Mr. W's Blog

Paper Bag Book Reports start tomorrow! Two or three students have signed up for each day until the end of the quarter. Make sure you are ready on the day you signed up for. You may not get another chance to present. Remember to use the Paper Bag Book Report Rubric(8) to guide your project. Good luck!

Read the article “Paying Respects to a Fallen Journalist in Libya” at http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/02/19/147118357/paying-respects-to-a-fallen-journalist-in-libya.

Write a one page response. Try to write a response that reflects the article without referencing the article directly. Use the article to bring about your own thoughts or experiences.

Upload your work on Moodle.

Today we will be starting to read the play, The Diary of Anne Frank. Before we read the first scene, read the introduction in your book, starting on page 364. Use the planning_bio to record some notes. (You will probably only be able to fill out sides 1 and 2 for the introduction on pages 364-368). We will be using this to create a bio cube later on, so don’t lose it.

Next, listen to ”Act 1, Scene 1″ online at http://www.archive.org/details/GoodrichHackettTheDiaryOfAnneFrank. Please follow along in your book (starting on 370) as you listen. There is a musical introduction. While the music is playing, read the italicized stage instructions.

The track will play scenes 1 and 2. Don’t go onto scene 3.

As we start to create our movies, it’s important to remember what our end goal is. Use these resources to help guide your vision.

You can find student examples from last year’s students here: http://www.misterdoubleyou.com/English_Class/Movies.html

You will be using this template to create the script for your movie/slideshow HR Narration Script

This is the rubric I will be using to grade your final product HR Rubric

Also, if you need an outline of what I am looking for, you can refer to the HR Minimum Slide Format

If you have any other questions or concerns, let me know!

Each 8th grader was given a photograph of a child who was interned during the Holocaust. You should paste the picture into your yellow journal. Use http://www.graceproducts.com/fmnc/main.htm to get some basic information and fill out the personal details.

Then write a diary from the perspective of your child.

Page 1: Before arrest/hiding

Page 2: Arrest/hiding

Page 3: First day in camp/ghetto/hiding

Page 4: Last day in camp/ghetto/hiding

Some information can be found on the website. You should elaborate on the information you find there.

Some students have yet to turn in their HR Topic Sheet! This was due a long time ago! It is the starting point of our research project!

I will be checking your research notes and your HR Research Summary on Tuesday.

Keep working hard! Let’s create some great HR movies!

Read (or listen to) this article http://www.npr.org/2012/02/15/146895947/syrian-activists-live-stream-their-revolution about reporting and freedom of speech violation in Syria. Write a one page response and upload your on Moodle.

We will be doing WW only every other week to give you plenty of time to work on your HR Research Project.

Remember, I’ll be checking your research summary on Tuesday. We will start training on Windows Movie Maker was well.

8th graders are starting to read the play The Diary of Anne Frank. We will be learning a bit about the holocaust as we study this play. To gain some background information, students should visit this website and explore the content.

http://www.annefrank.org/

Use the Secret Annex Webquest form to recieve credit for this activity.

8th graders have one month to select and read a book about the Holocaust. This should be a narrative or historical fication book of at least 150 pages. Use Holocaust IRB to discuss your selection with your parents .

Look for more information in future posts about your book report for this book.

The second step in our inquiry process is to use information seeking strategies. We’ll largely be using the internet. A Google search can actually be very useful, especially if you narrow down your search with specific keywords. One of the best places to start is Wikipedia. Wikipedia offers an overview of just about any topic. It is constantly being updated so new information can be found all the time. Sometimes the new information can be inaccurate, so it is best to use information that is cited in the “References” section. These references can also help you do more in depth research. Many entries also have a Bibliography section and an External Links section. These are great places to get more information and find some valuable sources.

DON’T FORGET TO RECORD ALL THE SOURCES YOU USE!!! If you download photos, record where you got these from as well.I recommend EasyBib! Don’t forget, “Google Image Search” is NOT a source.

You must turn in the HR Research Summary for credit.

The third step, of course, is to find information from these sources.

I recommend the following websites to get some information for your project

http://www.channelone.com/ – some great information in a familiar format (This site has some great information on North Korea as well.)

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http://www.hrw.org – one of the most well known sources for information on Human Rights abuses

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http://www.amnesty.org – another well known source with more of an emphasis on advocacy

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http://www.state.gov/g/drl/hr/index.htm – the United States’ official site for Human Rights

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http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/index.htm – the site much of our classroom materials come from

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http://www.humanrights.com/#/home – the mother organization of Youth For Human Rights

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http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/index.aspx – another Human Rights organization

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http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/WelcomePage.aspx – the UN’s site for HR

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http://www.antislavery.org/english/default.aspx – anti-slavery organization

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http://www.omct.org – anti-torture organization

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http://www.article19.org – freedom of expression organization