Pandemic, Land Mines and Homeless Children Essay Questions

May 12, 2009 — dsaienni

 Contemporary Issues

Ms. Diane Albanese

© May 2009

Mongolian Street Children

AIDS Pandemic

Landmines in Cambodia

Discuss these questions in your team then use your notes that define the causes and solutions of this problem to answer the following questions.

 

  1. Name three root causes of the AIDS pandemic and discuss them in essay form. How did they come about? Define each.
  2. Name three solutions that would help eliminate the AIDS pandemic and how they could be implemented.
  3. Name three root causes of the homeless Mongolian Street Children and discuss them in essay form. How did they come about? Discuss each one.
  4. Name three solutions that would help these children and ease their suffering.
  5. Name three root causes of the landmines in Cambodia. Why do they still exist even today? Write this in essay form.
  6. Name three solutions that would eliminate this hazard and help the people of Cambodia avoid this tragedy and treat the outcomes.
  7. In your opinion, of these three, what do you think has had the greatest effect on the world and why?
  8. What ideas do you have that you can begin to do in any of these issues?

 

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Teaching the Teachers about Google on May 14

May 11, 2009 — dsaienni

So I asked my students, what should I teach the teachers about Google? They replied

  1. Gmail
  2. iGoogle
  3. Google Reader
  4. Google Books
  5. Google Docs
  6. Google Earth
  7. Google Calendar
  8. Google Blogs
  9. Google Teacher
  10. Google Teacher Academy

http://www.google.com/educators/index.html

http://books.google.com/books?rview=1

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Lesson Plans May 11-15

May 11, 2009 — dsaienni

Language Arts

Homework – Read AR book for 30 minutes each night. Take one AR test by May 27

Monday – Finishing writing for your Blog. Must have the following on your blog as a graded item.

  1. Book Review
  2. one blog entry about a current event
  3. one blog entry about a personal point of view or story
  4. Mother’ Day poem
  5. Write a blog entry telling what happened when you gave your mom the poem
  6. haiku collection
  7. poem of choice with comment

Add at least one option – choose one and add it to your blog

  1. movie review – write a review of a movie that you just saw
  2. sporting event – tell a story from personal experience, you as a player or fan
  3. video game review – write about something you like to play
  4. your choice

Tuesday – Blog Work: Writing to include all 8 items above

Wednesday - Blog reveals! S will share their blogs with the class for 500 point grade.  News Journal read and summary

Thursday – New Project!

Friday -New Project!

Contemporary Issues

Monday – Reading world news on CNN. Writing a summary of one story. Submit to tray.  Finish Pandemic. View Mongolian Homeless children DVD. Create T-chart with Issues and Solutions. Team discussion.

Tuesday – Finish Mongolian Homeless children DVD. Discussion and info on this website for all issues

www.un.org/works

Wednesday -Questions relating to AIDS Pandemic, Landmines in Cambodia and Mongolian Homeless Children.  Essay answers.

Thursday – Finish essays. Teams meet to discuss

Friday -

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Mother’s Day Poetry Writing

May 5, 2009 — dsaienni

Petals

by Pat Mora

have calloused her hands,

brightly colored crepe paper: turquoise,

yellow, magenta, which she shapes

into large blooms for bargain-hunting tourists

who see her flowers, her puppets, her baskets,

but not her – small gray-haired woman

wearing a white apron, who hides behind

blossoms in her stall at the market,

who sits and remembers collecting wildflowers

as a girl, climbing rocky Mexican hills

to fill a straw hat with soft blooms

which she’d stroke gently, over and over again

with her smooth fingertips.

A guided response to write a poem about the person who you honor on Mother’s Day. This could be your mom, stepmom, aunt, grandmother or nana.  You may write more than one poem and put it together in a very special way as a gift.

Use the five senses when you complete this sequence. Use vivid words that tell color, shape and texture.

  1. write words that describe your mother’s hands
  2. write words that tell what she does when she works
  3. write words that describe her at work
  4. write words that describe her face, eyes, nose, mouth, hair
  5. write words that describe her in her favorite clothes
  6. write words that describe a memory she may have from when she was a young girl
  7. write words that describe her being funny
  8. write words that describe her doing something that she loves
  9. write words that describe her doing something with you

Now we will take this list and arrange the words into a poem.

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Lesson Plans May 4-8

May 4, 2009 — dsaienni

Language Arts

Homework – read AR book 30 minutes every night – deadline for taking AR test May 29

Monday – Topic: Pandemic: NPR report. Discussion.

Pandemic Question: Why should we be concerned about a pandemic? What factors are involved in the spreading of a disease and how does this affect the student at Mariner Middle?

Writing – Students will write a new blog post based on something they care about. Post it. Students will go to 3 other classmate blogs and comment on their most recent post.

Other posts that should be on the student blogs:

  1. Book Review
  2. Poem – original written by student – can be friendship or romantic!
  3. Blog entry from Friday, May 1

Tuesday - Poem – Petals.  Discussion. S write a parallel poem as a gift for Mother’s Day. Print and post.

Wednesday – Edit and publish Mothers Day poem on paper as a gift for her and on your blog.  Topic: from CNN news on-line. Discussion. Research of a current event topic on-line and then post of your your opinion on your blog.  Poem – S write another original poem and post.

Thursday – Challenge day was a great experience! Take a Survey as a follow-up to Challenge Day. Then if there is time, post your ideas about Challenge Day on your blog. 

Friday – Library at 9:40 and 11:10 for cores 3 and 2 in LA. Take STAR tests.  Information from Ms. Lindemer.  Next Monday – Core 1 – Library STAR. S are to have books and read.  They may take AR tests also if they are prepared.

Contemporary Issues

Think Globally: Act Locally Unit – discovery of disease in the form of AIDS and the pandemic

Monday – Review of Warm-up questions. New information about Swine Flu and the advance to the status of pandemic.  Pandemic: AIDS – viewing of DVD from HBO. Topic: India and Uganda. Notes on causes and solutions. Discussion about the spread of AIDS and possible solutions.

Tuesday – News Journal, read and discuss current event.  Write a summary of one article from front page.  Pandemic – Brazil

Wednesday – Pandemic – Thailand – View DVD and discuss. Write up notes and summary.

Thursday – Warm up Questions on paper.  Do Group A, #1-5: copy the question on paper and write your answers.  Pandemic – DVD (Korwek will run the projector) Finish this documentary then completer your list of Cause and Solutions to this problem. Turn this into the tray.

Friday – Read News Journal: S write a summary of one article from front page.  DVD – :What’s Going ON: Landmines in Cambodia” Watch and discuss (Korweck will run projector). Do a T-chart causes and solutions. 

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Walking

April 28, 2009 — dsaienni

 

 

Walking

Steps to the future

Steps away from my past

Long strides, confident

Short space, tired

No requests to go to the bathroom here

Just pavement and possibilities

 

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Beach

April 28, 2009 — dsaienni

 

 

 

 

 

Beach

Salty smells

That’s just the Thrashers

Sunburning rays

That’s just the boardwalk

Holding hands walking

That’s me and my friend.

Flower

So near to the ground

Do you ever get lonely?

Wish that you could jump up

Out of your place

And fly?

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Sample Poem and Reflection

April 27, 2009 — dsaienni

      

245                 

by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—

I’ve heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.

This is my favorite Dickinson poem.  She talks about hope, one of my favorite topics because without hope, life can be unbearable.  Dickinson gives us the image a bird, feather, light and familiar. The bird is able to fly, set free on wings that take it to great heights. Yet, the bird asks nothing of us. Hope asks nothing. Just a thought and a notion that things can get better.

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Sonnets and Haiku

April 27, 2009 — dsaienni

Notes from the lesson

Sonnet -

  • a poetic form
  • found in lyric poetry
  • from Europe
  • 14 lines
  • 10 syllables each line
  • strict rhyme form
  • William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets
  • pattern of Willie’s poms ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Haiku -

  • Japanese
  • form of poetry
  • three lines containing specific number of syllables
  • 5-7-5 pattern or 3-5-3
  • usually deals with nature
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Lesson Plans April 27-May 1

April 27, 2009 — dsaienni

Language Arts

Homework – Read AR book and take one test by April 28 for the 5th marking period.

Monday – Sonnets – Blogging – generate list of poets studied this year. Find a new poem by one of these poets and post it on your blog. Reflect on the poem in a paragraph on your blog.  Discuss what the poem says to you and what you thing the poet was trying to say. What is your opinion of the poem? How does it relate to your life?

Tuesday – Sonnets Quiz – Blogging – Write a poem. Post it including an image.

Wednesday – no school. Student Success Day

Thursday – elements of a novel: characters, plot, setting. Writing a book review revisited

Friday – AR book review, finish book review and post it on your blog. Blog about something that is important to you.

Contemporary Issues – Unit THINK GLOBALLY ACT LOCALLY

AWARENESS*ANALYSIS*ACTION*ACCOMPLISHMENT

PAPER*PROPOSAL*PRESENTATION*PRODUCT

Monday – Poverty DVD – Review this and each student answers the following questions:

  1. The documentary discussed what issue?
  2. Where did it take place?
  3. What were the causes related to this issue? (Name 3)
  4. What are some possible solutions to this problem?

Team – Red team member, uses a notecard to answer the questions below after team discussion.  Answers go on the team wiki.

  1. What is the issue?
  2. What questions will you ask about this issue?
  3. What about all over the world? What other issues relate in a global world?
  4. How did your team come to this decision? (what process?)

Tuesday – Pollution – Documentary from Discovery on-line.  Notes – causes, solutions. Discussion. Teams create a graphic organizer that explains these relationships. Contest to determine the best team poster.

Thursday -  Illegal Drugs. Documentary from Discovery on-line.  Notes – causes, solutions.  Discussion. Teams create graphic organizer to explain the relationship.

Friday – Global warmning. Same format as above. Poster contest results.

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