Why We Go To War: Another Perspective

This unit is designed to help us thoughtfully answer these two questions
1. What are the effects of war (positive and negative)
2. Are there circumstances where war is the only answer, or should it be avoided at all costs?

Before we begin looking at war and its effects (positive and negative), we still need a more thorough exploration of what causes a country to go to war across varied circumstances.

ARTICLE: "Why do human beings go to war?"


Exit Ticket:

1. Consider the claim in the article "Why do human beings fight war?" Why does the author choose to use the phrase "human beings" instead of "nations"?

War, day 2

Agenda:

Deconstruct Lord Jemima's attack on Waffleland using the author's argument

Craft and Structure

 Look at the author's analogy on invading Syria. Discuss its meaning

Paraphrase the author's main idea in the last paragraph of "Why Do Nations Go To War"

Activity: In small groups, list objects, concepts, etc. that are: 

A. Lost in war

B. Gained in war

HW 7-5

 Based on the article, organize a chart: create two columns. Label one column, “author’s claims” (There are 2). Label the second column, “reasons/supporting details” (at least 2 reasons per claim)

War: What is it good for?

Free-write warm-up: Why do nations go to war?

A Point on Points :)

Please take out your ELA  NOTEBOOK.. 

When asked to discuss an author's "point," you are being asked about the ultimate subtext, the Big Shaboozie of subtexts, if you will.

The author's point is the main message or idea communicated to the audience. The official term is theme. 

When discussing the "point" or "theme" of a story, you MUST USE GENERAL LANGUAGE.

HOWEVER: To prove that the theme exists, you must refer to SPECIFIC details or text evidence. 

Consider the T.D.P strategy: Every text as a Topic (general)  with Details or events (specific text evidence) that lead to a general  Point  or message about the Topic.

Rule of Thumb: A properly expressed theme from a fictional story can be applied to real life scenarios.

Example

A theme of Stephen King's short story, "The Man in the Black Suit" is that evil or traumatizing events (a general topic) often ( a good general  term to use) occur randomly and can impact anyone, even innocent people.

What details from the story can I use to back this idea up?


Rule of Thumb test: Apply this general idea to real life. What traumatizing or evil events have happened, seemingly at random, to you or people you know? What about historical events?

BUT WAIT, couldn't a story have more than one theme?! Oh yes.

Stephen King's short story explores the tragedy of aging: growing old often brings back the same helplessness we had in our youth.

And we can keep going. Being able to identify theme is ultimately what makes reading meaningful, and YOU, the reader, ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT as the text. Yep! That's right. Without your critical mind, stories are simply words, just text. Without you, literature loses its power. Pretty mind blowing, right? It's almost as if I blinded you with science. I'll let you be the judge of that.

Now... YOUR final thoughts on Podcasting

This project required a great deal of work. Aside from the critical thinking in the ELA realm (considering theme, making judgments about character, taking on character's perspectives), you were required to collaborate with others, use new technology, and edit interviews, voiceovers, AND music into a professional sounding podcast. That's A LOT to ask of a 7th grader.





So I ask 3 questions:

1. What worked well about this assignment?

2. What could be improved?

3. Having completed this assignment, make a thoughtful remark on why Shirley Jackson wrote this story. Do you think it's relevant for today's audience? Explain.

Some final thoughts about Podcasting

This project has been very involved and I want to take some time to reflect on its value.

Podcasting helped us accomplish 2 of ELA's most essential goals:

1. Playing with text
2. Critically thinking about text

I hope today is productive for you as we launch into the final official session.

After School Podcast Sessions

Students,
Please note that I will be staying after school both Wednesday and Thursday for groups that need to finish assembling and polishing their podcasts. There will be a sign up for both days, and because computers are limited, admittance to these sessions is first come, first serve. Please note the time of each session below:

Wednesday: 2:45- 5:00
Thursday: 2:45-6:00

-Mr. B.

Exam Review Materials

Here's a copy of "Hansel and Gretel" to review for the exam. click here.

Podcast Checklist

Have you:

• Located the time frames to ALL the sound bites you will be using (from interviews)
• Drafted an intro
• Drafted host commentary to discuss sound bites
• Begun recording your commentary (intros, reactions/discussions to soundbites)

If you haven't done these things, then you must be headed in that direction.

Midterm review #2

Please complete in your journal if you did not receive a paper copy in class (copier is out of order)

Midterm review #2        Concepts reviewed: theme, subtext, figurative language

“Compassion” By Miller Williams

Have compassion for everyone you meet,
even if they don’t want it. What seems conceit, 

bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign 

of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen.
You do not know what wars are going on
down there where the spirit meets the bone.

Consider the last two lines: “You do not know what wars are going on / down there where the spirit meets the bone.”

1.      This is an example of figurative language. What is the author suggesting in these two lines (what is the subtext)?

2.      Explain how the last two lines develop the theme of “Compassion.” (hint: the poem is saying much more than just “be nice to others”)

Midterm Review #1 HW

Your ELA midterm is Tuesday Jan. 20, 2015. Each day leading up to your exam, I will be giving you a HW assignment that reviews concepts studied in the first semester.

Tasks for Editors/Podcast Hosts

Mini lesson on using Audacity. Okay...it's not quite a mini lesson...

Sleeptalkers Commercial

Editor tasks:

1.      Spread the interviews throughout the timeline in Audacity (so that they are not playing on top of each other). You will use the time shift tool to complete this task.

2.      Begin searching for music that fit different moods: fun, happy, sad, horrific, spooky, eerie, etc. You may use songs with singing, but you’ll most likely want to select instrumental (non-singing) parts of the song,

Host:

1.      Draft an intro to your podcast—be engaging but introduce the purpose as well. Set the tone.

2.      Begin selecting sections of interview that you will comment on. Keep in mind the points you want to make and what parts of the interview will help you make those points

Please refer to your notes on a Podcast in 4 parts.

Welcome back! Resuming Podcasts

Agenda:

1. Collecting revisions

2. Importing audio

3. Discussing roles 

Editors (in groups of 4, please have 2)

Podcast hosts/other commentary