Reminder: Blog Posts

Remember to contribute to your literature circle's blog by Friday. Links are to the left. Email me with any problems.

NOTE: We will finish reading literature circle books -- with ten more notes -- for Wednesday. The Catch-22 group should get as far as they can and still take ten more notes; we'll discuss how much of an extension you need. Homework for Monday is to complete a draft of materials for the Armenian genocide work to bring and share with the class. Email me any slides or documents you want to project or copy when walking us through your materials -- remember, you're both getting feedback and essentially training everyone else to run your session.

Armenian Genocide Group Assignments

The Armenia groups and responsibilities are listed below for your reference:

• Alex L., Eva, Carolyn, Hannah, Leah: engagement strategies and follow up assignments / extension activities for the study guide
  
• Avetis, Christina, Conor, Jocelyn, Pat, Paul: engagement strategies and annotated list of further reading / viewing for the study guide
  
• Alex T., Amanda, Britt, Deirdre, Nell: film and introduction to the film and post-viewing discussion questions for the study guide
  
• Desal, Jon, Julia, Matt, Max, Stephanie: historical context and historical background "memo" to teachers for the study guide
  
• Andy, Michelle, Sandhya, Tom: engagement strategies and thank you notes to Ms. Mazmanian, Fr. Vasken, and Facing History
• Ellery, Cherelle, Rachel, Sam: historical context and an introductory letter to teachers for the study guide
  

I have examples available of study guides for all of the supplemental sections (assignments, further reading, historical background, introduction, etc). Be excited, guys, this is your legacy!

Extras:

• Click here to download an electronic version of the Facing History resource book
• Click here to visit the online version of the iWitness exhibit we saw at the ALMA

Got an extra we should see? Send it to me and I'll add it to the list.

Class Calendar: April 27th to May 5th

Monday, April 27th (M)
• Due: Read (at least!) first half of literature circle books with 10 meaningful, “meaty” sticky or dialectic notes spread throughout the reading.
• Class: Literature circle meetings; Armenia group meetings.

Tuesday, April 28th (T)
• Due: Continue reading literature circle books; work on Armenia projects.
• Class: Armenia group work in Media Center.

Wednesday, April 29th (W)
• Due: Continue reading literature circle books; work on Armenia projects.
• Class: Armenia group work in Media Center.

Thursday, April 30th (H)
• Due: Continue reading literature circle books; work on Armenia projects.
• Class: First lesson on Rwanda.

Friday, May 1st (F)
• Due: Blog post for literature circle books.
• Class: Second lesson on Rwanda.

Monday, May 4th (S)
• Due: Completed Armenia materials (both primary and supplementary) ready to present to the class. No late days, please. If you send me what you have I can set up slides, make copies, etc.
• Class: Run through and critique of Armenia materials.

Local Events of Interest

Hey, gang, I wanted to share a couple of really exciting upcoming events with you. If you would like to attend either or both, I would certainly grant some extra credit to sweeten the deal (as with Of Thee I Sing, I'd just ask for a one page reflection on the experience, and maybe to say a few very informal words to the class).

The Museum of Fine Arts is sponsoring an Armenian film festival. Click here to see the line up. The documentaries seem most relevant to our studies, dealing with relations between Turkey and Armenia, but as we have been generally studying Armenian culture, you could attend any of these. Tickets are $10 for students.

The second is a speaking engagement with a man named Leopold Engleitner, who is 103 years old*:

... born 1905, who experienced World Wars I and II and found the extraordinary courage to refuse to serve in Hitler’s army. He suffered unspeakable cruelty in three concentration camps, and on release weighed less than 62 pounds. Astoundingly, he could easily have had his freedom: all he had to do was sign a paper renouncing his religious convictions as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He refused to do it.

This event is free and open to the public, May 4, 2009, 5:30 PM, at Harvard University in Science Center C at 1 Oxford Street. Click here for the website for Unbroken Will, the name of the book and documentary about Mr. Engleitner's experiences.

*Yes, really.

Vacation Reminders

Remember to read halfway through your literature circle text before returning from vacation (you've had the books for about a week already, so this should not be a tall order!). I'll be looking for ten "meaty" sticky or dialectic notes on the day you return from break.

Feel free to use the comments space on this post to communicate with your group members about how far to read. Have a great vacation, and those of you who are heading far and away, travel safely and bring back lots of pictures!

Updated Iraq Resources

Click here for the NPR clip we listened to in class, if you were either absent or abducted by the teachers.

And click here for the entire Frontline video we started in class. The group members particularly suggest the following clips: 00:00-07:50; 12:40-12:50; 19:17-19:34; 20:00-21:45; 28:00-30:00. Enjoy!

Literature Circle Choices

If you will be out on Thursday please review the following choices tonight and email me your preferences:

• After Long Silence by Helen Fremont
• All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein
• Escape From Slavery by Francis Bok
• Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
• Forgotten Fire by Adam bagdasarian
• Hiroshima by John Hersey
• Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton
• Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
• Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche
• Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi
• The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith H. Beer and Susan Dworkin
• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

Books that are significantly longer (they’re great, but read at your own risk):

• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
• Eleni by Nicholas Gage
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
• We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch

Field Trip Reminder

Just a quick reminder, we'll be leaving school immediately after first period tomorrow so be ready to go in the front lobby at 9.05a sharp! Bring your journal, something to write with, and some money for lunch. It should be a fascinating visit.

Class Calendar: April 6th to April 17th

Monday, April 6th (S)
• Due: First blog post on Night.
• Class: First lesson on Iraq; brief debrief on Mrs. Mazmanian’s visit.

Note: I need remaining permission slips right away or I can’t take you on the trip!

Tuesday, April 7th (U)
• Class does not meet.

Wednesday, April 8th (M)
• Due: In your journal, brainstorm ideas for Armenia project and write a brief reflection on Mrs. Mazmanian’s visit to class.
• Class: Field trip to the Armenian Museum and Library of America. Don’t forget to bring some lunch money and your project journal!

Thursday, April 9th (T)
• Due: Second blog post on Night (by tonight is fine, just don’t forget).
• Class: Second lesson on Iraq; selection of final literature circle texts.

Friday, April 10th
• No school today. Enjoy the long weekend!

Monday, April 13th (W)
• Due: Start reading literature circle book.
• Class: First lesson on Bosnia.

Tuesday, April 14th (H)
• Due: Work on Armenia project (to be determined); keep reading literature circle book.
• Class: Second lesson on Bosnia.

Wednesday, April 15th (F)
• Due: Work on Armenia project (to be determined); keep reading literature circle book.
• Class: Work on Armenia project.

Thursday, April 16th (S)
• Due: Read to assigned spot in literature circle book, with five sticky or dialectic notes.
• Class: Brief literature circle meeting; work on Armenia project.

Friday, April 17th (U)
• Class does not meet.

Note: We’ll be reading to chosen places in literature circle books (with ten more sticky or dialectic notes) over the vacation, due on the Monday we return from vacation.

Obama and Armenian Genocide

Hey, all. I stumbled across a few more interesting pieces on President Obama and the Armenian genocide over the weekend ... there's lots out there. I wanted to share with you this letter he wrote as Senator of Illinois to Secretary Rice about the State Department's decision to recall the Ambassador to Armenia for using the word "genocide" to describe the events of 1915. It's powerfully written and touches on many of the themes we've been exploring. Check it out! 

Online Discussion of Night

Don't forget to review the general blogging expectations before posting (no full names, use the text, acknowledge your colleagues, etc). Keep your response in the range of 200 words, as we'll be writing more than once. Don't try to answer every question I've suggested, these are just places you could consider starting. All questions are adapted from the Facing History study guide to Night.

• Explore the relationship between knowing, madness, and belief.
• Explore the relationship between Eliezer and his father.
• Consider how Eliezer struggles with his faith.
• Consider how prisoners struggle to maintain their identity under extraordinary conditions.
• Discuss why Wiesel titled his autobiographical story “Night.”

As always, let me know if you have any problems posting.