Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Oil Spill Your Reactions... Blog Post

Writ a blog response to  the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Remember to use your aliases and not your name.
Stewie


Videos for comtemplation...


Human Rights Booktalk

Human Rights Novel Booktalk Assignment
Presentation due date: May 18 start date... (yes I changed the date to accomodate our hectic schedule, initially students were presenting on May 14th)



During WWII, children of Jewish descent were forced to flee their homes to escape the Nazis. Families left most of their belongings behind, able to take with them only what they could carry in a small suitcase. There have been many instances in history, or even today, where people are forced to leave their home with only a few belongings.
 
Your Assignment: Create a suitcase or travel case (appropriate to the time and country) of things that represent the ideas or key events from your novel. You can use a collection of trinkets, pictures, or symbols to represent the key of the novel.

Example: Imagine you are reading the novel, The Hunger Games. If you were Katniss (the protagonist/main character) you would talk about your character and things that are important to you. You may pack a bow and arrow in your travel case because it represented you as a hunter, and ofcourse, the skills you developed using the bow and arrow, helped to provide food for your family... then eventually saved your life.
 
You might also pack a piece of bread or a bun to represent a very special person in your life, Peeta. (yes it sounds weird). Peeta was the boy also chosen  to represent your district, in the Hunger Games. You never really paid attention to him prior to the lottery. You never really noticed him, except for the time he gave you bread when you were starving. Peeta gave you three loaves of bread when you and your family were starving, even though it meant a beating from his mother.....
 
Get the idea...?? You need to get into the character and BECOME the character.

Explore the following novel elements:

1. Character (introduce not only yourself, the protagonist, but the other supporting characters that are important to the novel. Ex: antagonist.)

2. Setting (include a description of where and when your novel takes place, and how the setting impacts the novel, you could also include a map of the setting)


3. Problem (main conflict of the novel and internal or personal struggles. Explore the conflict with the antagonist.)

4. Solution (how did everything end up? How the plot "unravel"?)

5. Moral or theme of the novel - What is the main message? What is the main theme?

The travel case must also include items that represent your thoughts and feelings, and the values brought out in the novel.

Travel cases will be made in class, however, time will be needed to find the items to fill your travel cases.

How many items? at least 8... but less than 15.
The Presentation...
When you present, pretend you are the protagonist or main character. Talk about the key elements of the novel, as events from the book that happened to you. How would you react to other characters? How do you react to the problem? What are your feelings??  What do others think about you?

Come dressed in the role of your character with your travel case or travel bag filled with book related "trinkets" or momentos. Be authentic to your character and the time period of your book.Try to "get into your character". PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!! Make cue cards or notes to help you.

Feel free to create a backgrounnd via Powerpoint (e-mail to me at j.stewart-mitchell@rcs.sk.ca) so I can upload to the smart boart.) You can also use background music (please bring music on a memory stick or c.d. or embed in a powerpoint; as Youtube is very slow.

Presentation due date: May 18 start date...