STAB 2019

Team China: Take a look at the image of a bronze dagger, below.  As you learn about China, can you explain three advantages of  bronze weapons , as compared to  wood, stone or copper weapons? Now look at the bronze container. The ancient Chinese -- especially during the Shang Dynasty -- were famous for their bronze vessels. What are two advantages of bronze containers, as compared to clay pottery? Can you think of two disadvantages ?

Following our introduction to ancient Egypt, the students are feeling curious: Why was the sphinx made with a lion's body and a human's head? Did this symbolize something? Why did Menes want to be the leader of both kingdoms? Why wasn't he satisfied with being the leader of just one kingdom?  Why did ancient Egypt have so many slaves?  Why are some leaders cruel (like some of the pharaohs were cruel), whereas other leaders are kind?  What were the main reasons that ancient Egypt became so powerful and so wealthy?  Did the pharaohs enjoy leading Egypt? Was it fun? Was it stressful? For today's Musical Monday, we listened to the majestic music of the erhu , and the students had some outstanding feedback: Marin : The soloist seems to almost have an emotional connection with the erhu. Eliza : These musicians have  really  practiced. Sanaa : I noticed that the soloist's bow hand is different than we learn in America. Kemper : The erhu doesn't have a fretboard!...

The students are preparing to write stories about ancient Mesopotamia. This is a project that Mr. Passmore and I teach together. One goal is to weave, into their stories, accurate historical information they've learned during the first month of school. A second goal is to write (and revise!) stories that will captivate and engage the reader. ----------- Today, we read part of a story -- written last year, by a current 7th grader -- in order to examine some of the elements of strong narrative writing. Here's some of what the students noticed: Ryan : The author wrote a lot of details about the narrator's emotions . Cabria : She makes it seem that Inanna was an actual person , with real feelings and thoughts. She also captured what the characters were doing and seeing. Reese : She wrote the story in the first person, so you could feel like you were in Inanna's shoes . Adam : The author used a lot of salsa words . Like, instead of just saying "embarrassed", she s...

This is an ancient statue of Hammurabi. Do you think he looks more like a strict, stern leader or more like a kind, forgiving leader? We have been discussing  Hammurabi's Code : the first system of  written laws  in human history. The students determined that there are several reasons it is important to put laws in writing: Written laws make society more  fair .  They prevent leaders from changing the laws willy-nilly, without informing the people. Written laws make society more  organized .  People can read the laws and understand the  specifics  of what they are allowed (and not allowed) to do. Written laws promote  good behavior . If a person can read the laws and think about them, he or she is more likely to actually obey the laws. ------------- The students also discussed the idea of " an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ." This saying comes directly from two of the laws in Hammurabi's Code (the students correctly determined t...

On your quiz last Friday, one of the questions said: We discussed three reasons that Sargon was an effective leader. Which of these three reasons do you think was the most important? Here are excerpts from four students' answers (these are not the complete answers, all of which included more details). I chose these four answers to share because they (1)  showed a deep level of thinking,  (2) were especially well written, and/or (3) clearly compared the importance of the three reasons. Will : The most important reason Sargon was an effective leader is how he inspired loyalty to his people. I think this is the most important reason because his people probably got attached to him, because he made them feel important. They would trust him and support him in the decisions he made. This was also important because it made him unique. There were few (if any) leaders who treated their people as well as Sargon treated his people. Meg : I first thought that inspiring loyalty was most im...

Today we learned that Sargon of Akkad was an effective leader in ancient Mesopotamia for several different reasons: 1. He made decisions that improved people's lives . For example, he recognized that Mesopotamia's irrigation systems were enabling people to grow more crops, so he built even more ditches and canals, in order to deliver water to more people (and more cropland!). 2. He used technology in smart ways. For example, he equipped the soldiers in his army with bows and arrows, which gave them a significant advantage over enemy armies. 3. He inspired loyalty among his followers. For example, he often ate meals with common soldiers in order to get to know them, understand their perspectives and ideas, and give them a sense that he genuinely cared about their lives. 

Ancient hunter-gatherers were nomadic, and they lived in small groups. People who lived in the first civilizations , like Mesopotamia, began to live in much larger groups -- and they had permanent homes (with cool features like doors on the roof!). When these new settlements became larger -- with houses, shops, streets, and organized systems of government -- they became known as cities. (Remember to notice that the word " ci vilization" has the same root as the word " ci ty".) One of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia was Ur, which Mr. Richmond likes to pronounce as "Urrrr". They lived in ancient Mesopotamia... were they similar to us, or different? I asked the students to compare Ur and Charlottesville. They had different opinions about whether the famous temple in Ur (known as a ziggurat ) is a characteristic that makes the two places similar or different. Some students pointed out that Charlottesville doesn't have any religious buildings nearl...

Hannah provided her classmates with a real treat by bringing in shards of pottery from an archaeological dig outside of Jerusalem. Her family visited the dig, and they were allowed to bring some of the artifacts home. These artifacts are more than 2,000 years old! It was a truly special experience to hold genuine pieces of ancient technology in our own hands -- to know that we were touching something made thousands of years ago. In addition to looking at artifacts (and on a rare occasion like this, holding them!!), how else can you make connections with history?

The  domestication  of wild animals was a major turning point in human history. Once humans tamed animals, they had a more reliable source of food, and they could use the animals for transportation and to help with a variety of difficult tasks (including lots of tasks related to  agriculture ). ---------- Yesterday, the students imagined that they were hunter-gatherers trying to choose a particular species of animal to domesticate.  They discussed questions related to (1) how each type of animal could help humans and (2) how challenging the animal would be to domesticate: What would humans  feed  this animal?  Would humans have to compete with the animal for food? Would the animal provide a significant amount of  meat  for humans to eat? Would the animal provide a significant amount of  milk  for humans to drink? Can this animal be easily  herded  and  controlled ? Can this animal do  work  for humans? Can t...

Here's an example of a potter's wheel

Today we learned more about Stone Age technology by watching an excerpt from Conquest , in which modern day humans practice using ancient weapons (you can view the full episode here ). Next, I challenged the students to come up with phrases that future humans may use to describe the current era. There were lots of great suggestions, including Dylan's idea that we live in the " Evolving Age ", a time period that is distinguished by the tremendous speed with which each new technology changes. Justin , meanwhile, thinks that our time may be called the " Car Age ," since cars are such a huge part of life (now) but will probably be replaced by other forms of transportation in the future. In other words, Justin thinks  cars are similar to stones : a central part of human life that will one day become obsolete. Here are some of the students' other awesome ideas: The Digital Age The Electric Age The Screen Age The Device Age The Media Age The Age of Apple The Ruth...