Stay Gold

Important dates this week

Wednesday Jan. 29

Banned book argument due

Thursday Jan. 30

Middle East map test

3 CVS levels mastered

Friday Jan. 31

Judaism menu due

Judaism Menu/Middle East map test

On the horizon:

Menu projects will be introduced today and tomorrow. You have next week to work on this in class. Due date is JANUARY 31st

Middle East map test will be Thursday JANUARY 30th. You are responsible for all the countries. If you do poorly, you may submit a retake form and try again. Use lizardpoint.com to study. 

Menu:

EXPLORING JUDAISM

Directions:  Using the learning targets and provided list of assessment choices, demonstrate an understanding of:

1. The story of how the first monotheistic religion, Judaism, began and grew  
2. The religious text, holy city, places of worship, symbols, founders, followers and rules to live by
3. The role that David, Moses and Abraham played

Menu Choice	Description
Comic Strip	Create a comic strip that includes each of the Judaism Learning Targets.
Front page of newspaper	Create a newspaper page that teaches readers about Judaism. Include the following: 1.  Title of your Newspaper 2.  A Leading headline and story concerning Judaism. 3.  A second story about a different key concept of Judaism. 4.   Create an Advertisement about Judaism and sell it! 5.  Include a captivating or unique fact about Judaism. Be sure to include brief summaries that demonstrate your knowledge of the Learning Targets.
Song or Rap	Write and perform a song or rap that explains the Judaism Learning Targets.
Interview	Interview David, Moses, or Abraham about the creation of Judaism and explain the learning targets through your questions and answers. Type your interview up in Question/Answer format.
Video (film, documentary, music video, movie trailer)	Create some form of a Video that demonstrates the Judaism Learning Targets.

Rubric

Name: Period:

Task
Describes Judaism: Origins Significance	__________/5 __________/5
Explains the significance of:                 Abraham Moses David ...in the development of the Jewish religion.	__________/5 __________/5 __________/5
Presentation follows MENU Choice description details.	__________/40
Includes the following: Religious Text Holy City Places of Worship Symbols Founders Followers Rules To Live By	____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5	Out of 100 Total Points _________/100

Banned Books

Did you know The Giver has been challenged and even banned in some school districts? Why? Read the posts below to get a better idea of why some people say this book is not appropriate to read in school.

Assignment: Write an argument on whether this book should be banned. Use evidence

from the text to support your response.

INTERESTING DETAILS:

Natalie Babbitt of the Washington Post was more forgiving, calling Lowry's work "a warning in narrative form", saying:

The story has been told before in a variety of forms—Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 comes to mind—but not, to my knowledge, for children. It's well worth telling, especially by a writer of Lowry's great skill. If it is exceedingly fragile—if, in other words, some situations do not survive that well-known suspension of disbelief—well, so be it. The Giver has things to say that cannot be said too often, and I hope there will be many, many young people who will be willing to listen

Lois Lowry’s response: “I think banning books is a very, very dangerous thing. It takes away an important freedom. Any time there is an attempt to ban a book, you should fight it as hard as you can. It’s okay for a parent to say, ‘I don’t want my child to read this book.’ But it is not okay for anyone to try to make that decision for other people. The world portrayed in The Giver is a world where choice has been taken away. It is a frightening world. Let’s work hard to keep it from truly happening.” (Source: Lois Lowry’s Web site)

• 2001- Banned for violence, “occult themes”, and sexually explicit material.
• 2005- Challenged in Blue Springs, Missouri, when parents called the book “lewd” and “twisted.” They demanded the work be removed from 8th-grade reading lists across the district.
• 2006- Challenged, and later retained, at the Unified School District Elementary School in Seaman, Kansas.
• 2007- Parents in the Mt. Diablo School District in Concord, California, were offended by descriptions of pill-popping, suicide, and lethal injections given to babies and the elderly.
• 2008-Appalled by the descriptions of adolescent pill-popping, suicide, and lethal injections given to babies and the elderly, two parents demanded that the Mt. Diablo School District headquartered in Concord (CA) eliminate the controversial but award-winning book from the school reading lists and libraries.

The topics in Lois Lowry's The Giver have created controversy in libraries and classrooms across the country since it was first published in 1993. Parent opposition to the book's treatment of suicide and euthanasia helped it reach No. 11 on the American Library Association's list of most challenged books of the 1990s. The Newbery Medal winner was No. 10 on the last year's list, which was headed by Harry Potter. Lowry's book has been challenged in schools in at least five states since 1999, sometimes more than once. Supporters say the story of a 12-year-old boy named Jonas, who decides to escape after being allowed to see the price people pay for living in a world without war or pain, spurs students to think about important social issues and form their own opinions.

Should The Giver be banned?

WHY? Think about theme here. What message is the author trying to convey? Why would this information hurt society? Why would people want to stop the message?

PROVE IT Show me the evidence! Support your claim with examples from the book. If you are for banning the book, give reasons why and what effect they would have on society. If you think this book needs to be read, do the same thing. Give evidence of important messages found in the text.

THE POINT? Why are books banned? What are people hiding from? What is achieved if a book is forbidden? How does censorship even help? Or does it make things worse?

Theme Timeline/Due dates for recent work

due dates:

Thurs 1/23

haikus for The Giver

theme sketch notes

Judaism notes

theme timeline

important people chart (in Judaism edmodo folder)

la: theme timeline info:

ss:
Can you answer this question: How do people use religion to guide them in their lives?

We will be looking at how Judaism grew and expanded and form ideas that will help answer the question above. 
*Folder work is due Thursday, please see me with questions. 

Lookin' Good!

Found Poetry from The Giver

Sketchnotes on Theme

Comic Strip Summaries

Judaism + New Country Map

SS

Check edmodo for the Judaism folder. In this folder you will find the assigned reading, notes, and other assignments. 

Please read sections 11.1 through 11.3
You may choose to use the note format I added or do your own *remember you are responsible for the info

New map!
Please hop onto Lizard Point and start practicing the middle east map. 

Sketchnote/Theme

LA

warm up:

the nitty gritty:

using sketchnote style writing, we will be looking at the theme (what it is, how to find it, why it is important, ect). 

Posted in edmodo is a folder of links and examples of theme and sketchnotes. Use this information to help you design your notes. 

Example from Sketchnote Handbook

Can You Answer This?

SS
Warm up:
have a listen!
The Week in Rap from Flocabulary
As you listen make a list of words that jump out to you. We will use your list for a writing activity. 

Classwork:
What do you want to be remembered for?
log into Subtext and read the Time article I posted. As you read look for the flamingo lady- I have posted questions and quotes throughout the article. The orange and pink highlights have assignments linked in, make sure you see them.

Welcome Back!

LA

WINTER BREAK HAIKU-ATHON
write two haikus about your winter break
remember haikus need to be in the following format
5 syllables
7 syllables
5 syllables

But wait! That was just a warm up. When you finish, grab a copy of The Giver and create 4-6 haikus that summarize the book so far (chapters 1-12ish)

*We will go over how to do all of this in class. Just relax. 

SS

Happy 2014!

I want you to start the new year by reflecting on 2013. What worked? What didn’t? Please write a letter to me that answers all the questions below.

Write an informal letter to me.  You will not be graded for spelling or punctuation. Please  answer the following questions as honestly and constructively as possible:

• How is this class/this school year going so far for you?  Why?
• What activities or classroom procedures worked best in 2013 to help you learn?
• What activities or classroom procedures didn’t work so well in 2013? What could we do to make 2014 better?
• How can I be more helpful to you in the New Year?

When you finish please choose an option below to work on in class.

Go back to the future

Imagine that it’s 2038. You’re a screenwriter and a major Hollywood studio has asked you to write a screenplay that takes place in 2013. The genre of your screenplay isn’t important. What matters is that the audience knows that your film is set twenty-five years in the past.

Write the first page of the screenplay and consider the following: How will the opening scene make it clear to the audience that the setting is 2013? What music, fashions or other visual clues make this clear?

Write a eulogy

The year saw the deaths of many important cultural icons. Visit The Times’s “Notable Deaths of 2013″ page, and choose someone to research and eulogize.

*What’s a eulogy?

For the eulogy, research details of the life and achievements of the person.  Be sure to include important facts, reasons he or she impacted the world and the lasting impression they left on society.  

.

Say it with images

A quick Google search for “Year in Pictures” will bring up hundreds of images from around the Web. Browse these collections and select five or ten photos that you believe embody the most important events of the year. Now write an explanation for why you selected each photo.

Happy New Year!