Unit Reflection

Reflection on the Learner Profile:

During this unit, I demonstrated Risk- Taker, Reflective, Inquirer, and Principled

Risk-Taker: Throughout this unit, I answered a lot of questions in groups and I was included in them- this means that I was confident enough to answer something even if I was unsure. However, I think I should be included in class discussions more often- because I get quite nervous when it comes to answering the teachers’ questions- Since teachers are always excellently right, I’m usually afraid and I get the feeling of being wrong.

Reflective: When it comes to reflections, I always see the Rights and the Wrongs in any topic we did in class. I briefly write down the things I need to improve on for the future, and the things I did well and continue doing them well in other topics we will continue doing in class. This might sound weird, but I think I am the only person in my class who likes to write reflections. This is because I get to think-over and actually write down EVERYTHING I want myself to know. However, I think it might be well if I were to share my feelings with my classmates- maybe they would give me tips for the next unit.

Inquirer: I enjoyed learning about Ancient Egypt this unit. I was quite curious- I wanted to find out more. So, I went online at home and researched some well written and reliable facts on my laptop and this enabled me to learn more and get prepared for the test. (This is true!) I think I should have written these facts that I found on the net in my notebook instead of just reading them and trying to memorize every single fact.

Principled: I was good at this skill- because all of my writings are not all made up; I was honest about everything, especially my reflections. During group discussions, I was fair enough, and I let other people talk first to show respect. I was quite tolerant (meaning that I let other people share their ideas and be patient while they talk) and I got along with almost all of the people’s own perspectives.

Reflection on the ATL’s

Organizational: During this unit, I was very organized. I did not lose anything- and I made sure everything was in its place. I collected all papers and gathered them up in my folder to keep them safe and tidy so I would have them at home when it comes to studying for the test. Throughout this unit, I paid more attention to Graphic Organizers than I did before; because before, I thought they were not helpful at all and that my notes are much more useful, but now that our teacher has talked about how good they are quite often, I think I tried using them as useful tools and I stopped rewriting everything at the last minute.

Collaborative: As said in the Risk-Taking section, I was included in group discussions, but not class discussions. This is because in groups, there are only 3 or 4 people, and during class, there are a lot more classmates who might all make fun of you if you say the wrong answer- and this is the reason why I don’t normally talk during class.

Information Literacy: I have changed a lot since the beginning of the year. During this unit, we had to do a lot of research, especially in presentations, Blog Posts, and include facts from the net in posters. I was able to write paragraphs and essays in my own words- and I certainly did not plagiarize. I am able to scan and skim text and then rewrite it; This is better than just rewriting every sentence from the book or from a site on the computer.

Transfer: During this unit, I used a lot of information that I knew and that I found out in my tasks. For example, I included some things I already knew before in my notes. Another example would be my presentation on the Daily Life and Jobs of Ancient Egypt. I used a lot of valid info and made it interesting for my friends during my presentation.

How did the physical environment affect the development of civilizations?

Ancient civilizations were affected by the geography of where they were living. Cities were built near bodies of water (For example; lakes, oceans, rivers, etc.) because it provided them to have fertile soil and sediment, food, and water, leaving the people to hunt more animals and hygiene- more importantly for people and animals to drink in order to survive. Stabled food sources were a very big part of how you lived in an Ancient Civilization. If animals were to have a place to stay stable and calm, the people would too- and this results in them settling down well. In some civilizations, there were areas with average temperature too. In colder places, animals such as birds and monkies would have to adapt to the snow whereas in hot regions, polar bears that live in the Arctic (Although the Arctic barely gets warm) would have to adapt too.

My trip Down the Nile

MY TRIP DOWN THE NILE

I was sailing down the wide area of the beautiful Nile river, catching the wind blowing over my face and feeling my long, soft hair flying through the cold air. It was quite weird how I was the only person sailing with a small- teeny-looking boat, while everyone else was in those Egyptian boats. I saw a lot of tall, thick trees- I figured they were palm trees. on the West side and some huge, tremendous mountains on the North side. I curiously observed the wonderful houses made out of wood, I caught my eye looking at the people walking around. They wore white costumes- I was not quite sure why.

I continued sailing and found myself smelling the beautiful sent of the green grass while I was getting closer to the shore. I left my boat on the side of the wall, and started heading North. I headed my way to the desert, and looked at all the beautiful plants, birds and interesting-looking insects. While getting lost I asked a person in those white-looking costumes where I was, because I was apparently lost. He told me I was walking along the Mediterranean sea, and that I should head back to my boat because it was not safe being next to all those creatures in the desert.I found myself sailing out to sea- not knowing where I was, where I could get food, and in which direction I was going! There was nobody I could ask, and it was getting dark. I couldn't find my way to the shore, because the Nile river was to wide for me to know where I have to turn. That was it. It was very windy, it was amazing how the river hadn't moved from this early morning. I slowly closed my eyes and lay in the boat, feeling the fresh air tingle beside my arm.

How do natural features such as rivers, lakes, and mountains help unite people or keep them isolated from each other?

Natural features were very important in the ancient times. In the early ancient days, it was important to have a river or a lake in order for the city to unite. Being near a river/lake unites the city because the settlers / groups can travel or immigrate to other places in order to get trade. With trade, the city is richer resulting in greater communities.
However, there is also a bad point to it. Mountains, rivers and lakes can isolate people. If one group lives on the north side of the mountain, and the other lives on the south, they become isolated because they are separate- which is very sad. Lakes can be very long, like the Nile, and isolate people because the settlers wouldn’t be able to cross a large lake. If they would try, it could be dangerous and they would probably die on the way.

Mummies

Definitions of Words:

1. Mummification:
Making it into a mummy. To preserve a dead body.

2. Dissect:
To cut open or cut a part. "They dissected the bodies for analysis."

3. Portal:
A grand and imposing entrance. "The portals of the cathedral."

4. Revive:
To bring back to life.

Questions & Answers:

1. Define the word "mummy."
A mummy is an ancient dead body of a human being or animal preserved by the ancient Egyptian process. Basically, a mummy is a dead body dried and preserved by nature.


2. According to current scientific beliefs, what are some reasons people were intentionally mummified?
Ancient Egyptians believed in 'after-life'. When a person or animal dies, Egyptians believed that if they were to mummify the person/animal, there was a possibility it would live in the after-life.


3. What features of the natural environment can cause bodies to be mummified unintentionally?
Bodies can be mummified unintentionally when they freeze. If a body is frozen, it won't rotten and get disgusting that easily.


4. In what parts of the world have mummies been found?
Mummies were found in all parts of the world such as in North America, South America, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Europe.
http://kids.summum.us/mummification/world/world.html


5. In what types of places (physical geography & climate) have mummies been found?
Mummies have been found in deserts, and cold areas so it would be easier for them to be mummified.


6. How did Ancient Egyptians preserve their dead?
It takes 70 days to go through mummification because Ancient Egyptians had to dry out the bodies and then they had to wrap linen around the pharaoh. The linen had to be very long which was as long as the Eiffel Tower. Then they would put the wrapped mummy into a coffin. When that was done, they would carry the mummy to the pyramids and put it in a room with their prized possessions.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_ancient_Egyptians_preserve_dead_bodies

My Mummy Questions:

1. Who found the first mummy? Who was the first mummy?

2. Why did it take 70 days for mummification in Ancient Egypt?

3. What is the difference between bog bodies and mummies?

4. Do they still mummify people?

5. Why were mummies wrapped in bandages?

PHOENICIA

Lately we've been working on Early Empires in groups of 3 or 4. My group mates and I were given the empire "Phoenicia," and we had to create a poster about Phoenicia's culture, arts and crafts, government, and perhaps some pictures of maps+boats to signify how the particular empire was famous. To make the poster look older, we decided to draw some brown/black decorations around our information

Unit reflection

UNIT REFLECTION
MESOPOTAMIA: THE FERTILE CRESCENT

1. In 2-3 sentences for each topic, summarize what you learned about the following:

a) The domestication of plants and animals:
Firstly, I learned that domestication means to tame/control/make plants+animals more useful to humans, it determines where they live, die and eat.
The most interesting fact that I learned about domestication of plants and animals during this unit was that domestication came after humans started settling in villages, or cities. Another interesting fact was learning about domestication of plants and animals in Catal Huyuk- stable, consistent and it included a reliable diet. They also had the surplus of food which resulted in the food being stored.

b) The transition from hunter-gatherer communities to the first civilizations:
Humans back then were traveling quite a lot for a short amount of time to follow their food-animals. Over the years when time passed by, they started settling in places for a long period of time, and that was happening in the fertile crescent. That's when everything was becoming more advanced, and that's when civilization existed. HOWEVER, Hunter gatherers DIDN'T have a civilization before, they didn't always have a stable food supply, and they didn't develop much specialization of labor.

c) Early religion and beliefs
This was the most interesting topic to me. Religion and Gods was much more different in earlier days than today. In ancient times, people believed in many Gods and Goddesses, I think of their Gods as mayors and presidents today. Gods back then ruled and protected regions, they also do that today, but in a different manner. However, we also have Gods who we believe in. Some of the people have a different religion in which they are not allowed to believe in a God. But that's in the present days.

2. Imagine someone saying to you, "Learning about the Sumerians isn't very important since they're long gone!" What would you tell them in order to change their mind?

The Sumerians were very successful in many ways, and are very important for many different reasons.
Firstly, I think that their education, communication was very high- their system of writing was called Cunieform, which included pictographs for record-keeping. However later the Phoenicians created their own script which was the alphabet, and I won't go on to that right now. Secondly, I think that their technology is amazing, without their inventions of valuable tools, our lives today would be very different. They created sails (wind power), plows (harnessing animals power) and the wheel (science power), and all that resulted in TRADE. I also thought that their religion and government was excellent too. The priests were very powerful, and they controlled city states, their kingship developed, they had taxes and sacrifices, also the rise of conflicts and wars occurred. The Sumerians had strong army leaders who began to rise to power.
All in all, the Sumerians were not even close to not important. I think that everything they invented is great, I mean imagine taking risks and doing all the things that they did. Creating symbols like Cunieform writing? I don't think anyone could do that now a days.






This is a picture of Enheduana.




















This is how cuneiform writing looked like.

Enheduana of Sumer

http://phoenicia.org/art.html
Enheduana was the first non-anonymous author in the history known by name. I found this quite interesting, who knew the first author in the world would be an intrepid WOMAN?
This short story mainly talks about Enheduana's great experiences while she was a teenager, until her oldest age.
Enheduana's popular writings (in her day) tell us much about herself, the Sumerian religion, and politics. She kept on composing poetry and organizing her duties, even after her Father, Sargon died. Enheduana lived with her two twin brothers, Rimush and Manishtusu, and her father, Sargon the ruler of Mesopotamia, who later became the ruler of Kish and Akkhad.


Questions & Answers:

1. What did books look like during the time that Enheduana was writing? How were these books written?
Books looked like small clay pillows, not paperbacks. In her day, books were written on soft clay with a pointed tool called stylus.

2. Where did Enheduana and her family live? What did her father do?
Enheduana lived with her two twin brothers and her father. They lived in a spanking-new big palace, surrounded by the city-state of Akkhad in Sumer. Her father Sargon was an ambitious boy from a family of Mesopotamian farmers, began his rise to the top as humble cupbearer for the king of Kish, a nearby city-state. He managed to grabed the throne by himself, nobody could imagine how he did this remarkable thing. He then ruled over Kish and Akkhad and made them important cities of Sumer.
3. What was Enheduana’s job? List three of her duties. How did she lose her job?
Enheduana was a poet, and hymn writer and a priestess. Her most important duty was to annual New Year celebration every spring. She lost her job because of her nephew, he fired her and put his daughter in charge.
4. The author says that Enheduana’s poems were so popular that they were like bestsellers today. What evidence does she use to support this claim?
The author is trying to let us know that people today still talk about Enheduana even though she wrote poems and books a very long time ago.
5. Enheduana’s writings are hymns of praise, but they also tell us about the times she lived in. Describe one “current event” that Enheduana wrote about.
Enheduana was writing much about herself, religion and politics. One “current event” that she wrote was about her father, Sargon. It describes the city-states that Sargon had ruled over. They tried to capture Akkhad and banish Inanna from the temples. Sargon won, and Ianna's power new again.