Images of Jim

By now you have read through chapter 15 of Twain's novel.  Today in class we explored the nature of the relationship between Huck and Jim.  We wrote about the ways in which it did / didn't change after the events of chapters 14 and 15.

What are your thoughts about Jim at this point in the novel?  What kind of character is he?  How are you picturing him?

In a your notebook, respond to the following prompts:

1. Generate a list of 7-9 words you would use to describe Jim in terms of his beliefs, actions, and feelings.
2. Generate a list of 3-5 words you would use to describe Jim in terms of his physical appearance.

Next, view the set of images below - scroll through them. These come from a variety of sources but are all illustrations of Jim.  Some of them were images included within the text; others were covers or promotional posters.  Browse through the gallery slowly, spending time looking at each image.  Be aware of these issues (take some notes in your notebook - no need to write anything yet):

• Which characters other than Jim appear in the illustration?
• What are they doing?  What is their physical relationship with each other?
• What is Jim doing? 
• Examine the physical details of Jim - his face, especially eyes and mouth; his expression; his arms; his body - what is the image conveying about him?
• Who holds power in this image?  How is it conveyed?
• Is Jim shown through stereotypes?  Which ones?

Now, select one or two of the images that most closely illustrates the words you wrote above.  Cite the number of that image from the "Images of Jim" collection into your journal and add a short comment explaining the connection.
Then, select one or two of the images that is least similar to your description - the one furthest from your impression of him.  Again, cite the number of that image and and add a commentary in your journal.

Lastly, write a response to these questions:

• Which image most faithfully illustrates the novel's text?  How do Mark Twain's words represent Jim - as more of a character, or a caricature?

Themes from start of Huckleberry Finn

Here are the themes we identified in our discussion today:

• Social status
• conformity
• parents
• rebellion
• death
• education / learning
• Huck vs. Tom
• books
• independence
• right and wrong - morality
• slavery
• wealth / money
• past vs. present
• religion / prayer
• escape
• superstition
• loneliness / being alone
• confusion / uncertainty
• law
• sadness
• nature
• things we are used to vs. things that change

Civil Disobedience today

In our discussion of Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" today we referred to an article about Sister Megan Rice and her protest of America's nuclear facilities.  Here is a link to that article.

Also, here is Mark Ruffalo's reading of an excerpt from Thoreau:

Thoreau and the Mexican War

Today in class we talked about Manifest Destiny, then turned our attention to the Mexican War.

Tonight, you'll read Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience."  It is in the book you purchased or you can find a link to the text of it under our "important links" tab.

In your journal response, note which details from today's worksheet appear in Thoreau's essay.  Then, consider which of them Thoreau uses to justify his position (you'll first want to make sure you have a clear sense of what his position is).

It's Election Season!

It is now just  three weeks until the November election and thus, as responsible members of American society, it is encumbent upon us to become engaged and informed on the election process.  Today, we will first remind ourselves about important aspects of the political that you will be hearing a LOT about over the coming weeks, the electoral college and polling.  Next, we will begin to familiarize ourselves with the candidates themselves and the issues involved in this campaign.
Here are your instructions:

With your partner(s) create a google document.  Title the document Election Information.  This is where you and your partner will discuss and create your responses to the issues and questions posed.

Go to the Upfront Magazine

Read the article on the Electoral College

Then with your partner, click on Games and Quizzes tab, select the “Electoral Challenge” game and then go ahead and play.

Have a quick discussin with your partner. Who won? Why? What was the strategy used for victory?

Next, read pages 12-13 in the magazine on polling.

Then, go to the Web Links tab which will take you to Gallup, Real Clear Politics, and NYTimes swing state polls.

Have a brief discussion with your partner. What polls did you look at? What do these latest polls show? What pieces of data are most interesting and why? Do you think this data will have an impact on the election? Why?

Go to http://upfront.scholastic.com/issues/09_03_12/book

Read the full article on pages 6-9. 

Next, revisit page 7 of the article. Choose TWO issues that interest you and your partner. Then, you will spend time finding information about your candidate’s position using multiple sources. You will use alphabetical order to determine who is researching the Obama and Romney campaigns.

Create two charts in your google document that look like this:

Source used	President Obama’s Stance/Suggestions on _______(Issue #___)	Governor Romney’s Stance/Suggestions on __________ (Issue #___)

Sources that you can use to gather information include Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's websites,
Procon, CNN's Election Center, and NYTimes Election Agenda, or Ontheissues

When you are finished creating your charts for two issues, discuss and answer:
What seems to be the biggest difference between the candidates on this issue?
Are there any points of similarity?
Why is this an important issue for the country right now? Why is it a difficult issue for the country?

Four paragraph assignment

Today you will receive your Constitution test and essay on The Great Gatsby.  Read the feedback carefully - it is being given to you today with the express purpose of having you use the feedback to improve your future work, especially the assginment due tomorrow.

What is that assignment?

You've already written the first three paragraphs:
1- Emerson
2- Thoreau
3- Into the Wild

Today, we are adding the fourth:

Paragraph Four:

            What do you think?  Which one, Emerson or Thoreau, more closely aligns with your personal beliefs?  To what extent do you believe in what Emerson or Thoreau has to say?  Where are you still uncertain?

            You’ll need to select one or the other, then, using a specific personal example, explain both why you selected the one you did.  You do not need to use additional quotations from Emerson and Thoreau here – howeve, you should make explicit connections back to the ones you used in paragraphs one and two.  Furthermore, do make sure you tell a bit of your own story, naming a specific time when your experiences did / didn’t align with Emerson / Thoreau’s, before explaining why. Think of this as similar to Thoreau using his time in the woods as a was to express to us why he believes what he does believe.  Feel free to use what you wrote in the field trip packet as part of your answer.

---

Tomorrow you will submit all four of these paragraphs.

How?

Cut and paste the four paragraphs into one document.  You do not need to do any additional writing.

Submit your work to Turnitin.com by midnight tomorrow, Thursday, October 18th.

Writing about Thoreau

This weekend, you will write a paragraph about Thoreau's Walden based on the work we did together in class the past two days. On your worksheet you wrote about a main issue and a key point from Thoreau's work by using a variety of quotations. Now, combine all of that into a paragraph response:

What point is central to Thoreau's work?   What is he suggesting for people to do?  What does it take to achieve it? What are some of the issues it includes, and how does Thoreau explain them?

Your paragraph needs to have a clear point (topic sentence), at least two supporting quotations, and effective analysis of them in relation to your point. This is an exhaustive look at the language he used, taking the time to explain what it means just within the context of the essay – you are not using a personal viewpoint here or making outside connections (that will come later).

This is individual work - you are not working with your groups on this paragraph.

Save your paragraph - you will not be submitting it today.

Writing about Emerson - and taking care of business

Last time we were in the computer lab, our plans for a collaborative Google Presentation didn't exactly work out as planned.  We'll continue to explore different ways for us to collaborate but for now we still want to ues the research and writing you did about your assigned topic.

Instead of putting that information into the Google Presentation, please just save it in a Word document and e-mail it to Mr. Kramer.  We will compile them and make them available for future use.


Next, you will write a paragraph about Emerson's "Self-Reliance" based on the work we did together yesterday.  On your worksheet you wrote about a main issue and a key point from Emerson's essay by using a variety of quotations.  Now, combine all of that into a paragraph response: 

What point is central to Emerson’s essay - what does he mean by "self-reliance"?  What does it take to achieve it?  What are some of the issues it includes, and how does Emerson explain them?

Your paragraph needs to have a clear point (topic sentence), at least two supporting quotations, and effective analysis of them in relation to your point.  This is an exhaustive look at the language he used, taking the time to explain what it means just within the context of the essay – you are not using a personal viewpoint here or making outside connections (that will come later).

 

This is individual work - you are not working with your groups on this paragraph.

 

Save your paragraph - you will not be submitting it today.

Building a Nation

As Constitutional scholars, you all now have a deep understanding of the document itself and the ideals behind it.  However, American government was still in its infancy after the ratification of the Constitution.  How the government created by the Cosntitution would work in practice was (and is still today) still much in question.  Additionally, America was (and is) still defining the values and beliefs that were the foundations of American political and social thought.  Today, you will work to assess how the early nation was doing; how ideas like liberty were being developed; and whether or not, the new nation was accomplishing the goals set forth in the Preamble to the Constitution and heeding the advice given by its first leader, George Washington.

Instructions for class on 10/4/2012:

1) (15 mins.) In your American Reader read George Washington's Farewell address that begins on page 71.  You can also read it here in case you don't have your book with you.
Read carefully.  Make sure that you have a clear understanding of the values that Washington expresses and the recommendations he is making for the country.
Annotate the reading according to the actions and/or advice Washington offers in response to:

• The mounting criticism of government and the authority of the executive.
• The potential threat of political parties and interest groups
• The roles that religion and education should play in American society.
• The proper role of the United States in international politics.

2) (20 mins.) Next you will investigate a person or event that also influenced the early American republic.  Click on this link and find the person or event that corresponds to your assigned number.  Then you will research your term by going to the subscription databases on the Library website.  Using either the American History database, the Salem History database, or American National Biography online, research your assigned person or event.  Take notes about the key facts or details that are necessary to understand the significance of your assigned person or event.  Note-you may need to go to more than one database to get a full understanding.

3)  (15 minutes) Open this google presentation.  Edit the slide that corresponds with your assigned number.  Your slide should contain:

• A creative title that says something about the significance of your assigned person or event.
• Enough key details about your person or event that someone reading your post will understand it.  This may be written out in paragraph form or a list of bullet points.
• An image that relates to your assigned person or event.

4)  (15 minutes) After creating your slide, go into your notebook and respond to the following prompts about your event or person.

• Link your assigned event or person to George Washington.  According to his Farewell Address, what would George Washington say about the information you discovered?  In what way did (or didn't ) your person or event reflect the values or ideals that Washington defined in his address? 
• What is your assessment of this person or event.  How does your person or event match up with what we've been studying so far?  Does your research help to expand any ideas or notions of liberty that you've seen already?  Are there Constitutional questions that arise as a result of your research?  Does this person or event help to accomplish or go against the goals set forth in the Preamble?

5) (10-15 minutes.) Next, spend time exploring the events or people that your classmates have put into the google presentation by returning to it and looking at the whole slideshow.


6) (10 minutes.) After going through the slideshow, write a final response to this activity in your notebooks.  Based on what you've seen in your research and the slideshow, how would you assess this era?  How is the United States growing as a nation?  Are there any links or connections that you can make between any of the issues that arose then and what you see in the nation today? 

**Note the notebook responses from step 4 and 6 are due in class tomorrow.