Ivan Braginski April 23rd 2012, 11:18 am
(Hey guys… sorry for posting so much in one page without anyone being here. I’m busy most of the day, and I have a lot to teach so… yea… just pretend you had already come in and got situated before he started teaching, okay? :3 Thanks) Also, I’m doing this mostly without the help of a history book, just my memory and a few reminders from the internet, so if I’m wrong, PLEASE tell me.
The sound of the school bell rang out in the halls, indicating the start of yet another new day. Ivan Braginski opened up the door to his History class and stepped in, carrying a large box in his arms.
“Privet and good morning!” The Russian greeted to the students in the room. He set the box down and began putting things on a fold-up table at the front of the room that he put there before hand.
On that table he placed; a small replica of hand-made reed house, a shabby old wooden wheel, two large stone tablets, and a clay tablet. Each of the tablets had different things carved and engraved on them.
“Alright, today we will be learning about the first civilizations. I would recommend you take notes on the things I write on the board in this session. There is a note-taking technique that I find very helpful which is much easier than just copying word-by-word. For example, if you turn to the first part of the first chapter you will find;” Ivan held up the book and began reading.
“Impressive civilizations arose in Central America, Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean, but the first Empires rose in Egypt, the Indus valley, and China. A few of the many things that arose from the rise of culture were Religion, art, trade, lawmaking, technology, and warfare.
Rivers were the cradles of civilization, giving life to the people and aiding the beginning of farming. Some of the most important rivers at the time were the Nile, the Yellow River, Mesopotamian River, and the Tigris and Euphrates. Now…” Ivan rose his head and scanned the students for a moment with his usual smile. “It would take a long time to write all that in notes, da? If you take the key words of the most important topics, then you will save yourself much more time. So for these paragraphs, we can write:”
With the book still propped up on one arm, the Soviet grabbed one of the dry-erase markers and began to write on the board as he spoke out loud;
Civilizations started in Central America, Africa, and eastern Mediterranean. The first Empires rose in Egypt, China, and the Indus valley. A few of the things that started was Religion, art, trade, warfare, lawmaking, and technology.
Rivers were the cradles of civilization. Some of the most important rivers were the Nile, Yellow, Mesopotamian, Tigris, and Euphrates rivers.
“You see how much time and space we saved?” The Russian asked cheerily.
“Just remember to NOT skip sections! Writing less does not mean learning less. Also, keep this tactic for note-taking ONLY. I don’t think Miss Kirkland would be too happy with me if her English students to begin writing like that in assignments. Now, then.. please turn to the next page and skim.” Ivan set his book down and moved to a clean section of the board before speaking again.
“Mesopotamia was one of the first civilizations, it lay in the country we now know as Iraq. Settlers there began to farm using hand-made “tools” because of the very rich soil. However, it wasn’t until 3,5000 B.C. that people began to come to Mesopotamia to settle. This increased the demand for crops, but they struggled with the blazing summer heat. So, people found ways to dig canals from the rivers to the crops, resulting in blossoming crop yields. So, what are our key points for notes here?” The Russian turned and began writing
Mesopotamia was one of the first civilizations where farming took place. When more people started to settle, farmers dug channels from rivers to crops.
“Now, Mesopotamia is called 'Land between Rivers.' According to your map on page three, can anyone tell me what two rivers the civilization was between?”
