Unequal Resource Simulation

Students gained hands-on knowledge of the real world in Humanities. After studying the 5 themes of Geography, they looked at how resources are unevenly distributed around the world. Leaders must make due, negotiate, trade, and make deals to fulfill the needs of their people.

Concepts /Generalizations:

1. Interconnectedness – Because of their interconnectedness, all countries have a responsibility to cooperate in solving environmental, energy, political and other problems to maintain peace.

2. Change – All people are part of a global system in which a change in one part may affect other parts

3. Cross-Cultural Communication – When a resource is critical to the welfare of a nation, hostilities may develop between or among nations resulting in a breaking down of communications and perhaps serious confrontation.

Rich discussion follows the simulation as students make connections to current issues that are affecting the world today.

Debriefing Questions

Connections/Big Ideas

Progress Report Update

On Tuesday morning Progress Reports were successfully sent to Edline.  In addition I gave a printed copy to each student and reviewed the information in a personal mini-conference.  I also handed back the personal narratives and discussed the grades during this time.  Students are required to get a parent signature on the progress report and return it to school by Friday.  Thank you.

Narrative comments

I love Kate’s narrative, Canoeing. I particularly enjoy how she used vivid imagery in her writing like when she says, “You could see the light filtering through the topmost leaves; see the dust in the dim light.” You can really picture the scene in your mind. Or when she describes her canoeing adventure by saying, :The water was cool, and even though the guides had insisted that there weren’t alligators at this time, we tried not to go too deep, and stayed inside the canoe. There were some fish, flitting around, shimmering in the murky river.” She is showing us with her descriptions and not telling us what to think. Read more of her narrative on her blog by clicking the link below.

Try commenting on other students’ blogs by writing a comment in your own blog and linking to their written work. It’s fun, easy, and you’ll expand your readership a bunch.

Kate’s blog

Homework – September 16-19

Monday:  NO SCHOOL (Mid-Autumn Festival)

Tuesday:

1. Vocab. lesson 4 – begin (Due Monday)
2. Read & Respond to 2 other student’s personal narratives.  Go to another 7th grader’s blog, read their personal narrative, leave comments.  Comments may be positive or constructive only.  Bonus:  Leave comments on your own blog and link to the author’s blog. (Due Friday)Now Due Monday

Wednesday:  Vocab. 4 – continue

Thursday:  NO SCHOOL (7th grade Bonding Trip to Oriental Green Boat)

Friday:   Vocab. 4 – continue

*TEST – vocab. lessons 3 & 4 (definitions only) – Monday 9/22/08

Personal Narratives Due Friday!!

Remember, you get two submissions to MyAccess.com and should edit and revise each time.  Ask a parent of sibling to read your work.  Look over the rubric in MyAccess and the suggestions for writing a good personal narrative.  Your 3rd submission will be your last and you will not be able to edit or change anything after that.  You may make your 3rd and final submission in class on Friday!

Have fun, let pour out from your heart.  Show, don’t tell your story.

Tips for Writing a Personal Narrative

Purpose and Audience

Personal narratives allow you to share your life with others and vicariously experience the things that happen around you. Your job as a writer is to put the reader in the midst of the action letting him or her live through an experience. Although a great deal of writing has a thesis, stories are different. A good story creates a dramatic effect, makes us laugh, gives us pleasurable fright, and/or gets us on the edge of our seats. A story has done its job if we can say, “Yes, that captures what living with my father feels like,” or “Yes, that’s what being cut from the football team felt like.”

Structure

There are a variety of ways to structure your narrative story. The three most common structures are: chronological approach, flashback sequence, and reflective mode. Select one that best fits the story you are telling.

Methods

Show, Don’t’ Tell

Don’t tell the reader what he or she is supposed to think or feel. Let the reader see, hear, smell, feel, and taste the experience directly, and let the sensory experiences lead him or her to your intended thought or feeling. Showing is harder than telling. It’s easier to say, “It was incredibly funny,” than to write something that is incredibly funny. The rule of “show, don’t tell” means that your job as a storyteller is not to interpret; it’s to select revealing details. You’re a sifter, not an explainer. An easy way to accomplish showing and not telling is to avoid the use of “to be” verbs.

Let People Talk

It’s amazing how much we learn about people from what they say. One way to achieve this is through carefully constructed dialogue. Work to create dialogue that allows the characters’ personalities and voices to emerge through unique word selection and the use of active rather than passive voice.

Choose a Point of View

Point of view is the perspective from which your story is told. It encompasses where you are in time, how much you view the experience emotionally (your tone), and how much you allow yourself into the minds of the characters. Most personal narratives are told from the first-person limited point of view. If you venture to experiment with other points of view, you may want to discuss them with your teacher as you plan your piece.

Tense

Tense is determined by the structure you select for your narrative. Consider how present vs. past tense might influence your message and the overall tone of your piece.

Tone

The tone of your narrative should set up an overall feeling. Look over the subject that you are presenting and think of what you are trying to get across. How do you want your audience to feel when they finish your piece? Careful word choice can help achieve the appropriate effect.

http://teachers.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/kburke/tips_for_writing_a_personal_narr.htm

Be the Bamboo

You never know when a comment or thought will turn into inspiration.  Check out Hannah’s poem inspired by a reference in class one day.  She captures a subtleness and paints a vivid picture.  A great metaphor for life.  Fantastic job Hannah!

Be the Bamboo 

There stands one tree,

Worn-out, stiff and stubborn,

Who stood so obstinately,

When along came a breeze

 

There next to the old tree,

Stands another but a bamboo tree,

Flexible and willing,

When along comes a breeze

 

The old tree survives yet another year,

Waving his creaky branches triumphantly.

But then along comes a typhoon,

Who survives and who dies?

 

The Bamboo, resilient and strong,

Resides to refuge,

But alas, old tree,

Too proud and arrogant,

Stays through the storm

 

When the typhoon comes to an end,

The Bamboo emerges, happy and well,

But the old tree, where is he?

All bark, branches, roots, and leaves?

 

Gone, Gone with the wind,

Blown away and gone.

 

So in the end,

One must realize;

 

Be the Bamboo,

Not the old tree,

Who stood so stubbornly,

When along came a breeze.