemis zings an arrow at me and barely misses. Yikes!)

Zeus Like Strength

Students, check out my Zeus like strength when I shove Olivia off Mt. Olympus.

Monster Spotlight

Greek Mythology is packed with many fascinating gods and goddesses. Greek Mythology also has many weird creatures to learn about. This blog post is going to put the spotlight on some of the weird monster creatures of Greek Mythology. Use the links below to navigate through some Greek mythology monsters. The picture shows each of the five monsters in the spotlight. Can you identify each monster before looking at the links? Good Luck. 

Chimera---Pegasus---Cerberus---Medusa---Hydra

Greek Mythology Information

Ancient China Bonus Topic: Forbidden City (Extra Credit)

To cap off the ancient China unit, we are going to take a look at a bonus topic, the Forbidden City. Mr. Sturgeon talked about this fascinating topic during his presentation, so we are going to take a closer look at the Forbidden City. We will use this topic as an extra credit opportunity for you, so not only do you have a chance to learn about a fascinating topic, but you will get rewarded to do so! This extra credit opportunity will be added on to your ancient Chinese test score, so good luck! 
Task: Read/use the article on the Forbidden City and provide a 6-8 sentence summary describing the Forbidden City. Post your comment on this blog post. 
Points: 10 extra credit points for your ancient China test. 
DUE Date: Friday, February 7th. 11:59 pm.

Ancient China Test

Click here to take the Ancient China Test

Good Luck!

China Article: Great Wall of China

Period 3 Only: Read these two articles and answer the questions in a comment box once you have completed the Ancient China Test.

Click Here for the Great Wall of China Article

1. How long is the Great Wall of China?
2. Why was the Great Wall built?
3. What two dynasties get credit for building the Great Wall?
4. What types of people worked on the Great Wall?
5. According to scientists, about how many people died while working on the Great Wall?
6. What materials were used in building the Great Wall?
7. Besides the wall, what other types of things were included in the Great Wall?

Click Here for the Terra Cotta Article

1. Who was the Terra Cotta Warriors built for?
2. About how many Terra Cotta warriors were built?
3. Why did Shi Huangdi build such a large tomb with such a large Army?
4. Describe what the Terra Cotta soldiers looked like.
5. Besides the soldiers, what other items were in the tomb?
6. What was the condition of the soldiers when they were found?
7. What were the soldiers made out of?

In-Class Blogging. Not Homework. 

WSG Live! Ancient China

Let's begin!!!

Ancient China Study Guide

Here is your Ancient China Study Guide. Use it to review the topics on the test and use the review games. In order to be good at anything, you must put in some extra time to prepare. An NFL football player did NOT just go to the scheduled team practices, they put in time on their own lifting weights, running, etc. If you want to do really well on the test, you have to put in some extra time studying the material. 

Test: Friday, January 31st. 100 points.

Ancient China Study Guide