Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Life after the Conquest

The arrival of the Spanish in the New World brought Christianity and the end of human sacrifice. Five million Indians were baptized in Mexico alone between 1524 and 1536.

It also brought a new system of management.  Haciendas originated from Spanish land grants, made mostly to conquistadors. Laborers, ordinarily Indians, were theoretically free wage earners on haciendas, but in practice their employers, who controlled the local governments, were able to keep them in a state of perpetual indebtedness

Napoleon's invasion of Spain (1807-1808) provided the spark the laborers needed, and while Spain was busy fighting, most of their former colonies declared themselves independent.

In class activities:
  • Learned about the hacienda/econmienda system of management
  • Discussed the Spanish practice of giving conquered tribes the choice of conversion or death, and thought about what God would say of it
  • Painted Spanish crosses
  • Reviewed Aztec, Incan, & Mayan cultures 
  • Chose one favorite culture and created a pin displaying the culture name and significant symbols
  • Played Conquistadors and Natives 
Assignment for next week:
  • Go through the notebooks and projects that you completed this year and choose your favorites to bring to presentation day!
  • Practice your timeline
Thank you for a fantastic year!

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Drama Period B - 4/1/14

This week we blocked the whole show on the stage!  Working out some details of the specific space was very important.
Next week we will need to have everyone with their costumes for a dress rehearsal.
Explorers:
pants and boots (no jeans please!)
any "fluffly" shirt
vest?
hat with a feather or plume?

Sailors:
pants (carpis?)
white or striped knit shirt
belt and sword or dagger (play of course!)
vest?
knit hat?

Revere and Slave:
pants and "riding" boots
button shirt
vest
colonial hat?

Soldiers:
ragged pants
knit or button shirts (torn?)
no shoes or wrapped feet
knit cap and gloves?

Generals/Jefferson:
dress pants
button down or "fluffy" shirt
boots
belt

Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea:
leather? or khaki pants
shirt
leather or "fur" vest

Settlers:
boys, overalls or pants and plain shirt, vest or jacket, bucket or satchel
girls, skirt and plain shirt or dress (plain) headscarf, shawl, or apron

We are also looking for...
tri cornered hats
small stools or "sitting" logs
stick horses (2)
swords/daggers (plastic)
rifles (plastic)
scrolls



Drama Period A - 4/1/14

This week's viewing part was a fun and successful time together!  The hard work the last few weeks really showed up on the screen, thank you to all the kids and all the parents who have been pulling together to make this all happen!!
Each group will receive an email from me to review any edits that we discussed in class.  Please have these taken care of and brought into class for Tuesday!

Mythic Lands

Not all of the efforts of the Conquistadors were successful.  In 1513 Ponce de Leon scoured Florida in search of the legendary Fountain of Youth, taking possession of the land for Spain.  Many years later De Leon returned to plant a colony.  This angered the natives who wounded him severely.  Unfortunately, the Fountain was never found, and De Leon died of his injuries after much suffering.  
Similar to the Fountain of Youth story, the El Dorado myth of a city of gold enticed European explorers including Sir Walter Raleigh, who had just failed to establish an English colony in Virginia. To gain a rich kingdom for his Queen, to extend her power and enrich her treasury was now his greatest object in life.  He found amazing wonders,  faced extreme challenges, and made a map of where he thought El Dorado was, but Raleigh brought back no gold.  His schemes for a conquest of this land were received coldly by the Queen.

In class activities:
  • Finished building our Aztec displays
  • Learned about the failed efforts of the conquistadors t
  • Searched for own El Dorado following false clues 
  • Added to our history notebooks
  • Drew our ideas of what El Dorado would look like
Optional lesson extension activities

No assignment