10/02/17
No Journal Prompt
All classes will meet in room #808 to complete A Long Way Gone Web Quest and view and answer the Gallery Walk Questions.
10/03/17
Journal Prompt:
What has someone told/taught you that you will always remember?
Class was given a vocab packet to complete as we read the text. We also watched two short interviews with Ishmael Beah and then read Ch. 1.
10/04/17
Journal Prompt:
Do you have more good memories or bad memories from your childhood? What good are memories if they bring so much pain?
Class watched two additional short interview clips with Ishmael Beah. We then read chapters 2 and 3 from A Long Way Gone, which was followed by a writing prompt.
A Long Way Gone—Finding Evidence/Introducing Quotes
At the end of chapter two, Beah writes, “These days I live in three worlds: my dreams, and the experiences of my new life, which triggers memories from the past” (Beah 20).
Find one example (a quote with citation) of each of these three worlds from any of the first three chapters of the memoir. Practice your writing skills by introducing/lead in each quote in a way that shows which world that quote represents.
Example: Beah shows a pleasant memory from his childhood where he and his older brother, “met Mother at the market and walked with her as she purchased ingredients to cook for us” (Beah 10).
10/05/17
Journal Prompt:
Is breaking the law ever justifiable? Why or why not?
Students broke into groups and had a Cold Read competition using an article on child soldiers in the current Syrian conflict. The winning group in each block got bragging rights and candy.
After reading chapters 4 and 5, students were assigned a personal response:
A Long Way Gone—Ch 5. Personal Response
Consider 2nd Amendment rights and gun control in the U.S. What happens when powerless people find ways to own guns? Your response can be in first-person and should be in complete sentences and in paragraph form (at least 5-7 sentences).
10/06/17
Journal Prompt:
Have you ever been around or seen a group who made you afraid? Have you been a part of a group who made others afraid?
After reading Ch. 6, students were given the following writing assignment:
A Long Way Gone—Chapter 6 Constructed Response
As Beah and the other boys try to avoid the RUF, they also have trouble with the people in the villages, and he relates that “This is one of the consequences of the civil war. People stop trusting each other, and every stranger becomes an enemy” (Beah 37).
Consider why the people were afraid of groups of boys traveling together and if similar occurrences happen in the U.S. What happens to people and communities when certain types of people are feared and what happens to those who are feared and to those who are fearful?
Write a constructed response that answers the question in relation to Beah and his companions: Are fearful responses to people based on looks justifiable? You must include two quotes from the text (feel free to use the quote in this prompt). Remember to have a topic sentence and to follow each quote with at least two commentary sentences.
After answering the prompt, students were instructed to swap with another student for peer editing.
10/09/17
Journal Prompt:
How do you have control over your own future?
Read "How Stories Came to Earth" pp 40-42 in World Lit textbook.
Answer questions on page 43
1. Read & Think Critically: 1-8
2. Literary Element: 1-2
3. Academic Vocabulary: 1-2
4. Writing: Write a trickster tale
10/10/17
Journal Prompt:
Have you ever gotten in trouble for something you did not do?
CREDIT RECOVERY DAY
Students worked on completing missing assignments, particularly missed summative grades.
10/11/17
PSAT today! No Journal Prompt
10/12/17
Journal Prompt:
Can fear make someone become a monster?
Students read chapters 7 and 8 in A Long Way Gone. The class then read an article on the Rwandan genocide and competed in groups, answering four questions for a shot at Halloween candy.
10/13/17 Happy Friday the 13th!!!
Journal Prompt:
Why do people still believe in silly superstitions? Do you still have any superstitions that you cling to? If yes, what are they?
Students completed the following constructed response:
A Long Way Gone—Chapter 8 Constructive Response
While Beah is alone in the forest after being separated from his brother and friends, he remembers that his father had once told him, ‘If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die’” (Beah 54).
Write a constructed response that shows how Beah handles his situation and survives on his own. Your response should include two quotes from the text (make sure to introduce/lead-in each quote). Remember to include; a topic sentence, quote with intro and citation, commentary sentence, commentary sentence, 2nd quote with intro and citation, commentary sentence, and commentary sentence.
Students continued reading the text by finishing chapter 9.
The class read the lyrics to the song "I Need Love" (referenced in A Long Way Gone) and completed a TP-CASTT analysis.
10/16/17
Journal Prompt:
Do you think people who are not related to you can still become "family?" Why or why not?
JOURNAL CHECK DAY!
We read chapter 10 and discussed the connections Beah has with his traveling companions and the people in his home village versus his blood relatives.
10/17/17
Journal Prompt:
Are you in a hurry to grow up or are you content to wait?
Students were given the following writing prompt:
A Long Way Gone—Chapter 10 Flashbacks
In this chapter, Beah uses a series flashbacks for several purposes, but the most significant is to reveal to the reader the cultural values of Sierra Leone before the war juxtaposed (or in contrast) to the cultural values of the world Beah is living in during the war.
Choose two of the flashbacks from chapter 10: Explain what values the reader can see in the flashback and how the flashback is connected to Beah’s present (during the war). Your response should be two short paragraphs (minimum 5-7 sentences).
The class continued by reading part of chapter 11.
10/18/17
Journal Prompt:
Think about a quarrel/fight you once had with a friend. What was the outcome of the argument?
We finished chapter 11 in A Long Way Gone.
The class read the short story "Edju & the Two Friends" in the World Lit textbook. The students were directed to complete all numbered questions and the vocabulary practice on page #55.
10/19/17
Journal Prompt:
What does the following quote mean to you?
"Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant taste death only once.
Of all the strange things I have heard so far,
It seems to me the most strange that men are afraid,
Since death the unavoidable end,
Will come when it will come" (Julius Caesar 2.2.1008-13).
What does this quote (Especially the first two lines) mean to you? Have you heard it before?
Students read part of A Long Way Gone chapter 12, pages 100-105.
After Beah references Shakespeare and Julius Caesar, students briefly discussed literary allusions and tone.
10/20/17
Journal Prompt:
Are you (or we as a society) able to make positive changes? If no, why not? If Yes, what changes?
Students read all or part of Chapter 13 (depending on their block)
10/23/17
Journal Prompt:
Do rainy days and Mondays always get you down?
A Long Way Gone—Chapter 13 Constructed Response
By the end of chapter 13, Beah has transformed from a scared child to a ruthless killer. Beah relates part of his transformation to a killer as he says, “My face, my hands, my shirt and gun were covered with blood. I raised my gun and pulled the trigger, and I killed a man” (Beah 119). What has caused this change?
Your response should include two quotes from the text. Remember to introduce/lead-in your quotes and to provide citations.
10/24/17
journal Prompt:
What kind of movies do you like to watch? Which genre is your favorite?
The class read chapter 14 and then were given a workheet with the followng questions:
A Long Way Gone—Chapter 14 Questions
Using complete sentences, answer the following questions:
1. What do Ishmael and the other boy soldiers do when they are not out on a mission?
2. What movies do they like to watch, and why?
3. What else do they do in their spare time?
4. Why is Ishmael promoted to junior lieutenant? How did he achieve this new rank?
At one point the lieutenant tells them, “We are not like the rebels, those riffraffs who kill people for no reason” (Beah 123). Is this true? Find one quote to support your claim and write a four-sentence constructed response.
Quickwrite—Beah relates that “I stood there holding my gun and felt special because I was part of something that took me seriously and I was not running from anyone anymore. I had my gun now, and as the corporal always said, ‘This gun is your source of power in these times. It will protect you and provide you all you need, if you know how to use it well’” (Beah 124).
Compare and contrast this feeling with children in inner city gangs in a short paragraph (5-7 sentences
10/25/17
Journal Prompt:
What kind of movies do you like to watch? What genre is your favorite?
The class read Chapter 15 and then completed the following task:
A Long Way Gone—Chapter 15 Figurative Language
Authors use Figures of Speech because of their power and their Layers of Meaning. For example, we say “it’s raining cats and dogs” instead of “it’s raining large drops which are coming down very fast and hard.” Which is more powerful? In addition, figurative language can help the reader understand experiences that may be foreign to him/her. Choose three figures of speech from this chapter that Beah uses to help his readers share his experiences and explain those “layers” of meaning. Copy the examples verbatim (exactly as written by Beah). Then identify the type of figure of speech (simile, hyperbole, etc.). Lastly, explain how each is used for meaning and effect.
Think about:
Why did the author use this language instead of something else?
What does this comparison/figure of speech do that literal language would not accomplish?
What layer(s) of meaning does it suggest?
10/26/17
Journal Prompt:
Respond to the following poem/song:
"October, and the trees are stripped bare
of all they wear
October, and kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall,
but you go on an on"
Students worked on a Backwards Summary for chapter 16. Using the form (linked below) students read the summary of the chapter and wrote questions in the space below each line. The questions should ask higher level issues that will be answered when they independently read the chapter.
A Long Way Gone-Multimedia Project
To show their understanding of the memoir, students will create an interactive multimedia project using text, images, video, and hyperlinks. Please open the document below for full instructions. We will be in the computer lab on Nov. 15th to allow students time for last minute revisions and edits. The project is a summative grade and due on Nov. 15th.
10/27/17
Students read the poem "Warchild" by Emmanuel Jal and analyzed it together. The class then read a short bio of Jal and watched a TED talk by Jal, which led to a discussion comparing/contrasting Jal and Beah. Finally, the class read Jal's poem/song "Forced to Sin" and individually completed and turned in a TP-CASTT analysis.
10/30/17
Journal Prompt:
Who are your heroes? What qualities/attributes draw you to these men/women?
In the purple World Lit textbook, read "from the Lion's Awakening from The Sundiata" pages 59-63 and answer the number questions(1-8, 1-2, & 1-2) and Vocabulary Practice on page #64.
10/31/17
Journal Prompt:
Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had an experience with the supernatural?
The class viewed a PowerPoint showing examples of Two-Sentence Scary Stories and then created their own version.
11/01/17
Journal Prompt:
What do you usually dream about? Do you ever have nightmares?
The class read chapter 17 and then worked on a constructed response based on the following prompt:
Beah deals with a lack of control as those around him like the nurse tell him, “’None of these things are your fault,’ she would always say sternly at the end of every conversation. Even though I heard that phrase from every staff member-and frankly I had always hated it-I began that day to believe it” (Beah 165).
Why does the repetition of this phrase anger Beah? As he undergoes psychological, emotional, and social counseling, as well as physical and medical attention, does he ever really accept this mantra?
Write a constructed response with two quotes from the text to support your claim.
11/02/17
Journal Prompt:
What music do you listen to when you want to change your mood? Do you have a "go to" group or performer who is always in your playlist?
Students spent the first 15 minutes of class finishing their chapter 17 constructed response. We then read several songs that Beah references in the memoir, "It's Like That" by Run D.M.C and "Three Little Birds" and "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley. The class broke down the songs and discussed why Nurse Esther chose the albums with those songs/artists to give to Beah.
Ticket Out the Door: Why do songs like these appeal to Ishmael Beah?
11/03/17
Journal Prompt:
Do you find it difficult to show your emotions? Do you ever share your feelings with a close friend or relative?
The class read chapter 18 and then worked on the following assignment:
As his rehabilitation continues, Beah expresses, “I still believe in the fragility of happiness” (Beah 173).
Part 1. Based on his past experiences find three quotes to answer each of the following questions (six quotes total). The quotes can be from any of the currently read chapters.
What evidence do you have in the memoir that happiness, for Beah, will always remain “fragile”?
What evidence do you have in the memoir that happiness for Beah can become more permanent?
Part 2. Choose which of the two questions you feel more strongly about, and using one of the quotes write a four-sentence response (topic sentence, quote with introduction and citation, and two commentary sentences).
11/06/17
Journal Prompt:
Think about a recent mistake that is bugging you.
What happened?
Why didn't it work the way you thought?
What could you try next time to get a new/different outcome?
The class watched the two interviews linked below and then answered the questions on the linked worksheet.
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