"The Sniper" TIQA paragraphs

Read the story "The Sniper" and do the worksheet that goes with it. When you are done, write a TIQA style paragraph on some aspect of this story like a trait of the main character, the setting, or the theme. Write this paragraph on the class blog.

TIQA Paragraphs

Write out your TIQA paragraphs here. Include you name and the name of the book you are working with. DO NOT included the direction words like "Topic Sentence" or "Quote." Just write it out like it's one continuous, flowing paragraph.

CNN Current Events

CNN Current Events

CNN Current Events

CNN Current Events

CNN Current Events

CNN Current Events

What I know about WWII and the Holocaust

The book we are going to read using our literature circles is called Night by Elie Wiesel. It tells the true story of a young Jewish boy and his family who are caught up in the awful circumstances of WWII and the Holocaust.

What do you know about WWII and the Holocaust? What do you know about Jews and Nazis? What do you know about concentration camps?

Use this blog space to brainstorm what you know about these topics. Read the posts made by your fellow classmates and respond to them as well. 10 points.

CNN Election Site

Click on this link www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/ and look around the CNN Election site. What kind of information can you find there? What interesting facts or ideas are there? Explore the website for 8-10 minutes. Then, come back to the blog and post what you found or learned while visiting the CNN Election site. 10 points

Presidential Candidates

We've been talking a lot in class about the people who are running for president this year. In this blog entry, voice your opinion on who you think should be our next president and why. Here are some of the top candidates.

Republicans:

• Mike Huckabee (won in Iowa)
  
• Mitt Romney (former Governor of Massachusetts)
  
• John McCain (won in New Hampshire)
  
• Rudy Guiliani (former mayor of New York)
  
• Fred Thompson (former Congressman and actor on Law & Order)
  
• Ron Paul (Senator and more independent candidate)
  

Democrats:

• Hillary Clinton (Senator from New York and former First Lady)
  
• Barack Obama (Senator from Illinios)
  
• John Edwards (Senator & candidate in 2004)

Don't forget to say why you like a particular candidate. 10 points

"Are you smarter than a chimp?"

Here is the link to try to the "Are you smarter than a chimp" test from CNN.

MySpace Bullying

What is your opinion on the recent news of a MySpace hoax leading to a 13 year old girl's suicide? What do you think should happen to the people who made up the fake MySpace identity and pretended to be a teenage boy who was interested in this young girl, but then told her "the world would be a better place without you." How big of a problem to you think online bullying is? Please respond to this topic in a thoughtful blog entry. 10 points.

Teddy Bear Teacher

What is your opinion about the recent incident involving the British teacher who allowed her class of 7 year olds in Sudan to name a teddy bear Mohammed? Do you think she should have been put in jail for this? Why or why not? What do you think about her punishment? She was pardoned and now has been deported back to England. Do you think this is the right thing to do? How would you feel if someone insulted your religion? Please respond to these questions in a thoughtful blog entry. 10 points

Current Events: Child Labor (10 points)

Where are your clothes made? Do you pay attention to this when you buy something? Look at the label on your shirt or jacket. Where was it made? Could child labor have been involved in its manufacture? Does this change your attitude about what you wear? Reflect on the use of child labor to make less expensive goods for people to buy. 10 points

Current Events: California Wildfires (10 points)

If you had to leave your house in a hurry to escape a fire, what things would you grab to take with you and why? Explain your answer in detail and remember the blog grading criteria. 10 points

Setting up a Pageflake Account (5 points)

Now that you've set up a Pageflake account, reflect on the experience. Think about the following questions.

1. What was easy and/or hard about setting up a Pageflake account?
2. How can you use Pageflakes for school related things?
3. How can you use Pageflakes in your personal life?
4. Would you recommend Pageflakes to a friend or your parents? Why or why not?

Post your comments about Pageflakes. Your comments must be longer than the minimum of 3 lines for full credit on this assignment. 5 points.

Wikispaces (10 points)

Now that you have a little experience with wikispaces, please post your comments about the experience so far. How do you think we could use wikispaces in our classroom? Please review the blog grading criteria listed on the upper right corner of the main page before posting your comment. 10 points

Current Events: Music File Sharing (10 points)

Here is a partial transcript of yesterday's current events story on music file sharing. Reread it, and then make a blog entry expressing your opinion on this issue. Is this a real problem? What should be done? This blog entry is worth 10 points, so please treat it like a regular classroom assignment and write in complete sentences, proofreading what you say before posting.

CNN TRANSCRIPT: When you hear a new song you like, you might hop online to get it. But how you download is important. Almost 8 million homes use file-sharing programs, but the American recording industry says those programs are illegal, and last week, a federal jury agreed. It ordered a Minnesota woman to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for sharing copyrighted music online.

File-sharing has been in the news for years, partly because it's so widespread. We know where the people who do it stand, and we know where the record industry stands. But what about you?

Current Events: Overpopulation (10 points)

Here is the transcript of yesterday's current events story on overpopulation. Reread it, and then make a blog entry expressing your opinion on this issue. Is this a real problem? What should be done? This blog entry is worth 10 points, so please treat it like a regular classroom assignment and write in complete sentences, proofreading what you say before posting.

CNN TRANSCRIPT: The number is staggering: 6.6 billion people. The entire population of the United States times 22! And all of them are dependent on the Earth's resources. So, it's easy to see the problems that overpopulation can cause. More than a billion people -- roughly one-sixth of the world's population -- don't have their basic needs. Many go without clean drinking water; many don't have access to modern health care.

Let's look at Africa. This is the world's fastest growing continent, with about 900 million people today. By the year 2050, it's estimated there'll be almost two billion, possibly three times as many Africans as Europeans! But is population increase all bad? Won't there be more people to work, more to provide the services others need? Yes. And when you add up more workers and more consumers, you get a growing economy. The problem is, population growth is expected to be most significant in developing countries, places that already have trouble providing the basic needs of their people. So, having more people could likely worsen the situation, straining these countries' already limited resources. And there are societal factors too: One expert pointed out that with higher population density, you'll see higher crime rates and an increased chance of spreading disease. So, the policies that countries make to deal with these problems today can determine how well we'll handle them tomorrow.