By Shelly Blake-Plock
It's final exam day, so I thought I'd give you a peak into what things looked like in our paperless classroom: we've got kids collaborating, kids making stuff, kids doing tough academic work tied to the real-time web, kids in history class demonstrating the ability to read, write, think, share, and work like a real historian.
Here's a copy of the exam. Enjoy.
Honors Western Civilization
Final Exam
June 8, 2011
Exam Length: 2 hours and 15 minutes / 30 minute extension available
In the following exam, you are going to be asked to do the work of a historian. Please read the questions carefully as many of them have multiple parts. If you have any difficulty understand concepts or terms, look them up. In real life, historians have the power of the Internet at their fingertips; so too do you on this exam. Further, there will be sections of this exam that assess your ability to collaborate in real-time over the web. This is an essential part of the real work of the 21st century historian and it is something in which you are going to demonstrate fluency.
Lastly, remember that history is as personal as it is public. Think hard about these questions before answering. Don’t just Google yourself into a panic. Use the resources of the Internet History Sourcebook, the BBC History site, National Geographic, the Met Museum, Nova, PBS, Infotrac, Grolier, Biography.com, the Internet Archive, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, and all of the resources we have used in class. Also remember to refer back to the Twitter lists we put together during review; they are full of good sources -- but beware the occasional not-so-good source: When using a source, ask yourself, “Would Your Teacher Use This Source?”
If you use a source, cite it by in-text citation and noting the source after your response with an APA citation in a mini-bibliography (even of there is only one source) -- this includes pics, maps, etc. Check here to review APA format: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Please post all of your answers onto your blog. For Google Maps, please embed them so that I can actually go into your map rather than just look at a screenshot. If you have any computer problems, let me know immediately and get on one of the Macs. Also, it is important to me that I see the breadth of your understanding as well as the depth of specific knowledge, so I will be keeping you to the timed format. I will offer up to a half-hour after the official exam time for anyone who wants to go back and edit or complete any sections from the exam to do so.
I trust you will all do your very best work and I looking forward to seeing the results.
1. What is History? Get together in groups of five. You will be having a five minute discussion on which way to understand history is best: Linear, Cyclic, Hegelian (thesis + antithesis = synthesis), or Vortex (history goes back and forth through high points and low points). Please create a public TodaysMeet room of your own for you discussion (you will need to come up with a name for your room). Please sign into the chat with your real name; I will be giving you credit based on: your contribution to the chat, the quality of sources you bring into the chat, the quality of your interaction asking and answering questions and dialogue within the chat, the historical and logical accuracy of your chatting, and the quality of your argument and evidence. When complete, post the link to the room on each of your blogs.
2. Agricultural Revolution. (appx 15 minutes) This is a three part question: 1) In a one paragraph brief constructed response, explain why the Agricultural Revolution was so important to the development of cities. 2) Create a Google Map showing where the Agricultural Revolution took place and tag the map with a label that explains why the geography of this place was so conducive to the production of stable agriculture. 3) Write a short (two to three paragraph) newspaper article describing a future where the agricultural system has collapsed; think about all of the things in society that would break down.
3. Egypt and Greece. (appx 10 minutes) In two or three paragraphs, compare and contrast the Egyptian and Greek views of the Afterlife. For Egypt, here is a copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead: http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/ and here is an excellent article on Greece that I expect you to cite: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm
4. Herodotus vs. Thucydides. (appx 10 minutes) Please look through the following archive of articles about 9/11: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/sept_11_2001/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=September%2011&st=cse and find one article that seems to approach the topic in the style of Herodotus and one article that approaches the topic in the style of Thucydides. In a two paragraph response, explain specifically why you chose the articles you did and be specific in explaining where you see the style of Herodotus or Thucydides in them. You may discuss via chat with classmates; but no two responses should be the same. I will be coming around during this section to answer questions and help out.
5. Rome. (appx 40 minutes) Please write a five paragraph academic essay on the following: “Is it fair to say the United States is the modern day equivalent of the Roman Empire?” Here’s the catch: You must look through http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/ and find three stories happening today in the world to back up your argument. Things to think about: Republic vs. Empire, the Bad Emperors and the Good Emperors (if you use these, be VERY specific and cite specific events from the lives of the emperors as accounted in Suetonius [see: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/suetonius-index.html]), the “Decline and Fall” of the Roman Empire, etc. In your essay, be sure to mention at least three specific examples from Ancient Rome and three specific examples from the newspapers. Cite properly.
6. The Third Crusade. (appx 20 minutes) This is a two part question. 1) Work with a partner to create a wiki (make a public wiki at wikispaces.com) promoting Richard’s Crusade. The wiki should have the feel of a political campaign, so you should come up with slogans based on historical writings from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1k.html#The Third Crusade and you should include visual material such as historically accurate flags, images, etc. Make sure the wiki is public and then put a link to it on your blog. 2) Then each of you will individually write a two-paragraph op-ed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op-ed) from the point-of-view of the Saladin about why the Crusades are unjustified and your vision of how the Jerusalem problem should be handled.
7. The Black Death. (appx 10 minutes) Three part question. Major source -- The Decameron: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/boccacio2.html 1) Explain how the Black Death started and what its spread meant for the people of Europe. 2) Imagine you are a Medieval physician. Describe exactly what the Black Death looks like, what it does to a victim, and what techniques you attempt as a physician to either stop it or relieve the sufferer from his or her pain. 3) In a paragraph or two, explain how you think people in contemporary America and people you know would respond if a plague on the scale of the Black Death were to occur.
8. Romanesque vs. Gothic (appx 5 minutes) Collect three images of Romanesque cathedrals and three images of Gothic cathedrals from Wikimedia Commons and, in a paragraph or two, explain how the architecture of each represent the differing theologies of the eras.
9. Renaissance. (appx 10 minutes) Who do you think best represents the ideal of the “Renaissance Man”: Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, or Shakespeare? In a two to three paragraph response, you will need to define what a “Renaissance Man” is and you will need to find at least three works of art or direct quotes from letters, poems, plays, etc. to support your claims.
10. Bringing it all Together (appx 5 minutes) Free response: Do you feel like you learned something this semester?