Day 11 - The Mandate of Heaven

Tuesday Recap
Today's Knowledge Check quiz looked a little better.  Keep working everyday to get better at the reading and note taking.  As I reemphasized today in class, this is not a primarily lecture driven class with the content delivered each day in class.  There is just too much to cover in way too little time.  There will be lectures but they will cover a small percentage of the required content.  You must become proficient at acquiring the content through the readings.

I touched on the idea of periodization today.  This is an important concept in the study of history, in that it helps us compartmentalize the vast amounts of content into more easily digestible chunks.

With the Labor Day holiday yesterday, we missed out on our Writing Workshop.  To make up for that - at least a little - I gave you all the Power Words for Writing handout.  Don't lose it! These words take us down the road of lifting the level of writing we produce.  Use the list every time you write an essay.  The words will become part of your expanding vocabulary.

Finally, we started to dip into document five in our reader - The Mandate of Heaven.  We will continue to work through the Questions for Analysis tomorrow, and spend a little time discussing as a class.  For a short but informative video on the Mandate, click here. 

Tonight for Homework
Based on today's knowledge check, do you feel as though you should spend more time in the first half of the chapter?  If so, it will be worth the extra time.

I also need you to finish the reading for chapter two - Nubia and the Americas.  Don't skip over the section entitled Comparative Perspectives.