Welcome back from our 3-day weekend. And, in the Vista tradition, we will view the The Great Debaters today. But before we do that, we showed you this Ted Talk.

Take a second look at Drew Dudley’s Ted Talk and share it with someone at home; next, bullet list their thoughts about the talk in your SSEnglish journal.

What was your “lollipop moment?”

Before we began the movie, we asked you to respond to one of these three questions:

The Great Debaters and Everyday Leaders

Before we begin viewing The Great Debaters today, we would like to see what you think about these three “BIG” questions.  Choose one to respond to in writing in your SSEnglish journal.  Be sure to give your page a heading!  In your response, write a paragraph of at least 5 to 10 thoughtful sentences with no repetition. Write neatly, read your response aloud in your head to see if it makes sense and remember to check for GUMS.

After the movie is over, we are going to ask you to respond to the question again.

“BIG” Questions:

1. Are all people equal?  Is it possible to achieve equality?  Be sure to define equality on your answer.

2.  Consider the concept of bullies, bystanders and victims.  How does this movie relate to these concepts – what connections do you see?  Which group has the most power?  How can they use their power for “good”?

3. “Drew Dudley believes leadership is not a characteristic reserved for the extraordinary. He works to help people discover the leader within themselves.”   If this is true, each one of us can be a leader.  What would/does your leadership look like?  You might want to think about qualities you  have. What things are you/would you want to be the leader of?  How would/do you go about it?  How would/do you get people to follow your lead?

We passed out a copy of these questions and asked you to tape them in to your SSEnglish journal on a clean, left-hand page; here’s a copy of them here.

Finally, share your response to the question you chose from above with someone at home. In your SSEnglish journal, bullet list their response to the question you chose and your response.

 

Here’s what we did today:

1. Study groups continued working on the vocabulary words from the word sort. Each student was given 5 vocabulary template sheets (salmon-colored paper and 2-sided). Groups divided up the 19 words among members. Each member is responsible for at least 4 to 5 words depending on the number of people in the group.

2. We passed out the handout, Animal Farm “Big Questions” (yellow paper). Read the handout carefully and follow all directions. Select one question and write a paragraph explaining your thinking about the question. Seven to 10 sentences is probably the minimum number of sentences needed for a response.

Use the links found on the this page, Dictionaries Online, to help you learn information about the 19 words that will help you write your explanation and complete the vocabulary template sheets.

3. Finally, reading workshop teachers took page numbers at the end of class. If you were absent, check in with your page number teacher before the start of advisory on Friday.

Your post on your blog and the vocabulary sheets are due on Wednesday, January 22.

Do not share your blog post with us.

Here’s what we did today:

1. We continued working on the Word Sort. All groups should have started working on an explanation for each of the 19 words. This work will continue on Thursday.

2. Mrs. Peterson pointed out how to use the links on this page to help you come up with an explanation for each word rather than a definition.

Finally, remember that tomorrow is our visit to the Wolfeboro Public Library. Come dressed appropriately for the walk, bring any books due, and have your Someday List.

Here’s what we did today:

1. Reading lists were handed out and are due to your reading workshop page number teacher on or before Monday, January 27. All the books you’ve read, started and abandoned, or are currently reading should be included on your reading list. Get a copy here if you don’t have one.

2. Today we began our unit on Animal Farm by George Orwell. We started with a Word Sort Activity on Government and “isms.” Get a copy of the handout here. We worked in study groups. Check in with your group if you were absent and write down the tips Mrs. Peterson gave at the start that will help you explain what each word means (19 in all) by using the Word Origin Packet.

3. Come dressed and be ready to walk to the Wolfeboro Public Library on Wednesday, January 15. Don’t forget to bring any books you might have checked out, library card, and Someday List.

Novelist
Eric Arthur Blair, known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. Wikipedia
Born: June 25, 1903, Motihari, India
Died: January 21, 1950, London, United Kingdom
Full name: Eric Arthur Blair
Nominations: Locus Award for Best Art Book
Awards: Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, Retro Hugo Award for Best Novella

Finally, congratulations to Marina and Kiera, the winners in first Vista Trivia Contest. Keep checking the blog each night because you’ll never know when the next contest will be held.