Salvete.  Here’s the deal for Monday: we will play a rousing round of Euro Geo Jeo.  Yes, Jeopardy!  Each class will form two teams and we’ll engage in a little healthy competition to flex our knowledge of European Geography.

If you are wondering what to do in your extra time this weekend (or next week), check out this interesting exhibit entitled “Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop” at Discovery Times Square.  I’m taking Sam next weekend!

Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibit

Study, study, study!  If you are having difficulty remembering where the cities are located, try linking each city to its country (Paris to France, Istanbul to Turkey, Venice to Italy, etc…).  You might want to create note-cards to help your learn the city locations.  You can use this same technique for the rivers.  Remember, the Danube runs west to east (it originates in the Black Forest in Germany and empties into the Black Sea).  It’s the 2nd longest river in Europe.  The Rhine runs south to north; it originates in the Alps and empties into the North Sea.  The Tiber, Seine, and Thames are all relatively short rivers and run through cities (Rome, Paris, and London respectively). And yes, I will draw the rivers in on the test (along with dots for the cities and boundaries for the countries).

Your only homework between now and Monday night will be to study for Tuesday’s test.  Good luck!

Hi Guys.  Well, as I’m sure you’ve already discovered, I’m out today.  Sam now has the pesky virus (ahhhh).  You have a few options of activities to work on during today’s class:

1. If you are in Classes A or B, you can work on your essay revision

2. If you are in Class C, you can work on the “Medieval Mystery” homework, which is due tomorrow

2. You can study for the geography test

3. If you feel really well-prepared for the test and can’t face another map of Europe at this point in time, you can begin to work on the creative writing assignment that is outlined in the “Monastic Tradition” assignment.  This writing piece will not be due until well after Thanksgiving break, but you may want to start to think about it now.  The due date for the assignment will fall some time in early-mid December.  The details are outlined below:

• It must be at least two full pages (front and back), typed, double-spaced. Do not exceed 5 pages, please.
• It should provide a detailed description of three days spent in a monastery, including:
o Background information on how you became a monk or nun (you only need to introduce yourself on day 1!)
o Your daily duties
o Your diet
o Your clothing
o Your spiritual responsibilities
o Your work responsibilities

Read my monastery assignment carefully for clues about a “day in the life of a monk or nun.”  The Benedictine Rule can also provide some clues.  Enjoy!

We will finish our discussion of the “Medieval Mystery” homework assignment in class tomorrow and review for the Geo test.

Class C Students: Please complete the “Medieval Mystery” assignment for Thursday, 11/19. For details, please see the post below.

Class A and B Students: Please continue to work on your essay revisions AND study for the Geography Test.  The revisions are due on Thursday, 11/19.

Reminder: the Euro Geo test is on Tuesday, 11/24.

The following homework assignment is due on Tuesday, 11/17 for classes A and B.  If you are in class C, you may certainly attempt the assignment over the weekend (however, your official due date will fall next week).

While Benedictine monks worked, ate, prayed, worked, ate, prayed, worked, ate, prayed, ecclesiastical and secular leaders duked it out (metaphorically, of course) on the widespread battlefield that was the Western Roman Empire (with Italy at its heart).  To whom should the land belong: Church or State? Who should hold the power…the successors of St. Peter or kings?  This was a real dilemma.

Lo and behold, a strange document, allegedly written in the 4th c. CE,  suddenly materialized (almost magically, it would seem) in the 8th c. CE.  No one seemed to question why this document did not make its appearance earlier, though some very diligent individuals attempted to prove that it was a fake (which indeed, it was).  Unfortunately, their earnest efforts were largely ignored until the 15th c.

You are going to have the opportunity to play Watson to Holmes  and help solve this perplexing medieval mystery that set precedent in Europe for almost 700 years.

Armed with a printed copy of the document (I’ve attached an excerpt in the PDF below), a dictionary, a computer, a mug of some sort of delicious liquid like hot chocolate or tea (I can’t think without either) and your sharp wits, you have to do the following:

Document Reading (You have to scroll all the way down to see the text!  Sorry, my writing got cut off at the end. It should read, “An earlier portion of this document claims that Sylvester cured Constantine of leprosy”)

• Draft a short paragraph explaining what the document is about. This will not be easy…please annotate and highlight your text.  Look up all words you do not know as you go along. Hint: The first step is to figure out who is doing the “talking” in the text (it’s not the pope!). Remember, all popes claim descent from Peter (apostolic succession)…the first portion of the text plays off this idea.
• Develop a theory about WHY this document was forged. This is where the real sleuth work comes in! Be as thorough as possible.  Ground your theory in plausible evidence from the text (and what we’ve discussed in class). Take risks and go forth unafraid…don’t be afraid to be wrong!
• Compare the text to the image of a painting linked below. Describe the correlation between the text and the painting.  Make a list of quotations from the text that are supported by the painting. *I will explain the content and context (i.e. location) of the painting next week.
  

Painting

Please type your answers up on a separate piece of paper with a proper heading.  Include your list of vocabulary terms on this paper as well.

Good news–you do not have any history homework due tomorrow.  Remember, keep pluggin’ with the geography preparation! The test is a little over a week and a half away.

Hello, hello.  Before I launch into the lesson plan for Wednesday’s classes, I wanted to remind you that while I have not assigned homework for tonight (meaning Tuesday, 11/10) or tomorrow night, you have two long-term assignments to work on:

The revision of your essay and the Euro Geo Test

Please use Wednesday’s class to study for the Geo Test.  As I mentioned in class today, try to practice with your hard-copy maps instead of Sheppard Software (I have a small pile of maps and atlases on a table near the door, should you need them). At this point, you should fill in the bodies of water and cities on your maps (consult the wall map and the atlases for help).  If you run out of space, please create a key.

I’ll see you guys Thursday!  We’ll finish the group presentations in those classes that have not yet finished, and then have a brief writing assignment.  All good stuff!

Hi All.  Your homework for Monday is to complete the following:

1. Read, hi-light and annotate your packet on the structure of the Western Church. In the event that you did not receive a copy in class, it’s linked in the PDF below:

Western Church Reading

2. Jot down the etymology of the words priest, bishop, episcopal, cardinal and pope in your notebook.

3. Explain the history of the papal election process.

4. Humans seem inclined to organize themselves into hierarchies–do you think hierarchies exist at Dalton? Where? Why?

5. Now examine the “equipment of office” of the priesthood. What are a priest’s (bishop’s/pope’s) symbols of power? Jot a list down in your notebook; be as thorough as possible.

Enter a world of tremendous flux, uncertainty, and instability. Frustrated, power-hungry tribes are bearing down on the doorstep of the Roman Empire and a fearful population is desperate for safety and guidance. The once-trustworthy Roman government can no longer provide the necessities for a desperate populace. Can anyone or anything save the day?

Enter Benedict and Gregory. These two individuals virtually redefined the power structure of western Europe, brilliantly filling a huge void in a way secular leaders could not have envisioned. Armed with the words of Christ, and a deep faith in the Roman virtues (remember these?), Benedict and Gregory mended a broken Europe by offering safety and leadership.

Benedict created communities called monasteries, made up of monks under the supreme authority of an abbot. All monks living in these monasteries were subject to a constitution known as the Rule. We will study the Rule in depth over the next few days.

As the monastic tradition was gaining steam in Europe, a fervent follower of Benedict known as Gregory was busy spreading the Rule far and wide. He renounced his aristocratic upbringing, gave away his wealth, and began founding monasteries (he even converted his own home into one!).

Gregory became the bishop of Rome; while many acknowledged the temporal and spiritual authority of Rome (after all, it was the city where St. Peter was martyred), few were inclined to view the bishop of Rome as the most important bishop in Christendom. Gregory, ever the eminent statesmen, changed this. He essentially elevated himself to a position of great prominence by writing extremely authoritative letters to fellow bishops (and secular leaders) around the Mediterranean Basin and beyond. His letters often took on a tone of reproach and he left other bishops with little doubt that he was the one in charge! Interestingly enough, however, he took on different tones depending on his audience: with eastern emperors he was respectful, with fellow bishops he was authoritative and somewhat bossy, and with “barbarian” kings he was downright condescending. He also wrote a “how-to” guide for bishops known as the Book of Pastoral Rule. Needless to say, he catapulted his position as bishop of Rome into great prominence. Prior to Gregory, the pontificate’s ( office of the Pope, or pontiff) was basically limited to the diocese of Rome. After Gregory, the bishop of Rome was the most powerful bishop in western Europe. Few would argue that Pope Gregory was anything less than ‘the Great’.

Please turn to your group’s copy of the Rule. Each group will be given a selection of the Rule to read and paraphrase. After you paraphrase your portion of the text, you will be responsible for teaching the class about your selection. You may use posterboard and/or Keynote as aids.

Benedictine Rule

After you have listened and taken notes on each group’s presentation, compare Benedict’s Rule to the Middle School Bill of Rights. Do you see any similarities? With your group members, craft a paragraph or two that discusses the similarities between the two documents. (FYI: The Bill of Rights can be found in the MS Handbook below)

Handbook

Hi All.  I have posted your new assignment to the right (it’s entitled “Assignment #2: The Monastic Tradition”).  Please complete homework assign. #1 for tomorrow (this involves a reading by Terry Jones on Benedict and a short question, to be answered in your notebook).

Remember: Geography Test on 11/24.  Try to study 10-15 minutes/day for the test (after you’ve mastered the countries, study the bodies of water and cities).