Project Reflection

Ben
Project Reflection

The Renaissance Ball Project Reflection

Project Title: The Renaissance Ball Project
Class: A Dates: 6/5/08
Purpose:
In this project we were supposed to learn about the Renaissance time period and the people during the time. We had to research the different origins, accomplishments, and historical impact from the Renaissance. One of the things we did was learn about the city of Florence, since it was one of the most popular cities during the time. Some of the people we learned about were Dante Alighieri, Leonardo d Vinci, Michelangelo, and Galileo, along with the specific person each one of us picked to take the role of.
In order to enhance our learning of the Renaissance, we all took up a role of a famous person of that time. We had to write a (auto) biography or a series of diary entries about the person. At the end of the project, we had a ball and dressed up as our figure. We also learned a dance before hand to perform at the ball.
What I Learned:
In this project, I learned about the geographical location of where the Renaissance was, which was in the Europe area. I also learned that Renaissance means “re-birth” in French. One of the major things that happened during the Renaissance was the Black Death which traveled through Europe on rats. The Black Death was very important because there was no cure, and those who were infected with it suffered. Most of the results from having the disease were death. I learned that the Black Death was carried by fleas that traveled on rats, and those rats went on wagons and ships that traded with other regions. Because of this, it traveled quickly, and killed many.
What I learned about my Renaissance person, Johannes Kepler, was that he was the scientist who discovered that the planets revolve around the Earth in an ellipse rotation instead of a perfect circle, which was thought at the time. He was the first to discover and prove that you needed both eyes for depth perception, and he was also the first to explain how a telescope works. Along as making scientific discoveries, he proclaimed that Jesus was born five years before most people thought, and in result, was kicked out of his church. But to this day, we agree with Kepler.
Reflection:
I did not particularly like this project because there was a lot of research, and not much hands on activities, unless you include the computer. Another reason was that I couldn’t find much information on my person, so that made it a bit harder. I think another one of my challenges was the new seating places, and I was constantly getting distracted and not doing work.
I think I could’ve done better on this project because my biography was barely three pages long, and it took me the entire time. I think that I could make it better by researching and taking notes earlier on, so I didn’t have to go back and look for more information. Since I am usually a quick worker, I was expecting to do more than one extension options, ended up doing none.
If I got to do this project again, I would definitely try to be more efficient in working, and move to a different place so that I wouldn’t get as distracted. I would also try and do more extension options for more points. The last thing I would change would be picking a person and staying with them, because I kept changing my person and wasted a day because of it.
Artifacts:
I can put my biography on my Dp, and this reflection.