End of Year
Project
By Rachel Reyes
History, Period 3
June 4, 2012
The Fall Of Rome
 The
Roman
citizens could
vote for their
leader.
 They also had
many
achievements
like bridges
and roads.
This picture shows the major achievements of Rome. All of the achievements in the picture like roads, bridges
and voting are used later. They are changed slightly but are all used today. The roads we use today are paved
instead of just dirt. We use bridges and some of the same structures for holding them up. For voting today, men
and women can vote, instead of just men. Eventually, Rome fell because they had too much land that they
could not protect. There was a major decline morals and values, money was spent to freely on mercenaries,
and the barbarians were attacking. However, their achievements are still very prominent, helpful, and
important. Out of all the Roman’s new ideas, their voting was the best. All citizens could vote and hold offices.
However, they also had to serve in the army when needed and pay taxes. Even though only men could be
citizens, it laid a good foundation for future countries.
The Middle Ages
 Even
though the
Middle Ages has may
great achievements,
the best is the Magna
Carta.
 The Magna Carta
protected the people
from the king and
parts are still used
today.
The Middle Ages has many great achievements. However, the greatest is the Magna Carta. The Magna
Carta was a series of written documents about how the king would govern England’s people according to
the customs of feudal law. The king had to follow his own rules he made, a key factor in the Magna Carta.
Another important rule is still used today and is called habeas corpus. This makes the government, or the
king, not be able to put someone in jail just because of unjust reasons. The Magna Carta was made by the
barons because King John was abusing other people through his power and leaving the people of England
to suffer. He almost lost all the English land in the French territories, made people who owned land pay extra
taxes, and got into fights with the Pope about who would control the Catholic Church. The Magna Carta
saved many people from the absence of King John and has made a significant impact on the world today.
China



The Great Wall of
China was made to
keep Mongol invaders
out of China.
It was started by
Emperor Qin.
The flags represent
the three different
doctrines
Confucianism,
Buddhism, and
Taoism.
The Great Wall of China is a fantastic achievement. It was made to keep Mogul invaders out of China. Emperor Qin
built it to protect his people from them coming from the north. He put peasants and anyone who was irritating to
him like captured enemies, criminals, and scholars on the job of building the Great Wall. They were not paid for their
hard work with near death experiences or in lots of cases, death. Rocks fell on people, walls caved in, and deaths
from exhaustion and disease were common. The slaves were only given enough food to keep them alive. The work
conditions were horrible. Even after Emperor Qin died, the project continued. It continued for many hundreds of
years until the wall was more than 3700 miles long. Most of the emperors used the same slave labor techniques. The
flags on the Great Wall represent the three different doctrines Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
The Rise of Islam
 The
five pillars are
followed by both
groups, Sunni and
Shia
 They were
guidelines for the
Islam religion and
a sign of
commitment in the
Qur’an.
This is a picture of someone praying in front of the five pillars of faith. Each pillar has a different meaning.
Haji means going to Mecca once in your lifetime. Zakah is giving donations to the poor. Shahada is the
Islamic creed. Salah is the daily prayers five times a day. Sawm is fasting during Ramadan. These are
represented as guidelines for worship and a sign of commitment in the Qur’an. Both groups of Islam, Sunni
and Shia, follow the five pillars. The only major difference is the way the two groups choose their leader. The
Sunni group, which has far more people than Shia, decides their leader by electing them from people who
are capable of the job. The Shia group however, believes that the leadership should stay within the
prophet’s family.
Japan
 This
picture shows the
golden age of Japan.
 Nobles at the time
enjoyed visual arts,
airy buildings,
gardens, and ponds.
This picture shows the golden age of Japan. The golden age of Japan was from 794-1185. Nobles wore elaborate
silk robes and gold jewelry. Noble women wrote many of the early greatest works of literature. Lady Murasaki Shikibu
wrote The Tale of Genji around 1000 A.D. In The Tale of Genji Lady Murasaki Shikibu mentions food being prepared
and severed as an art. Today, we have cooking shows that originated from Japan. Nobles liked the visual arts and
painted with bright colors. Many artists painted on walls and furniture as opposed to paper. People enjoyed
calligraphy a type of decorative writing. Nobles also liked poetry and one type, Haiku, is still greatly appreciated
today. Nobles wanted to make their buildings beautiful. They had the wooden frames curved slightly upward at
the ends. Nobles liked airy designs surrounded with elegant gardens and ponds. These gardens are still popular in
Japan. People gathered to watch performances by musicians, jugglers, and acrobats. These performances were
wild and in some plays actors mimicked other people. In the 1300’s Noh was created. Noh are plays that mix music,
speaking and dance together. These types of plays often told about great heroes or figures from Japan’s past. In
conclusion, nobles cared about beauty in everything and enjoyed the visual arts, writing, fashion, and architecture.
The Renaissance



This picture is a
version of Leonardo
da Vinci’s workshop.
The Renaissance
was a rebirth for
many cites after the
Black death.
Many important
people like
Leonardo Da Vinci
supported
humanism and
helped develop new
ideas.
This picture is a version of Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop. He was a true Renaissance man. Upholding that title,
he has many books, many inventions, and all the greatest plays like Romeo and Juliet. He had many jobs in his
lifetime. Here are all his jobs; painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor,
anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and a writer. Some of these jobs have confusing names. A
cartographer is someone who makes maps. A botanist is someone who studies plants. His writings contributed
to the Renaissance idea of humanism. Humanism is the study of humanities which led to a new way of thinking
and learning. The Renaissance was just 50 years after the Black Death. Many cities changed greatly into a
place known for its beauty, art, and learning.
The Reformation


Martin Luther started
the Reformation of the
Catholic Church
because he did not like
indulgences and having
to follow the traditions
of the Catholic Church.
There was a war that
lasted 30 years and
ended with the Treaty
of Westphalia where
countries would decide
whether they were
Catholic or Protestant.
This picture is of people rebelling against the Catholic Church. Martin Luther Was the main driving force.
He kept trying and did not want to give up. He wanted the church to see he was right. He did not want
people to pay for indulgences. Instead he thought that if you believed in the Bible you would be saved.
He wrote the 95 theses and put them on display on a church door in Germany. People wanted to stop
the church from breaking apart. But with their different opinions, it was hard for them to change. Both the
church and Luther would not change their ideas and continued thinking they were right. Many groups
tried to teach about Catholic ideas and stop the Reformation from separating. Eventually there was the
Thirty Year’s War with an ending of an agreement. This was called the Treaty of Westphalia and countries
could determine if they were Catholic or Protestant.
The Scientific Revolution
 The
magnifying
glass represents
the first
microscope.
 The spheres
behind it is planets,
representing the
new found
knowledge in
astronomy.
For this picture, the magnifying glass is representing the first microscope. They both use lens to magnify
objects. The spheres behind the magnifying glass represent planets. Both the microscope and the
studying of the planets and our solar system were very important achievements. A Polish astronomer,
Nicolas Copernicus, wrote a book that marked the beginning of the scientific revolution. Other people
made major contributions to astronomy such as Tycho Brahe’s detailed records of the stars, Johannes
Kepler who discovered the planets orbit in ovals, Galileo Galilei was the first person to study the sky with
a telescope, and Sir Isaac Newton made three vitally important laws in addition to inventing a type of
math called calculus. Around 1590 Zacharias Janssen invented a simple microscope. About ten years
later the first person how used a microscope was Antioni van Leeuwenhoek by looking at a drop of
pond water. With this he could see tiny plants and animals.
Aztec, Inca, Maya



The green face
figurine is from the
Mayan culture,
originally made out of
jade, which in some
places they mined for.
The golden bird is from
the Inca culture and
represents the
expansion of their
territory.
The blue mask is
ceremonial to the
Aztecs.
This picture shows different models and masks. The first drawing is a green face. This was a jade figure from
the Mayan culture. Jade was mined in an area that was very mountains. The jade was traded to people in
the lowlands. It was found in the bottom land of the Yucatán Peninsula, the peninsula were the Mayans
lived. The second drawing of a figurine of a golden bird represents the Inca’s empire expanding. In the mid1400s a ruler, Pachacuti wanted the Inca’s territory to expand. He gained territory through either fighting his
way to victory or agreements. He also made the capital at Cuzco be rebuilt and established the Inca’s an
official religion. It is no wonder Pachacuti’s name means “he who remakes the world.” For the last drawing,
it is a representation of a mask made by the Aztecs. The mask was ceremonial and represented the god
Quetzalcoatl. The mask was made of turquoise, shell, and wood.
Citations




Fall of Rome- Martin, P. (N/A). rome.mrdonn.org.
Retrieved from http://rome.mrdonn.org/fall.html
The Middle Ages- Carr, Karen. "magnacarta,"
Kidipede - History for Kids. 2012.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/govern
ment/magnacarta.htm
China- Vovkav. (2011, November 16). Wikipedia.
Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China
The Rise of Islam- Burstein, S. B., & Shek, R. S. (2006).
World history: Medieval to modern times. Retrieved
from
http://my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=003042
1594
Citations





Japan- Burstein, S. B., & Shek, R. S. (2006). World history: Medieval
to modern times. Retrieved from
http://my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=0030421594
The Renaissance- Wikipedia.org. (2011, November 27). Retrieved
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci
The Reformation- Burstein, S. B., & Shek, R. S. (2006). World history:
Medieval to modern times. Retrieved from
http://my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=0030421594
The Scientific Revolution- Burstein, S. B., & Shek, R. S. (2006). World
history: Medieval to modern times. Retrieved from
http://my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=0030421594
Aztec, Inca, Maya- Burstein, S. B., & Shek, R. S. (2006). World
history: Medieval to modern times. Retrieved from
http://my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=0030421594