"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

Good Morning!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly while the netbook powers up.

*In our times we will find ongoing examples of civil disobedience (and I have shown you some examples).  We also see an ongoing struggle against discrimination.  The following link conveys that and also quotes the text of "Letter from Birmingham Jail." 

The National Voice of the Hispanic Legal Community

*"Letter from Birmingham Jail" -- Yesterday I asked you to copy the questions in my blog into your ENGLISH JOURNAL.   Please complete those questions today.

HOMEWORK:  Two book reviews are to be posted on Goodreads by March 7th.  Follow the rubric and show clear paragraphing by skipping appropriate space between each paragraph.  Be sure to share the URL of the Goodreads page by filling out the form under "Important Links" on my blog. 

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

Good Morning!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until the netbook powers up.

*"Letter from Birmingham Jail"  -- You have had three days to read, digest, and annotate this text.  Today I will review the text with you, and you will respond to the following questions (please copy into your ENGLISH JOURNAL):

Questions on "Letter from Birmingham Jail" 

1.  What prompted Martin Luther King to write this letter?

2.  What moral reason does King provide in coming to Birmingham?

3.  How does King respond to the criticism that the demonstrations are not "well-timed"?

4.  Explain what King means by the process of self-purification in a non-violent campaign?

5.  What distinction does King make between just and unjust laws?

6.  Describe King's thoughts on "moderate whites."

7.  What are King's thoughts on being an extremist?

8.  At what point in the letter does King give a strong emotional appeal?

9.  What part in this letter caught your attention?

10. Describe your experience in reading this text.  

(NOTE: Provide space between each question and use a different text color for your answers.

Protests in Birmingham, Alabama 1963

HOMEWORK:   Independent reading/book reviews -- book reviews on Goodreads are due no later than March 7th. 

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

Good Morning!

Please put your cell phone away and out of sight.  Any cell phone or Ipod in use during class will be confiscated.

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until it powers up.  NOTE:  You have two book reviews due by next Friday, March 7th.  That is the end of the first six weeks . . . . believe it or not.  Time passes swiftly! Please follow the rubric and show clear paragraphing by spacing between paragraphs.  

NOTE: Be sure to put your name on all documents that I share with you (and of which you make copies).  Do NOT change the document name. 

*"Letter from Birmingham Jail" -- Today you are to finish annotating this text.  My objective here is that YOU actively digest this text versus me feeding it to you.

HOMEWORK:  Independent reading/book reviews

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

Good Morning! 

Please get your netbooks when you arrive and read quietly until your netbook is powered up.

*Before we resume annotating "Letter from Birmingham Jail," I would like us to look at what Martin Luther King describes about Birmingham, Alabama in his autobiography AND an issue that is currently taking place (this week).

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

New anti-gay bill proves Arizona is the land of dinosaurs

Arizona's Anti-Gay Bill

NOTE:  Please put your name in the upper left corner of your annotated copies of "Self-Reliance," "Civil Disobedience," and "Letter from Birmingham Jail." 

*"Letter from Birmingham Jail" -- Complete the annotation of the text by the end of class tomorrow.  

HOMEWORK:  Independent reading/book reviews.   

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

Good Morning!   

I hope that you had an enjoyable weekend!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until we are ready to begin.

* Gandhi Quotes
*"Letter from Birmingham Jail" 
   Some introduction to King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
  Please open your View Only folder in your Google drive and find "Letter from Birmingham Jail."  Make your own copy and share back to me (abaltrushes@gmail.com). 

Annotation -- You will annotate "Letter from Birmingham Jail" for main ideas.  Paraphrase the key ideas in each paragraph.

Homework:  Independent reading/book reviews.  Note: the grading period ends March 7th.

 

Gandhi

Good Morning!

Please read quietly until we are ready to begin. Your CELLPHONE is to be put away and entirely out of sight. 

 NOTE: The course selection sheet is due today.  I will be delivering them to the counseling office this afternoon.

*Gandhi -- We will see one more segment of the movie today and then move on to Martin Luther King on Monday.  I will collect your ten points today.  I am sure that you have numbered them, and you have skipped a space between each. I am also very sure that you will not be turning in paper ripped from a spiral notebook  because I supplied the paper.

Homework:  Independent reading/book reviews.

 

Gandhi

Good Morning!

Please read quietly until we are ready to begin.

NOTE: Please have your course selection sheet by tomorrow.

*Gandhi -- We will continue watching Gandhi today.  Please share the parts that caught your attention.  You might have already noticed some of Thoreau's ideas expressed by Gandhi: ". . . they do not know how much truth is stronger than error, nor how much more eloquently and effectively he can combat injustice who has experienced a little in his own person."

HOMEWORK: Independent reading.  Two book reviews are due by March 7th.

Gandhi "On Civil Disobedience"

Good Morning!

Please read quietly until we are ready to begin. NOTE: the end of the grading period is March 7th.  You may submit your book reviews at any time before then.  Be sure to follow the rubric.

*NOTE: Please bring to me your course selection sheet which is due Feb 21st.

*From "On Civil Disobedience" --  For homework you completed a handout, recording five main ideas and supporting quotes.

*Gandhi -- the movie.  Assignment: Record ten parts that caught your attention.  

HOMEWORK: Independent reading.  Two book reviews are due by March 7th.

 

Gandhi -- From "On Civil Disobedience"

Good Morning!  I hope that you had a great four-day weekend!

Please read quietly until we are ready to begin.

NOTE: The blue course selection sheet is due by February 21st.  Please bring it to me so I can deliver ALL completed schedules on that date.

*Examples of civil disobedience -- last Thursday you read articles that are examples of civil disobedience, and you recorded your responses in your English Journal (what was the act of civil disobedience and what was is the protest).

*Mohandas Gandhi -- From "On Civil Disobedience"

   Assignment -- Paraphrasing main ideas and quotes that support  

  main ideas. (Handout)

HOMEWORK:  Assignment on From "On Civil Disobedience" 
                           Independent Reading 

Examples of Civil Disobedience

Good Morning!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until we are ready to begin.

(The following had been planned for yesterday, so you will also see it on yesterday's blog).  

* Assignment:  Click on the following links and read the articles.  Explain the acts of CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE (or if an act of civil disobedience has occurred) and what is being protested.  Provide a complete explanation. Record your responses in your ENGLISH JOURNAL. Be sure to indicate the title of the article with your response.

"Thoreau and Anti-War Protest"

"Keystone opponents vow civil disobedience"

"Three Nuns and a Test of Civil Disobedience"

"Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan won't pay back taxes" 

Civil Disobedience

Good Morning!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until we are ready to begin.  

*"Civil Disobedience" -- we just have one final paragraph to read.

Assignment: questions on "Civil Disobedience" (handout)  

* Assignment:  Click on the following links and read the articles.  Explain the acts of CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE (or if an act of civil disobedience has occurred) and what is being protested.  Provide a complete explanation. Record your responses in your ENGLISH JOURNAL. Be sure to indicate the title of the article with your response.

"Thoreau and Anti-War Protest"

"Keystone opponents vow civil disobedience"

"Three Nuns and a Test of Civil Disobedience"

"Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan won't pay back taxes" 

 HOMEWORK:  Independent reading

"Civil Disobedience"

Good Morning!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until we are ready to begin.

*"Civil Disobedience"  -- We will finish reading Thoreau's essay today.  Your copy should be fully annotated following along with the class reading.  You will find this annotation very useful when it comes time to write a final essay for this unit on Transformational Thinking.

HOMEWORK:  Independent reading

"Civil Disobedience"

Good Morning! I hope that you had an enjoyable weekend!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until we are ready to begin.

*"Civil Disobedience" -- Please open your copy of "Civil Disobedience."  You have shared your copy back to me.  Please follow along attentively as we read and annotate for main ideas. 

HOMEWORK: Independent reading

Henry David Thoreau

Good Morning!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until we are ready to begin.

*Review of "quiz" on Mexican-American War

*Please open your View Only folder in your Google drive and then open "Civil Disobedience."  Make your own copy of the document but do not rename it.  Share it back to me (abaltrushes@gmail.com).

*Henry David Thoreau -- "Civil Disobedience"
 Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) exerted a profound, enduring influence on American thought and literature. His famous experiment in living close to nature and his equally famous night in jail to protest an inhuman institution and an unjust war are articulated in his best known works, Walden and "Civil Disobedience."

Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts.

One of America's most famous writers, Henry David Thoreau is remembered for his philosophical and naturalist writings.  He became known for his beliefs in Transcendentalism and civil disobedience and was a dedicated abolitionist.

Mexican-American War

Good Morning! 

*Please read until we are ready to begin.

*Yesterday you did some research on the Mexican-American War to acquire some background knowledge to Thoreau's"Civil Disobedience."  I was very pleased with your sustained engagement with this assignment and hope that you found it interesting.  I know I did.  I have looked at the questions that you have written and selected 20 for a quiz today.  We will correct this quiz in class.

HOMEWORK:  Independent reading

Mexican-American War

Good Morning!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until we are ready to begin.  NOTE: Please return any book that you may have signed out from this class.

*Today you will do some research on the Mexican-American War because of its relevance to Thoreau's essay "Civil Disobedience."  Please write ten (10) short answer questions on highly important details.  Include your answer to each question. For example, you might ask about the causes of the war and what the U.S. gained, etc. If students have learned something on the topic, they hopefully will be able to successfully answer the questions.  (We are quizzing each other on what we have learned). This is due by the end of the period.  The following are some links to use:

Mexican-American War

Mexican-American War  

Mexican-American War 


HOMEWORK:  Independent reading

Early Assessment Program (EAP)

Good Morning! 

 Please read quietly until we are ready to begin

 *Early Assessment Program -- for homework you responded to questions on an EAP writing prompt with the objective of understanding what the passage says and what you are asked to do in a written response. We will review these questions and take a look at a student's response to this prompt.

 *Tomorrow we will do a little bit of research on the Mexican-American War because the U.S. involvement in this conflict is what prompted Henry David Thoreau to write "Civil Disobedience."

*HOMEWORK: Independent reading 

Early Assessment Program (EAP)

Good Morning!  I hope that you had a very enjoyable weekend!

Please get your netbook when you arrive and read quietly until we are ready to begin. 

*"Self-Reliance" -- I felt that you should have completed the review questions on Emerson's essay by the end of class on Friday.  I see that many of you have not done so.  Please fully complete the questions today.  Skip some space between each question and put your answer in a different color.  For those who have completed the questions, please work on the homework assignment.

HOMEWORK:  EAP Practice (Early Assessment Program)  (Handout)