STAB 2018

On Wednesday, the 6th graders took a break from the classroom, but they learned some excellent lessons about  listening, leadership, and teamwork  while participating in a range of activities at the Poplar Ridge Challenge Course. Later in the day, we visited the Upper School and were inspired by the awesome work of  Lucia Hoerr . Lucia explained the way that she started Backpack Buddies, and then we had the opportunity to pack backpacks and write letters to the recipients.

The Battles of Akkad By Sean Sargon's army was prepared. Pushu-Ken, a commanding officer, took part of the army and tried to push forward, but they all were shot down by their adversaries. Some of them tried to crawl away, but they were cut down from their opponents. Esagil, Unzi, Dada, and Beletum formed a mini-push and managed to kill the first part of the army. But that's when it started to go downhill. As they made it to the second chunk of the army, they left everyone else uncovered. Before anyone could react, Sargon's archers shot a huge portion of the army down. Most of them fell into canals and drifted away. The few remaining army men knew it was futile. But they still took out as many of Sargon's men as they could. They were like a tornado, sweeping away everything and everyone that was in their path.

Initial questions about ancient Egypt.. . Griffin : Why was the sphinx made with a lion's body and a human's head? Did this symbolize something? Isabella : Why did Menes want to be the leader of  both  kingdoms? Why wasn't he satisfied with being the leader of just one kingdom? Lellie : Why were the people in ancient Egypt mainly slaves? Jackson : Why are some leaders cruel (like some of the pharaohs were cruel), whereas other leaders are kind? Harrison : What were the main reasons that ancient Egypt became so powerful and so wealthy? Laney : Did the pharaohs enjoy leading Egypt? Was it fun? Was it stressful? Will  and  Nicholas : Has ancient Egypt affected the lives of us today? If so, how? Jake : If it was so hard to  invade  Egypt, then how were the Egyptians able to  trade  with other kingdoms?

Leaving Ur By Lillian ...  I walked down to the school and sat down. Clutching my scalpel nervously, I watched the other students come in with their clay tablets and carving tools. Realizing they might be in the same situation as me made me feel bad. But it was the only way. Then Enlil entered. We were the only two girls who got a chance to become a scribe.  Most of the students, including me, believed Enlil's parents had pulled a few strings to let her attend. They were nobles working for Sargon. “Good morning class,” said our teacher, Shubure. He was dressed in royal robes of purple and white. The class sat up.  “Today we will determine who will become a scribe by writing down your favorite law in Hammurabi's Code. Ready, set, GO!”  Everyone started to carefully carve cuneiform into their tablets.  Horizontal, straight, zig-zag, line, curve... “Time is up! Hand over your tablets,” yelled Shubure.  He passed everyone's sitting places and snatched their tab...

Saving Ur By Lila Ilusha sat on the floor of her mud brick house. Gazing out the windows, she admired the beauty of the Fertile Crescent. She looked at the irrigation systems that ran through the land next to the city. The water glistened in the morning light.  All was peaceful until she heard a sharp cry echoing through the city. They were under attack.  “Go, my child, hide!" cried Ilusha’s mother. “I will find you!" Ilusha ran out of her house, and through the many fields. She finally found a small hole covered in leaves. She had dug it in case of emergencies, ever since she heard that Akkad was planning to attack.  She heard a scream from her house. As she crawled deeper into the hole, she began to worry about her mother. Tears streamed down her face, as she thought of what could have happened to her mom.  ... Ilusha woke up with a sore neck, and a stomach full of worries. She peered out of the hole and gasped. The empire of Ur had fallen. The city was in ruins. ...

For today's Musical Monday selection, we listened to guitarist Luca Stricagnoli's beautiful rendition of Braveheart . Jack K. pointed out that Mr. Stricagnoli chose to play his instrument in a much different setting than the crowded city street on which Coldplay appeared last Monday.  Polina  elaborated on Jack's point by saying that she thinks the guitarist wanted his music to connect with nature in a peaceful way. Max M. , meanwhile, used the fantastic word "serenity" to describe the music. Jake  told us that his father plays the guitar, and Jake said that he was impressed with Stricagnoli's technical skills. Finally,  Sophia  had this wonderful comment about today's piece: "The music gave me a feeling like ... [after a long pause] actually, I don't know how to describe the feeling".  This carving is one of the oldest representations of a guitar-like instrument. PS: It turns out that there is a clay tablet from ancient Mesopotamia that s...

Whitt S. and  Jackson  approached me today to tell me about a debate they'd been having. W and J were respectfully arguing about which object had played a more important role in human history: sticks or stones ? I absolutely love that the boys were talking about these two ancient technologies and comparing them to each other. And, they both had some excellent points. I was especially impressed because some of their arguments depended on the definition of a word -- "sticks". Whitt thinks that a stick is anything made of wood, including the trunk of a tree.  Jackson (who cited the dictionary!) argues that a stick is only something that falls off a tree. The boys were discovering that many debates depend on how people choose to define words. This is a sophisticated discovery (and one that will help them both as they develop and improve their debating skills). A huge thank you , Whitt and Jackson, for thinking deeply and learning from each other. You guys made my day!...

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? Today we discussed  Hammurabi's Code : the first system of  written laws  in human history. 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 that the punishment for knocking ou...

Today, while Lucca was thinking about the importance of technology in ancient history, he came up with this fantastic insight: " The mind is the core of all technology. " 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!). He lived in ancient Ur. Was he similar to us, or was he different? 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 ". While comparing Ur and Charlottesville during today's class, Lillian and Martha had this excellent interaction: Mar...

While studying the textbook's illustration of an ancient farming village, Martha made this great observation: a person could walk from one end of the village to the other, across the roofs ! Taylor  asked a question that is related to Martha's observation: why did the ancient people build their houses so close together?  Ben , meanwhile, wondered why the doors are located on the roofs, instead of on the ground. Can you think of possible answers to Taylor's and Ben's excellent questions?

The Skeleton of an Auroch 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 -- including meat, milk, and eggs. In addition, they could use the animals for transportation and to help with a variety of difficult tasks (including lots of tasks related to  agriculture ). The students did a great job imagining that they were hunter-gatherers trying to choose a particular species of animal to domesticate.  They discussed questions related to (1) how each animal could help humans and (2) whether the animal would be especially difficult to tame: 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  con...

Technology  refers to " the tools and knowledge that humans use to solve problems and make their lives easier. " During History Video #1, I asked you to think about which technology has had the most significant impact on people's lives, throughout all of human history. During yesterday's class, we had a lively (and  provocative! ) discussion, during which you shared your opinions about the most influential technologies in human history.  Your answers included: Control of fire Spoken languages Written languages Wheels and cars Engines that use fossil fuels Airplanes Electricity and the lightbulb Refrigeration The internet Guns and other kinds of weapons Telephones Devices that measure time Plumbing We also talked about words that could be used to describe the period of time in which we are currently living.   There were lots of other great suggestions for a phrase to describe our current times: The Phone Age The Screen Age The Disconnected Age The Lazy Age The Age of ...