Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 13 - Class Recap

Another one of the pictures that I took in downtown Portland over Spring Break. I'm going to make this relate by saying that rivers, railroads, bridges, and even planes (look at the top of the picture for the light) all connect cultures and countries.
Hello class!

I'm wondering if I will have any extra people on here reading this, due to the events of the class today! Let's hope. Generally, I really liked what we did today, and I am glad that I changed up what we were going to do. Yes, I think most of you guys were ready to do these presentations and would do a fantastic job. However, as I said in the last blog, I think that by switching it up, I can give you an even better idea of exactly what I am looking for with this. Anyway, I'm glad that I am able to do things like that and have everyone buy in to it! Thanks!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state?

Soundtrack: "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins. Lyrics here. Really an excellent song about having patience, which I was asking you to do with these presentations. Also, a great song for looking at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well.

AGENDA 5/6/09:
News Brief
Calling an Audible
Promises

Homework: Continue to work on final project (paper and creative product)! Read blog recap!

This should hopefully be made much more clear by the recap about everything, so read on!

News Brief: I know that we had a good conversation, as always. I remember that Iris and Diana have a lacrosse game at 6:30 on Thursday, here at Westview. Other than that, I'm not entirely sure that I can remember what we talked about, besides:

The swine flu! What a surprise! :-) Stephen noted (which was the story that James was going to use for his news brief) that the first American died of the swine flu (or at least, had the swine flu and later died). The story about that can be found here: CBSNews.com - First U.S. Resident Dies Of H1N1 In Texas.

We had some more good discussion about this, but quite honestly, it really isn't that interesting at this point. There are plenty of other things going on in the world - let's try to focus on those please! :-)

James, thanks for having that topic of discussion ready. Suzie, you are up (I know, I'm sorry) for next class on Friday! I'm excited! Any current news article about anything going on outside the United States.

Calling an Audible: I asked the class if you knew what an "audible" meant - I loved hearing the very deep "yes" from the guys. Here's a great definition for everyone. About.com - Football Glossary - Audible. Basically, I wanted to switch things up, because I believe it makes a whole lot more sense logically to end the unit by first watching the movie Promises, and then going on to the presentations that will aim to bring people together. So, I did that.

Before this, however, I asked everyone to get out their explanation papers, so I could check them off to make sure everyone that actually did them on time got credit for it. Please e-mail me the paper ASAP if you were not able to show me in class.

Another reason why I wanted to flip things up was because I got the feeling that your papers weren't going to really touch on the ideas that I was asking you to. To help you out in revising, I read four samples from my Period 1 class that I thought were particularly well done. The common thread between all of them were:

- Facts about the conflict: Who, what, when, where, why.

- Sides to the debate.

- How your presentation is going to address this and bring people together. What is your decision about a possible way for this to happen - a solution?

Please revise and update your papers accordingly. Like I said in class, I am not expecting this to be a major production. However, I want to make EXTRA sure that you can really explain what your presentation is going to do. I may even have you read it before your presentation, so that we can see what your thinking was.

Promises: We watched about 35 minutes of this movie, pausing from time to time to write down thoughts and questions to the children in the film. From what I could tell, everyone knew what was going on, was actively involved in watching the film, and had some incredibly interesting thoughts to share. I am really excited to finish this up next class! Please bring those conversation pieces to class to continue!

Like I said in class and before on here, I am sorry about unexpectedly flipping everything up. I think by the end of the film that you will agree that it makes way more sense to do it this way though. Thanks for being willing to work with me!
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I think that should just about do it! Please get in touch with me if you need any help at all, or have questions about anything. Or, just post comments about whatever. That works too. :-)

The Office is on tomorrow night (Thursday, 9:00 PM, NBC), and it is always funny. Other than that, please continue working on your papers and projects, and come ready for class on Friday!

Have a wonderful afternoon!