Mr. Dorrough’s History Class

Well, I have counted the weeks that we have left in the school year and have decided that we will not have the symposium on the Crusades next week. It is unfortunate that we have run out of time. I think that some of you would really have enjoyed studying the Crusades. If you want more information about the Crusades check out the Wikipedia article. You should look up the Children’s Crusade in particular. This crusade was led by a Teenager and ended badly. We will begin Unit Six on Monday.

Unit Six covers the civilizations of The Americas. Basically we will be studying Mesoamerica. This unit will cover the civilizations that existed in Mexico and Central America before Columbus landed in the Americas. This includes the Incas, the Mayas, and the Aztecs.

Today we worked on a mapping activity. We created a detailed map about The Crusades. We are doing this in preparation for a symposium that we will be holding after spring break.

For our warm up we read 11.2 and 11.3.

For class work completed Items 1, 2, 3, and 4 on page 68 of our ISNs.

Today in class we played a game that simulated the wars fought to get control of the “Holy Land.”

During the Middle Ages there were many factions (or groups) fighting for the land we now call Israel and Palestine. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all held this area to be sacred. They particularly believed that Jerusalem was important. In fact, several wars were fought to control this Holy city. We call these wars The Crusades.

Jerusalem has several places that all three religions believe to be important. For Jews there is the last remaining wall of the Temple. In 70 ce The Romans destroyed the Holy Temple to God. This temple was built on the same ground as the Temple that King Solomon Built the original Temple. For Christians there is the Church of The Holy Sepulchre. This is a huge Church that covers the area where Jesus was crucified and the tomb where he was buried. For Muslims there is the Dome of The Rock. This is an important Mosque where the rock that Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac. It is also the place where Muhammad was brought by the winged horse during his Night Journey.

This area is still being fought over today.

What do you think about the game we played?