Rising Action...

You are now halfway through your free choice, literature circle novel. It's time to identify the series of events that are building and creating tension and suspense, or the rising action. Choose one of the three prompts, and complete a well-constructed and edited blog post. The minimum expectation is three paragraphs. Remember a paragraph includes a topic sentence, reasons, details, facts, supporting evidence and examples, and a concluding or transition sentence.

1. Describe an event from your book that shows the protagonist (the leading character, hero, or heroine of a literary work) versus the antagonist (a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent) element.

2. Describe how one of the main characters changes or develops through one or two events that lead up to the climax.

3. Describe the details of two events from your book that are building and creating tension and suspense towards a climax.

Conflict- the Spice of Life

This week you've been working hard on your personal narrative, reading and completing your first literature circle, and getting back into the routine of things for the second trimester. Just like your stories, your lives have had some conflict!

We discussed the importance of conflict in writing your narratives, but now we're going to discuss the importance of conflict in your lives. None of us likes conflict, but it is an important part of the human experience. In this blog post, you are going to answer the following questions with thoughtful and complete answers. Minimum expectation is 3 paragraphs.

1. What is the conflict of your Literature Circle Novel? How do you know this? How do you think it is going to be resolved?

2. What is one conflict you recently faced in your life? How did you overcome it?

3. Why is conflict important in life? What role does it play in our lives?

Enjoy!

Mr. T

My Learning Profile

Have you ever struggled in class, feeling the need to move, or simply change seats that so that you could listen better with your left ear or view the whiteboard from a different angle? Does your teacher ramble on and on about big ideas and you just want to get to the tasks at hand?
The amazing characteristic about understanding your Learner Profile is that it will help you and your teachers know more about the best learning situations for each student; that is your strengths, your preferences and areas that we all can work on and improve.
Today's blogpost is a reflection on Learning Profiles, and now that you have a better understanding of your profile we would like you to write and share the information with the class.In a well structured response, (using the information you gained in class ) please reflect upon and answer the following ....
1. I learn best when......
2. I need to .....
3. The strategies that would help me in my learning....
4. I would like my teachers to know this about me.....
Enjoy,

Mr. T and Mr. Whiting.

Guns, Germs, and Steel

In class, all Humanities students had the chance to view a portion of the PBS/National Geographic documentary " Guns, Germs and Steel," based on the book by renowned scientist / geographer Dr. Jared Diamond.
PBS describes this documentary as " Peeling back the layers of history, GUNS , GERMS and STEEL exposes the great forces that have shaped human history over the last 10,000 years". In the documentary Dr. Diamond put forward many theories as to why certain civilizations have flourished.

Now is the time for your thoughts and reflection...
Choose 1 of the following prompts and answer in a well structured 3+ paragraph response, plus graphics (minimum of 2) to support your ideas. Feel free to use the note sheets from the video to assist you.

Prompts

1. What role did geographic location and natural resources play in the the development of Malaysia?
OR








2. Even though Papua New Guinea is located in the same region as Australia and New Zealand, why is it that Australia and New Zealand become technologically advanced and wealthy?
OR






3. Locate a topographical map of the world ( either using Google Earth or an atlas) carefully study the features evident on the map. Then answer "What hypotheses do you have about why most of the wealth in the world is found in the areas north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees latitude North of the equator)

Enjoy,

Mr. T

PS- Your blog post is due Friday, November 11.

Image Sources:
1. http://www.buyusa.gov/philadelphia/malaysiaconference.html
2. http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/index.html
3. http://www.fpi.org.nz/what_we_do/projects/papua_new_guinea
4. http://www.mapsorama.com/topographical-map-of-the-world/