Quarter(s): 3,4

Day(s): Thu

Open Spots: 3

This class will use an interactive role-playing game (RPG) to immerse students in Medieval History. Students will be assigned land and titles to create a mock feudal system in which students collaborate and compete with classmates to better understand medieval society. By chance or choice, will they amass armies, capture castles, take titles, and repel rivals, or fail and fade into the pages of history? This semester continues where the Norman Conquests of the late 11th century left off, focusing instead on the campaign of the Latin Europeans to retake and hold Jerusalem "for Christendom." The Byzantine Empire had long ago lost control of the holy city of Jerusalem, forcing European pilgrims to undertake a dangerous journey through hostile lands. Continued defeat against the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia left Emperor Alexios unable to recruit and raise new troops, thus mercenaries were increasingly the core of the Byzantine army. To remedy this, Alexios asked Pope Urban II to send military aid in the spirit of "Christian cooperation" and for the protection of pilgrims to the Holy Land. What Alexios got was not an elite, well organized, or loyal army, but a rabble ranging from self-interested knights to an actual mob led by a strange hermit named Peter, and a shockingly large number of juveniles in the "Children's Crusade." It turns out that Pope Urban II was not interested in cooperation as much as he sought to establish himself as the most powerful man in Europe with a unified "holy army." Instead, he got powerful nobles seeking fame and fortune abroad; knights hoping to have their sins absolved; some who wanted only to fight; and tens of thousands of untrained peasants just along for the trip. The class will follow these Crusaders, with a myriad of motivations, most of whom hoped to claim personal fiefdoms in a strange new land.. or else die trying. Students will examine case studies taken from primary source documents in art and literature to learn how warfare, architecture, politics, law, and religion interplay to create the history of the world. They will build on this base of knowledge to continue the study of English history in future semesters. In this semester's RPG, students will be assigned a medieval estate and awarded noble titles but some will be Saxon, French, Italian, German, or Silico-Normans (Normans from Sicily). Students will develop their own coat of arms. Each will begin with similar wealth, populations, knights, and land, and wait to see how their fates unfold each week in a custom game described as a complicated, semester-long game of Risk or Medieval Axis & Allies. Topics in this Series: Rise of Norman Power (Semester 1), Crusades and Conquests (Semester 2). Students continuing from first semester receive priority pre-registration for second semester. Prerequisites: None Workload: Students should expect to spend 1-2 hours per week outside of class on readings. Assignments: Reading assignments will be assigned in class and noted in the weekly e-mail. Assessments: Short, open note in-class quizzes will be given, and students will have a semester project. What to Bring: Paper or notebook; pen or pencil; assigned articles. Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in world history for purposes of a high school transcript.

Quarter(s): 3

Day(s): Thu

Open Spots: 1

The best way to understand a biome is to build (a model) one! A biome is a large zone on Earth characterized by its climate, soil, vegetation, and organisms with special adaptations for the unique environment. In modeling biomes, students will learn how they are different than similar ecological concepts like habitats and ecosystems. Students will discover how human activities, such as deforestation and habitat destruction, are transforming biomes. In this science-themed diorama class, students will be exposed to concepts such as trophic levels, the water cycle, biological competition, geographic isolation, convergent evolution, species diversification, natural vs unnatural climate change, food webs, habitat loss, and ecological niches, while they are working on their models. Coral reefs are vibrant marine ecosystems found off coasts in warm, clear, shallow water. These underwater formations are formed by the accumulation of calcium carbonate skeletons produced by corals. Coral reefs provide habitats for an array of marine life, including colorful fish, sea stars, anemones, and larger predators like sharks and rays. The intricate reef structure offers shelter, breeding grounds, and feeding for countless ocean species. Each student will create an individual diorama. Students will craft and hand-shape their scene on a 10 x 14 inch foam board using artistic, model-making techniques. They will customize their dioramas with landforms, waterways, plant life, and paint. Once individual projects are constructed, students will populate them with miniature figures and combine their dioramas alongside those of their classmates to create a larger terrain. Students will then compete in a zoology-based survival strategy game. Each student will create one board and receive a set of miniatures to take home with them. Course documents such as maps, game rules and all other instructional media will be available via a Google Drive link which will be emailed to parents. There is a $25.00 materials fee payable to the instructor on the first day of class. Topics in this series include: Mangrove Swamps (Quarter 1), Marshlands (Quarter 2), Coral Reefs (Quarter 3) and Deep Sea Trenches (Quarter 4).

Quarter(s): 3

Day(s): Thu

Open Spots: 3

Why did US states take sides and fight a bloody war, brother against brother? How did the country reunite and rebuild? What changes did the telephone, electrification, and the first automobiles bring to daily life? In this class, students will learn about American History through graphic novels. Kids will not realize they are absorbing factual information and learning about history through the entertaining, illustrated, short-form novels. Through colorful, dramatic graphics and an approachable conversational tone, graphic novels show kids that history can be thrilling! Each quarter will begin with an overview of the graphic novel genre including vocabulary unique to the illustrations and format (panels, speech bubbles, etc.) by looking at several other examples of graphic novels. Each week, students will read a portion of a graphic novel at home from the Saddleback Educational Publishing Graphic, US History Series. In class, the novels and historical content, key historical characters, and events will be discussed. Extension activities will be incorporated such as reading, listening, or watching excerpts of other accounts of the same historical events. Students will think they are talking about cool, comic-style books, but the facilitated class discussion will lay the groupwork for an understanding of US History, chronology, and critical thinking skills. Third quarter will cover the build-up and aftermath of America's War Between the States with The Civil War (1850-1876), The Industrial Era (1865-1915), and America Becomes a World Power (1890-1930). Students are expected to read approximately one half of one graphic history novel (25-30 pages) per week which they may read individually or read aloud with their families. These novels are generally considered at an ages 8-12 reading level. Build a graphic history library. Collect all 12 (3 per quarter)! Because students will need the same editions of all three graphic novels to be able to refer to the passages on the same page numbers, class sets of the graphic novels will be purchased for students. A supply fee of $48.00 will be due payable to Compass on or before the first day of class for three novels. Topics in this series include: The American Revolution (Quarter 1); Westward Ho! (Early 19th Century) (Quarter 2); The Civil War (Quarter 3); and The 20th Century (Quarter 4)