The Schools of Thought in China

As we continue our religion unit in World History our most recent topic was the history of religion/thought in China. We discussed Confucianism, Legalism, Buddhism, and Daoism. The students thought they were pretty interesting ideas, and all so different. Daoism was of particular interest because the daoists belief in magic and ghosts led to the invention of fireworks! As an assignment students created advertisements to entice vacationers to visit an area based on the principles of a certain school of thought. Here are some great examples:

Their advertisements were so fun to read! This week we will learn about Islam and the Protestant Reformation. At the end of the week I will introduce the religion unit project.

There’s a lot of work in teaching besides the actual teaching!

I’ve been working to tackle this mountain of ungraded papers. This is a lot of work! I always knew being a teacher would include many hours of grading and prepping at home, but I wasn’t expecting this much. I’m sure I’ll get into a more effective routine after a couple of weeks. Then I will hopefully be able to get a decent amount of sleep! 🙂

A Brief History of Ancient Religions

Last Monday we learned about the ancient religions of people in Egypt, Sumer, and Persia. The assignment was to write about or draw the tomb they would be buried in if they were an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Here are the results of the tombs they drew, we have some great artists in class!

This week we are continuing to learn about the history of world religions. Topics will include the development of Christianity and Islam.

1st Day = Success! Tomorrow: Mapping World Religions

Teaching about ancient religions today was a success! I think that the students enjoyed the lesson, they had some great questions. I can’t wait to see their drawings and read their papers about their Egyptian tombs. Check out yesterday’s blog to see the PowerPoint, warm up, and assignment that we did today.

Tomorrow we will continue the history of religions unit by mapping out different religions. We will use this interactive map: http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html to discuss where and how religions started and spread. Students will practice finding different locations using latitude and longitude as they plot important religious centers.

Monday in World History Classes…Ancient Religions

AncientReligion

Tomorrow is my first full day of teaching the World History classes. We will be learning about ancient religions including those of the Egyptians, Sumerians, and Persians. This will kick off our history of religion unit.

The lesson will include videos, lecture, and an art/writing project.

Visit the “Ancient Religion” link above to see the PowerPoint presentation including the videos and assignments. I welcome any feedback and suggestions!

The weekend went by too fast, but I’m excited to share this lesson with the students tomorrow. Wish me luck on my first day!

Our first week of school is almost over…

 

It has been a great week so far! I think it will be a good semester of working with some great teachers and students.

On Tuesday I introduced myself to the classes and handed out photo release forms for parents/guardians to sign. These signed forms will allow students to appear in photos that I may take in class for my educational portfolio or for this blog. The pictures will only be used for educational/professional purposes, and students will not be identified. Please sign the form and have your student return it if you have not yet.

We also did a fun activity so that I can start learning names and getting to know everyone. I asked a different random question of each of the 175 students. Some were funny (How would you spend a typical day if you were a T-Rex). Others were serious (What do you want to study in college). They then answered their question on a note card. Here are some interesting things I learned about the students:

• Several students want to pursue an education/career in medicine or architecture.
• Many students (especially in 1st hour) mentioned that they enjoy sleeping.
• One student is great at baking. (I wouldn’t mind being a judge of the baked goods!)
• Another would cure cancer if they were a scientist.
• One student loves Dr. Seuss books. (Me too!)
• I think we have some future authors in the class based on some very creative answers. I will keep an eye out for their books!
• One student wants to move to Alaska, another would like to live in Australia.

I’m so glad everyone shared little bits about themselves with me. I’m working hard to learn everyone’s names and get to know them before I start teaching the classes.

Thanks everyone for a fun first week of school! I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing weekend.