Minnesota Colonialism Blog Assignments

Blog Post #1 (worth 3 points)
Title your post "Introductory Reflection"
Please do a 300 word free write on the following topics:
What you know, think, or kind of think about Native American culture
What you know, think, or kind of think about Native American culture in Minnesota
What you know, think or kind of think about the Dakota Nation
What you know, think or kind of think about the Dakota-US War of 1862

Blog Post #2 (worth 5 points)
Title your post "Dakota Spirituality, Myths, and my Spirituality"
Step 1: Research Dakota Spirituality and list 5 main ideas or values in Dakota Spirituality
Step 2: Find a Dakota Myth and put a link to it in your blog
Step 3: Briefly summarize this Dakota Myth
Step 4: Write a CER paragraph that identifies one of the main ideas/values from Step 1 in your myth
Step 5: Write a thoughtful reflection that compares and contrasts your spiritual beliefs with what you identified in the previous steps about Dakota Spirituality. 

Blog Post #3 (worth 5 points)
Title your post "The Oral Tradition"
Step 1: research the Oral Tradition and put a link to a background article(s) in your blog
Step 2: explain in your own words what the oral tradition is
Step 3: describe an oral tradition from your own culture/background/family
Step 4: reflect, using personal experience, what makes an oral storytelling tradition unique, special or valuable
Step 5: discuss how the oral tradition fits with your understanding of Dakota Spirituality from Blog Post #2

HW Blog - "How To Write About..."

For this assignment write a short, sarcastic essay to parody the Single Story of some group you belong to.  Title your piece, "How to Write About..."

Write 3 short paragraphs that emphasize some of the stereotypes of the people being described.

 Due by 8:10 AM Friday, November 9, published to blog
Worth 4 classwork points

For example:

How To Write About An English Teacher

Use key words like "bookish," "nerdy," "stuffy," "pretentious," and "awkward."  English teachers are all insecure and self-conscious.  Their personalities reflect an over-intellectual attitude that borders on arrogance.  They like to use big words, mostly just to impress their friends - the few that they have.  The love proper grammar and jump at the chance to correct your mistakes.

Be sure to highlight the old-fashioned way they look.  Tweed is a must and probably cardigan sweaters and wool - slacks for men, skirts for women.   Black turtlenecks are a must, for when they go to the coffee shop to read poetry.  The men have conservative, short-cropped hairstyles, with the occasional longhair, counterculture, ponytail type mixed in.  Women have straight, unremarkable hairstyles, often pulled into a ponytail or bun.  If they wear make-up, it's minimal, and you'll find a smear of lipstick on a front tooth.

The most exciting thing in an English teacher's life is to talk about Shakespeare or any other boring old, dead, white guy - Hemingway or Steinbeck.  If you really want to get on their good side, talk about a British author and use words like "mood," "tone," symbolic," "allegory."  Extra points if you prefer the book version better than the movie version.  Whole evenings can be spent complaining about the attention span or unsophisticated interests of the students.   Video games and YouTube are equal to the devil.

Night Final Blog Response

Write a 3-paragraph blog response in the format of “I said...     He said...    Now, I say...”

Paragraph 1, write a reflection that explains your feelings about the TodaysMeet incident from last Friday, September 28.  Quote your own journal entry (attached to these instructions) that support your description of your thoughts and feelings from last week.

Paragraph 2, write a reflection that explains the most relevant point(s) that Elie Wiesel makes in his book Night and Nobel Prize Speech.  Provide quotes that support your description of Wiesel’s theme and thesis.

Paragraph 3, write a reflection that synthesizes the ideas from  your journal-writing Monday and Wiesel’s ideas from Night and his Nobel Speech.  This synthesis should demonstrate how your own thoughts and feelings interact with your understanding of Wiesel’s writing to result in a new perspective.  

Your Monday journal might completely agree with Wiesel’s thoughts, or you might completely reject any connection between the TodaysMeet issue and Night.  Either of those responses - and any that fall within the continuum they form - is by definition a reaction to your reading of Night.  If you are more logically or mathematically oriented, think of the instructions this way:

            My ideas from Friday + Wiesel’s ideas = My ideas now

Paragraph 3 should describe this equation.

“The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but they are not human” - Adolf Hitler ( epigraph in Maus)

This sickens me and makes me think of the lie of race in our world. The Jewish people simply had a different culture and ethnicity from the Germans. Hitler’s language dehumanized the Jews  to a point that mistreatment, torture and extermination were not questioned by the masses.  I know we are not living in the midst of the Holocaust, but racism, homophobia, and hateful speech like this  are alive and thriving at EHS; I heard some of those voices online last Friday. I am still horrified by the ugliness and bullying that went virtually unchecked.  I vow to make sure that when I witness hateful speech, I will speak out. 

Reflection and Response on Reading Assignments and Your Learning Style

Please comment on how we have had more independent reading time with smaller discussion groups.  This feedback will be very useful in planning our final unit on The Road as well as my preparation for next year's classes.

Please don't feel obligated to fill up this blog post with a lot of words.  I'm really just looking for your honest response on how the schedule of reading time, quizzes, discussions and papers have worked for you as an individual.  The more honest you can be, the more helpful it will be for me - and, potentially, for you since I can still apply some of your suggestions to this final unit.

NO LENGTH REQUIREMENT
DUE: End of day (11:59PM) Sunday, May 20

Suggested topics to discuss:
***Please restrict your discussion to how we study books***

• small group versus large group discussions
• independent reading time versus daily assignments
• online quizzes versus paper quizzes
• note-taking during reading
• forum posts and blog writing
• instruction of literary devices
• activities you have done in other classes that have helped with analyzing literature

Slaughterhouse-5 Movie Response

 *I suggest you do this assignment first while the movie and presentations are fresh in your minds*

General instructions: write a reflection on the adaptation of the book to a movie, any version(s) of the movie we have dealt with (the actual movie and student concepts).

300 word minimum

Due: Published to your blog by end of day (11:59pm) Sunday, May 20

Suggested topics*:

• Additional insight/understanding you gained from the projects/movie
• Changes made in the actual movie that you thought worked well
• Changes made in the actual movie that you didn't like
• Ideas you had for your movie that were better than the actual movie
• Ideas other groups had that were better than the actual movie
• The musical choices used by other groups or in the actual movie
• Casting of the actual movie or student projects

*feel free to branch out and write about anything else related to the book/movie

Boy in the Striped Pajamas Extra Credit Blog Assignment

Read the 2006 novel by John Boyne and write a 300 word blog on the differences / similarities between the movie and book, how they worked thematically, and how they affected you emotionally.
Read the 2006 novel by John Boyne and write a 300 word blog on the differences / similarities between the movie and book, how they worked thematically, and how they affected you emotionally.

Boy in the Striped Pajamas Response Blogs - 2 OPTIONS

OPTION I
Create a found poem from the reflection/response free-write you did after the movie yesterday.

Provide a thoughtful and thorough explanation of what poetic devices you used to add meaning to your poem.

***To receive credit, you must turn in your pre-writing with YOUR NAME on it.

Grading: 5 points total (3 points for poem; 2 points for explanation)
Due: 11:59 PM, Wed., Apr 11

OPTION II
Write a 300-word blog response to how The Boy in the Striped Pajamas works as a text of witness. What is its theme? Consider how this theme is similar to and different from Night and Maus. In particular, consider the following points.
1) As a work of fiction about a real-life event - especially one as well-known and written-about as the Holocaust - is the impact of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas lessened or mitigated? Why or why not?
2) Reflect on the role of misunderstanding and secrecy in the movie. How are these elements incorporated into the theme of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas? How does the young protagonist's naive point of view contribute thematically to the story?

Grading: 5 points total (3 points for completion; 2 points for content)
Due: 11:59 PM, Wed., April 11

Poem exercise from "Witness" reading

Witness reading linked here

Poem worth 4 points
Explanation worth 4 points

References and Alluions Poem (Maus/Night Reflection)

Write a poem that uses at least 8 references and allusions to Maus and/or Night to express your witness experience of reading those texts. References should be CAPITALIZED, bold or italicized.

Afterwards, include an explanation of what your poem means, where you incorporated your volta, and how you used references and allusions to the texts.

Poem worth 4 points
Explanation worth 4 points

Personal Narrative (meter and rhyme) Witness Poem

For this assignment, cut and paste the verse and chorus of a familiar song into your blog. Scan (label the accented syllables) to establish a meter and rhyme structure.

Next, rewrite that verse and chorus into a narrative witness poem of personal experience that FOLLOWS THE SAME METER AND RHYME.

Link to the original song to cite the actual meter/rhyme
Explain how you use the meter and rhyme to add meaning to you poem.
Required elements:
same meter and rhyme as original
volta

Poem is worth 4 points
Explanation is worth 4 points

See video below for a demonstration of scanning a poem:

Found Poem

Create a found poem that you transform into a statement of witness.

Begin with an article from a periodical (newspaper/magazine) and cut and paste the relevant text into your blog.

Cite this article by including a link or URL to the source.

Next, manipulate the text, so that it forms a poem. You must apply the following poetic terms and discuss in an accompanying explanation:
line
stanza
volta
end stop
enjambment
caesura

You may write about any topic, but some suggestions are listed below:

Trayvon Martin

Presidential Election

Supreme Court Health Care Case

French Shooting

Vikings Stadium Case

North Korea nuclear tensions

War in Afghanistan


Poem is worth 4 points
Explanation is worth 4 points


Example Found Poem (performed, not written):

"Imagine" Witness Poem

Consider John Lennon's "Imagine." What would your ideal world look like? Write a poem that begins, "Imagine..." and let yourself dream. Remember to be concrete and specific. "Imagine no war" sounds great in a song, but is not effective poetry. How would your perfect world look in concrete and specific terms?

The more focused your details, the more effective your imagery will be. For instance, if your vision of a perfect world is that schools are closed, you could say "No school." "Padlocks on the glass entries of door 7" is more specific. "Confetti made from shredded scantrons" is even more specific. You don't have to say everything, just something concrete and specific. No length requirement; write what you feel. Stop when your feeling has been expressed.

Worth 5 points for on-time completion.

Instructions for: Animal Dreams Discussion Reflection #1

Please write 300 words reflecting on what you got out of today's discussion.  If you find yourself struggling to find things to say, I would suggest putting more into the discussions (both speaking and listening).  Write informally.  Talk about interesting ideas.  Thing of this (and subsequent) blog posts as pre-writing for a paper.

Example: I really like what "Bob" said about people transforming into animals.  I hadn't noticed it, but I'm going to look for it from now on.  Maybe it means that everyone is actually an animal - like what Loyd said about Jack's dreams.  Hey, that's a connection.

The assignment is really about processing the ideas from the discussion.  As the quote in the room says, "Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting" (Edmund Burke).

Due by 11:59 PM Wednesday Night.

Blog Assignment: Wrap-up of Education Presentions and Intro of Animal Dreams

Please reflect on what you learned through this project. Please write informally and in as loose a structure as you are comfortable doing. 500 words required. Consider some of the questions below (or ignore them all and come up with your own topics).

PRESENTATIONS
What content was interesting?
What presentations were effective and why?
What makes a good presentation?
What makes a presentation persuasive?
What makes a good learning environment?
What makes a good teacher?
What makes a good student?
What works well in our classroom?
What needs to be improved in our classroom?
What questions do you have about grading/results?


ANIMAL DREAMS
What questions do you have about the book/unit?
What are your initial thoughts about the content of the book and/or the structure and methodology of the unit?
What do you expect of the book?

Random thoughts

Hi folks,

I really appreciate all your responses to the "sucks... rocks" assignment. It has given me lots of food for thought and lots of ideas in how to make 2nd semester a better experience for you than 1st.

In no particular order, I have gotten the following from your blog entries:

Papers MUST be graded and returned earlier. That will be accomplished or my name isn't Fred Nai-Chung Cheng (trust me, it is).

Most people (though not all) like book discussions. I am thinking up ways to make them more focused and in-depth.

Most people want more structure to the writing assignments, which includes built-in deadlines and grading rubrics. These ideas make sense. Even though I was strongly CS in high school, I think I've gotten more random in my old age. Grading rubrics and schedules feel restrictive to me, but I hear this message loud and clear: they help you. If I am going to ask you to try to go outside your comfort zones, I should be willing to do the same.

You have waaay too much homework. I hear that. I did not have hours and hours of homework every night when I was in high school (back in the late 20th century). I remember having math homework almost daily and reading for English and social studies classes. I sometimes practiced for band (trombone) and usually crammed for science tests. I can't remember what else I took - isn't that sad? Oh yeah, Children's theater and creative writing. Some homework for those, but not a lot. Anyhow, I will try very hard to have mostly classwork. You should know right now that I can't ALWAYS give work time on assignments, so you will likely have some homework. Also, reading will probably still be assigned as homework - though I have some ideas on that, as well. Also, giving you class time requires that you be ON TASK when I give it. Even a couple students who squander this time will ruin it for everybody. Eh, maybe not. Maybe I'll just put them at the loser table and see how that works.

Most of you are very good writers. Many of your papers have not been well written. That tells me something. There has to be a way to transfer your natural ability to express yourselves into your essays. That's one of my big goals for semester two. Essay writing doesn't have to be strenuous or brain-wracking. A first draft should be as easy as writing a blog. Now if blog writing is not easy for you, then it might not be your cup of tea...

Finally, I like the idea of having a dialogue via the blogs. My kids used to do these reader response journals in elementary school where they would write thoughts about what they're reading, and their teachers would write back. I would like to try blogging regularly on various topics - from the literature we read to more open-ended stuff, and maybe even creative stuff like poetry. I can do an overall response like this entry.

Anyway, I'm going to go back and read more "sucks... rocks" entries, and I'll probably touch base with some more random thoughts. Almost all of you are awesome students. And those of you who aren't know who you are. (Just kidding)

Mr. Cheng's Learning Styles

We did this activity in my 10th grade Humanities class, and I've remembered it to this day. That's how much of an impact it had on me. I have always enjoyed learning about myself, my personality, how I think. This may have changed in the ensuing 25 years, but back then, I was +35 in 3 areas: CS, AS, and AR. I was very little in the CR domain. What that told me was that I was fairly well-rounded and worked well in a process. It also told me that I had an expressive, creative side. I liked that. I didn't want to be a logical type, maybe because it fit the Asian stereotype. In fact, I was disappointed to learn that I was strong CS. Anyhow, for your assignment, write a reflection on your learning style - even if you already knew it. Discuss, as I have, what it means to you, and what you might be able to do with this information. Specifically, how can you apply this knowledge to your education and learning?

Due at 11:59pm.

How school sucks... rocks...

Our first unit of semester 2 will focus on teaching and learning.

Think about what you like and don't like about school generally, and this class specifically. Think about activities you have enjoyed doing both this year and in the past. Think about how you learn best.

For today's classwork, you will write a 300 word blog entry on what sucks about school/English 10, and what rocks about it. Write informally, but write thoughtfully about your general philosophies and beliefs about education, and your unique individual experiences.