Semester exam - essay questions

A good, thoughtful, analytical essay will supply many details

(names, dates, types of governments, kinds of art, etc.). 

I encourage you to outline your essay ahead of time. 

In doing so, you will not only be preparing a well-written essay,

you will be studying for the exam.  Clever, eh?

Is it worth it to go to all the trouble of outlining? 

A wise man once said, "If I had six hours to chop down a tree,

I would spend the first hour sharpening the axe." 

Do an outline. 

Sharpen your axe, and you'll ace this test and write two terrific essays.

You will be asked to write on two of the following topics:

Compare and contrast the government of ancient Athens with the government of
the United States in the year 2018.

Three important leaders we studied this semester were Socrates, Julius Caesar, and
Martin Luther.  Discuss what these men had in common, and how they differed,
especially in relation to their teachings, how the establishment reacted to them, and
how they lived their life.

What brought about the decline and fall of the Roman Empire?

Detail the evolution of culture, entertainment, and the arts from ancient Greece
and Rome, through the Middle Ages, ending with the Reformation and the Renaissance.

Describe the effects of the Crusades on the Middle Ages, and their long-lasting
historical impact on the present day.

Discuss how Europe moved from a loose collection of kingdoms to one united empire
under Charlemagne.

What are some of the factors that contributed to the change from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)?

classwork for Wednesday, May 30

I will not be in class with you today. Your assignment is to cover the material in my GoogleSlide "Luther and the Reformation" combined with the material on p. 488-490 in the textbook. Perhaps it would be helpful to have Kelsey put her brilliant color-coded notes on the front board as a visual aid. You decide what will work best for you. Thank you, and I hope to be back soon.

new study information now available

Three Google SlideShows on the European Middle Ages have been posted and are now available for your viewing pleasure.

• Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms
• What's So Great About Charlemagne?
• The Crusades

These can be found in the sidebar to the right of this blog.

new resources on Ancient Rome

Not one, not two, but THREE Google Slides have been posted and are accessible through the extremely handy Land of Linkin' sidebar.

They are:

• Christianity in the Pax Romana
• The Empire Strikes Out
• After Rome (500-700)

Study and enjoy!

test on Ancient Greece

Pro tip for those of you studying for Monday's test: after consulting with you, the essay question has been removed, and there are 50 objective questions. The test will cover the entire chapter (p. 123-149), from Culture of the Mountains and the Sea, right up to (and including) The Spread of Hellenistic Culture.

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Plato's Allegory of the Cave is a fascinating look at ancient Greek philosophy, but also a critique of modern life, with our dependence on television, mass media, and especially the Internet. The perceptive student will see how the flickering images on the cave wall correspond to the images to be found on our electronic devices. I think this allegory qualifies as true wisdom, as the lessons of 2400 years ago are still applicable to life in the twenty-first century.

optional viewing for ambitious students

So, you have our big GoogleSlides presentation, and our trusty textbook. If you are interested, here is another source of information about the ancient Greeks. This video (narrated by the amazing Liam Neeson) is called The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, and you might be surprised at how closely it follows what we have been covering in class. Check it out if you want to be super prepared for the test this Friday!