Renaissance Action Figures

The Ed-U-Fun Group is designing a line of Renaissance action figures to sell to history teachers and students.  They already have a William Shakespeare doll test figure designed.

You have been hired to design an action figure and write a biography for the package.

Select one Renaissance figure (person) from the list below.  Research the life of that person.  The Ed-U-Fun Group wants you to design and present the following items:

• An action figure.  The figure must include two items it can hold, one in each hand. These must be detachable.  
• A 250 word biography of the figure that will go on the back of the packaging.  This biography must fit on one side of one piece of paper and should include these things:
• A brief passage about the overall life of the figure-- childhood, major events in their life, achievements.  This should be appropriate for 11 to 14-year-old students. Keep it interesting.
• An explanation of the two items. This may be a bullet list, but should be written in an interesting way. 
• A summary of why the figure is important in history and how he or she contributed to the Renaissance and/or the world. 
• The year of your figures birth and death and their birthplace.
• A portrait of the figure.
• At least one good quote from your figure; something important or impressive your figure said or wrote. Put this at the bottom of your paper.

Begin your project by selecting a figure from the list below.  Let Mr. Chester know whom you have selected.  The Ed-U-Group wants to see as many Renaissance figure designs as possible.

You will have  this week to type up your paper, create your action figure and prepare your presentation for Tuesday, June 11.   If you're not going to be in class on that day, make arrangements with Mr. Chester to present your action figure early.

Speeches must be memorized this time and should last about 60 seconds.  Your action figure and the accessories will be your visuals.

Possible Renaissance figures

List A

• Leonardo da Vinci         Anthony       Shaun    Roxy
• Michelangelo               Bryce     Sullivan    Riley
• Galileo Galilei           Christian   Bryan     Luis C. 
• Nicolaus Copernicus     Nic          ------     Maya
• Isabella I of Spain           Megan    Olivia      Iris
• Elizabeth I of England    Connie   Gracie      Valentina
• Christopher Columbus      Jefry     Fernanda    Sam
• Martin Luther                ------          Dylan          Gabe
• King Henry VIII          Martin        --------
• Vasco da Gama           Fernando    -------
• Ferdinand Magellan    Desani       Logan    Owen
• Hernan Cortes              Juan         David
• Titian                           Isaac        Titian
• Albrecht Durer            ----------    Isaiah
• Andreas Vesalius         ----------    Serbie    Wally
• William Shakespeare        Sola    Kian        Josie
• Miguel Cervantes          Nilson    ----------    Jose

List B

• Catherine de Medici        Ella       ----------     Gabby
• Dante Alighieri                -------  Juleyda          Frankie
• Filippo Brunelleschi        ---------  Leisman     Alex
• Sandro Boticelli               -------     --------
• Machiavelli                   ---------      ---------
• Sir Walter Raliegh          ----------   Piper
• Anne Bolyn            Sofia              Jessica      Amelia
• Francisco Pizarro     Betsabe         --------
• Henry Hudson          Ben               ---------
• Johannes Kepler          Liam          ---------
• Johannes Gutenberg       -----------  ----------
• Marco Polo                Isiah           Joe          Logan

List C

• Donatello                         Bhargav   Cesar    Miguel
• Girolamo Cardano          ---------      --------
• Lorenzo de Medici          ----------  ---------
• Queen Mary of England       Sabine    Priscilla    Hailey
• Prince Henry the Navigator      -------  ---------
• Pedro Cabral                         -------       Eddie     Will
• Giovanni da Verrazano          Casey     ---------
• Antoine van Leeuwenhoek       --------  --------
• Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit       ---------   Jackie
• Artemisia Gentileschi              -------    ------------
• Isabella d'Este                Ada              -------------     Daniela
• Lucretia Borgia           ----------          -------------   Jade
• Ben Jonson               --------        Amari    Ben 
• Elisabetti Sirani       Kaylin            ------------       Audrey
• Raphael (Sanzio)    Sammy          Hegel       Jimmy
• Petrus Apianus        Siena         ----------------   Christopher

List D

• Other people you can suggest

Grades will be based on three things: Your speech, your written paper, your action figure.  Each will be work 1/3 of your overall grade.  

This is an  80% assignment.

Which Greaser Are You?

   

Which Greaser are you?

Complete this assignment in your  English journal.  Be sure to  write the question at the top of the page and on  your table of contents. 

1.  Before you take the quiz, review your Outsiders packet and decide which  Greaser is most like you.  Write your choice in a complete sentence.  Then write one reason why you would pick that character.

2.  Take the quiz over at Penguin Teen.  Write the result.  You can take the quiz a second time, but you'll need to write about the first result you got, whatever that was.

3. Do you agree with the result?  Why?  Describe some things you have in common with that character and a few important things about that character that are different from you.  This should be a short paragraph.  Three to five sentences.

Did Moctezuma have a zoo? Essay outline

BE SURE TO QUOTE THE DOCUMENTS!

Scroll down to find links to the documents cited in your packet

BE SURE TO USE THE ANSWERS YOU WROTE IN  YOUR PACKET!

They will help you with your essays. Pay close attention to the source information and how reliable each source is.

Essay outline

Paragraph One -- Introduction

• Hook
• Question: Did Moctezuma have a zoo?
• Explain why this question matters.  Review the blog post to read why this question matters.
• Thesis statement.  It's better to write your own, but you may use this one:
• The evidence suggests Moctezuma had a zoo more advanced than anything Cortez and the Europeans with him had ever seen.

Paragraph Two -- Body

• Introduce the document.  Use document A, B, or C.
• Explain its value as a source.  Use the answers you wrote in your packet to help with this and the source information.
• Explain how this document corroborates (supports) the existence of Moctezuma's zoo.
• Be sure to include a quote from the document that supports the existence of Moctezuma's zoo.

Paragraph Three -- Body

• Introduce the document.  Use document A, B, or C.
• Explain its value as a source.  Use the answers you wrote in your packet to help with this and the source information.
• Explain how this document corroborates (supports) the existence of Moctezuma's zoo.
• Be sure to include a quote from the document that supports the existence of Moctezuma's zoo.

Paragraph Four -- Conclusion

• Review the evidence you discussed 
• Revisit the question and why it matters
• Final thought to sum it all up.

This essay is due on Wednesday, May 15.  It should be typed, printed and stapled to your packet.

This is an 80% assignment.

Do Now! Tenochitlan

Below is an image of the mural Mexican artist Diego Rivera painted for the Palacio Nacional de México in 1945.  His mural was based on  what historians of his time knew about the Aztec capital city.  This mural shows the marketplace in Tenochitlan

Click on this link to go to the zoomable version at Wikimedia Commons.  Make a list of five to ten things you can see people trading in the market. Then select one or more to sketch in your journal.  Put your list and your sketch on the same page.   To conserve pages, use the first available blank space. A half of a page, maybe even less, will work.

Did Moctezuma Have a Zoo?

Visit this blog post.  Read it over and then answer the questions about it in your packet.

Next take a look at a few pages from the Florentine Codex and then complete the questions in your packet about it

Then, use this zoomable map of Tenochtitlan, or the map in your Aztec File, to answer some questions.

Finally, take a look at Cortes letter to Emperor Charles V of Spain in the original text and in translation to answer questions about what he says he saw in Tenochtitlan.  Start with the last paragraph on pg. 265. The details continue on the next two pages.

Now you are ready to answer the question citing evidence from the documents to support your position.

Write your name in Mayan glyphs

To write your name in Mayan glyphs read the directions at this link.

First write out your name and break it into syllables. Mine goes like this:

Mis-ter Ches-ter

Use the charts at the link to find the best way to write your name. If your name uses a syllable that does not exist in Mayan, use one that is close to it or simply leave it out.  You may do your first or your last name or both.

Write your name in Mayan glyphs on the stela you started in your Exploration of the Americas journal last time.