Take-Aways from The Kite Runner

Make a live audience poll at Poll Everywhere

Final Kite Runner Fishbowl Discussion

Enjoy your last discussion of The Kite Runner. If you haven't gotten into a hotseat yet, today is your last chance! As always, try to bring in textual passages when applicable.

Kite Runner Fishbowl: Chapter 23

Mr. Dodson, Senior Military Adviser to the Afghan Army'sNational Threat Warning Center, sent us this picture from Kabul (underneath is a quote from his e-mail):

"From Afghanistan - a country of everlasting conflicts and unending vendettas."

--G.J. Younghusband

Feel free to comment on the picture as you blog, and I hope you enjoy our final fishbowl discussion of The Kite Runner! Continue with your usual level of depth and professionalism, and try to include a passage from the text in at least one of your comments.

Kite Runner Fishbowl: Chapters 19 and 20

Above is a picture of an orphanage in Afghanistan to help you visualize Chapter 20:

Enjoy your discussion of Chapters 19 and 20. Please remember to bring in passages from the text when possible and to get into a hot seat!

(Picture courtesy of Google Images)

Kite Runner Fishbowl: Chapters 17 and 18

The picture above of Kabul is taken from The Sydney Morning Herald. The caption underneath reads:

The land they inherit … a destroyed bus in Kabul becomes a playground for boys in Kabul.

As you discuss Chapters 17 and 18, keep this image and yesterday's images in mind.

Kite Runner Fishbowl: Chapter 16

Enjoy a thoughtful discussion of Chapter 16 in The Kite Runner today.

If you would like something to discuss, you might ponder why I have specifically included the image of Neo from The Matrix clip you watched yesterday; this is the moment in which he selects between the blue pill and the red pill. How might this relate to Chapter 16?

Kite Runner Fishbowl: Chapter 12

Please contribute to the blog conversation frequently and thoughtfully, and remember always to display professionalism.

Outer circle challenge for the day: Bring textual passages into some of your comments.

Fishbowl #2 (Chapter 8)

Happy Fishbowl Thursday!

A Few Reminders:
-The outer circle is expected to partcipate at least five times on the Live Blog discussion.
-Hit F5 to refresh the blog.
-Respond to individual's specific questions. Do NOT leave random comments.
-The hot seats are avaliable for your participation in the inner circle...if you have a comment please get up and add it to the discussion! Let's see you add to the discussion in the hot seats today!
-Have fun!

Kite Runner Fishbowl #1 (Chapters 4 & 5)

Hello and welcome to the first Fishbowl of the Second Semester!

A Few Reminders:
-The outer circle is expected to partcipate at least five times on the Live Blog discussion.
-Hit F5 to refresh the blog.
-Respond to individual's specific questions. Do NOT leave random comments.
-The hot seats are avaliable for your participation in the inner circle...if you have a comment please get up and add it to the discussion!

Animoto Link

Please copy and paste your link into a comment below. Thanks!

Friendship and Sacrifice Writing

•Do you think that most people feel the need to be a little better than their friends? Is this a necessary part of friendship? Can you be friends with someone who you think is superior to you?

•How do you see this play into Amir and Hassan’s friendship? Are they truly friends? Please cite at least one passage in your response.

SAS® Curriculum Pathways® Writing Reviser - Writing Reviser

What did you think of using the SAS® Curriculum Pathways® Writing Reviser?

In what ways was it helpful?

In what ways was it not helpful?

What can we / the software do to help you continually improve upon your writing?

Kite Runner Thoughts: Part One

How do we define "family"?

Mr. Ruggles Student Teaching Questionnaire

1. What is one thing that that Mr. Ruggles does well?
2. What is one thing that Mr. Ruggles can improve upon?
3. Rank these on a scale of one to five (with five being the highest) and leave a one sentence explanation explaining your number:

a. How would you rank Mr. Ruggles’ communication skills? (Verbal, nonverbal, written)
b. How would you rank Mr. Ruggles’ lessons (are they interesting and meaningful)
c. How would you rank Mr. Ruggles’ classroom management techniques
d. How would you rank Mr. Ruggles’ assessments (graded fairly, timely, and well done)
e. How would you rank Mr. Ruggles’ use of technology (website, PowerPoint, etc.)
f. How would you rank Mr. Ruggles’ attitude and excitement for teaching this class?

4. What is the most fun and/or meaningful activity that you have completed in this class? Why? 5. What assignment did you not enjoy? Why?
6. What else can I do to help you in the classroom?
7. What other comments or feedback do you want to give Mr. Ruggles?

Power and Greed: In-class Response

•Do you think that power and greed dominate our society today? Why or Why not? Use at least one example from your life to explain your response.

• Do you think that power and greed dominate Macbeth’s life? Why or Why Not? Once again, use at least one example from the play (explain it; you do not have to quote it) to explain your response.

Click Comment below to leave your thoughts.

ACT III Thoughts

Please respond to these questions with a comment to this post. Thanks and enjoy your long weekend!

1. How did working in your Acting Companies go for Act II?
2. What were your general comments about the Acting Companies? Did you like working in that group or not? Why?
3. What is one thing that went well in your Acting Companies?
4. What is one thing that could have gone better in your Acting Companies?
5. What is one thing that we (Mrs. Leclaire and Mr. Ruggles) can do to improve your Acting Companies?
6. Would you want to work in your Acting Companies again for Act III?
7. What type of activities do you want to do with Act III? Do you want to have them read aloud like Act I, acted out like Act II, somewhere in the middle, or something completly different?
8. General thoughts about Macbeth...ideas to try, how's it going, are you understanding it, do you like the week-long homework aspect, other thoughts?

What Would You Do?

Considering the events from Macbeth Act One so far picture yourself as Macbeth. Your wife wants you to fulfill the prophesy of the three witches, but you are a little hesitant. What would you do and why? Write a PARAGRAPH (5+ sentences: Topic Sentence, Thoughts, Reasoning, Concluding Statement). Post a comment to this post to respond.

Bravery

Today in 1.3 we looked at bravery. What are the qualities of bravery? How do you define bravery? Respond to this post with a well written paragraph.

Chance, Choice, and Tragedy

Please find a fairly recent article (within the past year) that describes a tragedy that a person or group of people have faced.

First, please offer a brief summary of your article (3-5 sentences).

Second, comment on whether or not you think this person had control over this tragedy--did this happen by choice or by chance? Explain your thinking.

Third, please read over the comments on this post and respond to the following question:
Which is the greater tragedy--one that happens because of a bad choice, or the one that happens by random chance? Explain your thinking.

Add your thoughts by adding a comment to this post.

Sentence Variety Exercise

Leave a comment in which you write this sentence with as many sentence openings as you can -
YOU CANNOT ADD OR SUBTRACT ANY WORDS. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE AT LEAST FIVE DIFFERENT SENTENCES WITH DIFFERENT OPENINGS BY SIMPLY REARRANGING:

He was quickly and happily crossing the street eating a hamburger
when the bus came out of nowhere and ran over him.