Lesson from Friday, May 27th

"Promises" Video Questions

"Promises" Video

Don't Throw Plastic on the Ground!!!

Cool Video

Links to help get started:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/religion/jewish.htm

http://www.historyforkids.org/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/

http://www.uri.org/kids/world.htm

Homework for Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

For tonight:

• Please upload the questions that you have, and what you would like to know about the Israel / Palestine conflict to the class wiki. 
•  Please "preview" the section reading, pages 682-687.  Look for words that you are unfamiliar with.  On the back of you "KWL" chart, write the definitions for 10 vocab words.
• Political map of South/South West Asia is due on Friday, April 29th.

Homework for Monday, April 25th, 2011

Your Final Draft of the "Values Paper" is due tomorrow. 

You must bring the rough draft that was edited by at least two peers today, and staple the final copy on top of the rough draft. 

Examples of Topic and Transition Sentence

Topic Sentence:

I have learned in life that without one’s ability to freely express ideas, the world can become a very cold and grey place to live.

Transitions Sentence:

Freedom of expression allows me as a teacher to protect our already fragile environment through education of the next generation. 

For Homework on 4/21

Please bring in the following tomorrow to class typed and double spaced:

• An introductory paragraph, which includes you thesis statement
• The topic sentence for each body paragraph
• The transition sentence for each body paragraph

So in total, you should have the intro and six sentences written.  

Examples of Thesis Statements for the "Values" Paper

The first three statements are examples of "weak" thesis statements:

My three most important values are freedom of expression, environmental protection, and universal education.


Important values to me are freedom of expression, environmental protection, and universal education.


I like my family and friends and religion.


Below are examples of strong thesis statements:

Freedom of expression, environmental protection, and universal education are my three most important values, which have shaped the way I see the world.


My values have been shaped by personal experiences and cultural impressions, they guide me through daily life and mainly derive from freedom of expression, environmental protection, and universal education.


Whether I am conscious of it or not at the time, the values most dear to me, freedom of expression, environmental protection, and universal education have played an important role in each decision I have ever made.

Debate Follow Up

Please answer the following questions and bring them to class tomorrow:

Which argument was the most persuasive, and why?  Site specific examples.

Which option do you personally feel is the one that countries should follow? Why?

Example of body paragraph for "Values Paper"

Below is an example body paragraph from my "Values Paper:"

After growing up in southern California, living outdoors throughout most of my childhood, I have come to love, cherish, and respect Mother Nature (This is my topic sentence, I have introduced that I will be talking about respect and protection for nature).  It is hard to imagine my life without interacting with the ocean in one way or another, my value of environmental protection comes my life long experiences with the ocean (This is the source of my value).  .  I am a surfer, which means I spend a great deal of time in the ocean.  Over the course of my 15+ years in and out of the water, I have been to some amazing places and been exposed to some incredible cultures.  I have learned the beauty and the power that the ocean holds.  However, none of these experiences come close to have as great an impact upon my life as the one that I am about to share.  I was 18 years old at the time, and Southern California had just been battered by a massive tropical rain system that came up from Southern Mexico.  It was unusual for the amount rain to fall at that time of year.  Because it had not rained all summer, there was a lot of pollution just sitting around waiting to be washed from the streets into the sewer system and carried to Pacific Ocean.  Like any great storm that originates in the Pacific Ocean, this one carried with it, a large ocean swell, traveling thousands of miles, crashing on the shores of Southern California.  There was no way I was going to miss this swell.  I knew that the danger of swimming after a storm meant that I would possibly get sick, but I was willing to risk it.  I surfed some of the best waves of my life that day.  However, I also swam in some of the most polluted water I have ever been in.  It was brown, oily, and smelt like raw sewage.  Two days after being in the ocean, I became sick with an ear and lung infection (These sentences are my specific example of where my value came from).  From that moment on, I realized that it was necessary to learn environmental protection issues, and to try and educate as many people as possible about the dangers of a degraded natural environment (This is my transition statement -  moving from environmental protection to education).

Homework for Thursday, April 14th, 2011 - Due Monday April 18th, 2011

Hello Class,


Here is the homework for over the weekend:

1. Find and Print a news article about Cu Huy Ha Vu.  This must come from a different source than the one than Thanh Nien Daily.  Read the article you find, and compare the perspective that it is written from to that of the article from Thanh Nien Daily.  Write that comparison on the back of the article that I gave you.
2. Upload all your information about your Genocide Case Study to the class Wiki.
3. Fill out the graphic organizer that I gave you in class today about all five Genocide Case Studies.
4. Read the handouts presented to you in class today including:  "Options in Brief,"  "Presenting Your Option,"  and "the Option given to you, 1,2,3,or 4"
5. Look at the debate option that I have given you, find additional information to bring into class on Monday that will support your argument.  Bring real life examples of when your "option" was used, and what the outcome was. 

Homework for Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Hello 8th graders,

ALL periods - Please go to the class wiki and embed your information to the "Genocide" page.  Periods 1 and 2, if you have questions, feel free to ask me, or anyone in periods 6,7, or 8.  We did not go over it in class, but will tomorrow if you are unable to figure out how to embed things on a wiki. 

In addition to submitting your information to the wiki, the rest of your homework includes:

• Reading the article that was given to you in class.  Answer the "who, what, where, when, why, and how questions."
• Find an article about the same topic from another news source. and read that article.  Be able to share how the two articles are different.
• Start to look at the information created about these five different genocides, and begin to understand them.   

Here is the link to the class wiki:  https://mrblakeswiki.wikispaces.com/ 

Unable to access email

If any of you have tried to email and I have not responded, I apologize.  I have been unable to access the school email.  If you have any questions, post them on the blog and I will respond.

Genocide Assignment

Here are the requirements for EACH GROUP:

You each have been given information about one of five genocides.  Use this information as a starting point.  This should not be your only source of information about these genocides. 

By Wednesday, April 13th, you must have the following completed:

1.)  Find a video that has been created about your genocide.  Look for things like documentaries and first hand accounts from people that lived through it (if you can).  Do not just do a search in YouTube for the genocide you have been given and choose the first video that appears in the search list.  You must find a professionally done video that explains the events of the genocide.  You must be able to summarize the video, so don't choose a video without watching it first. 

2.)  Three political cartoons.  These should be cartoons that have appeared in newspapers, magazines, or online.  You are not to create these cartoons yourself.  You must also analyze each of the three cartoons.  You must describe what the message of the cartoonist is, who the audience is,  what are the tools being used, how effective is the cartoon (meaning, was it clear? does it get the point across in an effective manner?).

3.)  You are to create a photo essay of the genocide that you have been provided.  Click here for the definition of a photo essay.  This photo essay should tell the story of the genocide by using images.  Here are a few examples of photo essay's:

http://www.english.illinois.edu/Maps/depression/photoessay.htm

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2058378_2263505,00.html

http://www.unicef.org/photoessays/55865.html

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1869933,00.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-122604roadblocks,0,7182857.story

The purpose of a photo essay is to tell a story and move people emotionally with the use of images.  Your photo essay must include the following:

• Captions - describe what is happening in the image and why it is important.  Pictures are worth a thousand words, so don't go crazy on these captions.  Just write enough so that someone who knows nothing about the event you are trying to describe can understand it.
• The "Who, What, Where, When, Why and How" of the genocide that you have been assigned.  This does not mean that your essay should only be six photos.  Do not just do the minimum possible.  You are telling the story that affected millions of people.  Respect the event and the people affected and do it justice. 
• Optional - You can include audio in your photo essay, but you do not have to.  

I am leaving it up to you to find and decide which website or software you would like to use to present this photo essay.  

4.)  You must create a podcast for the genocide that you have been assigned.  Click here for the definition of 'podcast'.  Information that should be included in your podcast:

• Answer the "Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How" questions
• What is the source(s) of the conflict?
• Which ethnic and/or religious groups are involved?
• What is the history between the groups involved in the conflict?
• What was the international communities response to the conflict?
• What was the U.S. response to the genocide?
• How did the genocide begin?  
• How did it end?
• What could the international community have done to prevent or stop the genocide sooner?

Suggestions (not requirements) on ways to make your podcast interesting:

• Make it like a news story.  Click here for an example.
• You can make it a round table discussion, i.e., many people with different view points sitting around talking about a subject.  Click here for an example.
• Add music or sound effects
• Do an interview.  Click here for an example.

Here are some internet resources to help get you started:

Armenian Articles: <http://www.cilicia.com/armo10c.html>

Death by Government: <http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE1.HTM>

Frontline: The Triumph of Evil <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/>

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) <http://www.icty.org>

International Criminal Tribunal for the Rwanda: <http://www.ictr.org>

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: <http://ushmm.org>

Yale Center for International Genocide Studies:  <http://yale.edu/gsp>

No Additional Homework

I have changed my mind and there is no additional homework required for tonight.  Please finish the reading that I gave you on the history of the term "genocide" and how international law came to be.  Fill out the graphic organizer, and answer the questions on the back of the reading.  See you tomorrow. 

Here is the video on genocide that I started to show in class today.

Vocabulary Words for 4-4-2011

Also, I would like you to ask your parents and grandparents, what their values are.  See how the values change from generation to generation and then compare them to your values.

Freedom

 Tolerance

 Equality

 Cooperation

 Security

 Justice

 Self-reliance

 Community

 Stability

 Democracy

What is Genocide? What do you know about Genocide?

Post a comment on anything and everything that you know about the word "Genocide."  Think of this as an online mind map.  Write down anything that comes to mind.

God Grew Tired of Us

Overview of Darfur

For Homework tonight you should read the overview article on Darfur which was given to you today in class.  This is high level reading, but if you use the skills that I have taught you for active reading, you should be able to at least answer the following questions:


Who is involved?
Who is on each side?
Why are they fighting?
What human rights are being violated?
How many people have been affected?
What is being done to stop the conflict?
Where is this happening?

Homework for the weekend of March 17 to March 20

Watch the following videos on Egypt and add to your Cornell notes on modern day Egypt:





Watch the following videos on Darfur and answer the questions below on a separate sheet of paper.  This will be turned in on Monday:

The link below is for the first video - they did not have an embed code for this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tAPeDEUjcE&feature=related 





To help you answer the questions below, consult the following Web sites:
Map: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darfur/etc/map.html
Timeline: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darfur/etc/cron.html
Background: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/84927.stm
Background on the Janjaweed: www.slate.com/id/2104210/

1. When did Sudan begin exporting oil?
   
   
   
2. Which country is the major consumer of Sudanese oil?
   
   
   
3. Why is this fact important in the Darfur situation?
   
   
   
4. What are the sources of the conflict in Darfur?
   
   
   
5. Who are the Janjaweed?
   
   
   
6. What role have the Janjaweed assumed for the Sudanese government? Why?
   
   
   
7. What is the religion of the Janjaweed?
   
   
   
8. What is the religion of most people in Darfur?
   
   
   
9. What has become the role of the neighboring country of Chad during the Darfur conflict? Why?
   
   
   
10. How has the role of Chad changed?
    
    
    
11. Why has the United Nations, until recently, been unable to take meaningful action in Darfur? What has impeded them?
    
    
    
12. How have the following responded to the crisis in Darfur?
    
    
    • The United States government
    • Private individuals and organization

Japan Videos and Links

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5194316.stm

JAPAN Earthquake & Tsunami - March 2011

View more presentations from Emerito Razon

Cause and Effect Chart

Egypt Nile Video

Latest on Libya

Instructions for Animal Farm Picture Book

Instructions:

Create a picture book that corresponds to the book "Animal Farm."

Directions:

You are to draw a scene from each chapter of "Animal Farm."  This does not have to be in color.  But if you do it in color, extra credit points will be given.

You must have a cover for this picture book.  Today in class we talked about the biggest lessons learned from this book.  Your cover must include the names of you and your partner, the title of the book, and one of the most important lessons that you have learned from the book.


Example:


Animal Farm
By George Orwell


Picture Book
By Mr. Blake


Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

You must also write a summary of the book.  This should not be no more than two paragraphs.    It should include the main ideas that we have discussed, and what the book is about.  This summary is to be written on the back of the picture book.

This is due on Monday, February 28th.
 

ART

Videos for Egypt

Here are the videos from Monday, February 14th, that we were unable to watch in class.

Videos for Egypt

http://www.choices.edu/resources/twtn_egypt.php
Please watch the three videos on this webpage, and finish filling out the graphic organizer that we started in class today.

Also, check out these photos from the protests:

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/world/middleeast/201101-egypt-protest-gallery/?ref=middleeast

Cat Tien Video

Egypt Protests

Summary and Analysis for chapters 4-7

Egypt Protests

Follow this link and watch the videos to get the latest information and updates on the protests in Egypt:

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/latest-updates-on-day-14-of-egypt-protests/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Russian Revolution PPT

Russian Revolution Videos

Picture Book for Novel Reading

Picture Book Instructions:

You will be drawing a scene from each days reading of the book "Animal Farm."

• It must be in color
• It must have a cover
• Each scene should take up the majority of a piece of A4 paper. 
• You can use words in your scene.  For example, you can have one of the characters saying an important line of dialogue or you can use captions at the bottom or top of the page to describe what is going on in the scene. 
• After each days reading you will choose one scene that you want to depict in the picture book.
• When we complete the reading of the book, you will also be responsible for writing a summary on the back cover of your picture book.

Homework for Jan. 11, 2011

For tonight's homework you will answer the following questions related to "Harrison Bergeron" on your own blog:

Life in Vietnam would be perfect if everyone were totally equal.  Do you agree or disagree?  Explain your answer in complete sentences.

You are designing a society in which everyone is equal. What are the laws?

What would you do to help people who were less capable mentally, physically, or socially to “catch up”?

What problems can you foresee that might come in a society with laws that force “equality for all”? How would you handle those problems?

Do you believe that total equality is possible, or would human nature make sure that some people would eventually dominate others?

In what situations have you felt similarly to any of the characters? What persons, places, or ideas from your own experience came to mind while you were reading this story? Try to list as least two examples.

What is Government?

What is the purpose of a government?  Why does it exist?

What forms of government are there?

Why are there different forms of government?

What is democracy?

What is the best type of government?

What is power?  What is equality?  What is fairness?

 What is justice?

How does government affect your life?  Use specific examples.

Who should be involved in the governing of a population?

If you had to rank the three most important responsibilities of government, what would they be and why would you put them the in the order that you do?