CONNECTIONS TO HUMANITY:WE ARE NOT ISLANDS!

I looked into the distance.
I saw something move.

I went closer.
I saw an animal.
I went closer still.
I saw a man.
I went closer again.
And I saw that it was my brother.
Tibetan fable

The photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand has created an amazing project: 6 Billion Others. This project reflects many of the essential questions we have thought about in our year long humanities class. As you view the project make connections to the texts and units we have studied.

In interviewing people Bertrand has created a global portrait of mankind. Bertrand thought:'It all looks simple from the sky, but down below we are often confronted by borders, antagonism, separations, misunderstanding, ignorance between one and another. So it was important to let the men and women of our planet express themselves, collect their experiences and life philosophies, their visions of the world and to share with them. In this case, 5000 men and women describe their lives and hopes, their joys and woes, laughter and tears and relationships to God, the devil, love, life,death, and so on…

He and his team asked the same questions of The Malian fisherman, the Brazilian labourer, the Armenian mother, the Afghan fighter, the Germanpriest, the American farmer, the Russian merchant, the Japanese rebel, the Australian road sweeper, the Rwandan refugee'... which culminated in a major exhibition in Paris in January February 2008.

As we listen, we find ourselves so different and yet so similar, so far and so near from all the inhabitants of our planet.In the exhibition Bertrand encourages us to listen so as to better understand. We listen to 5,000 people representative of the 6 billion that share our planet testify, talk about feelings and think about life.

Bertrand and his team aimed to 'allow each one to share his/her personal experiences, hopes, dreams, fears, life philosophy with everyone;and to offer these accounts to as many people as possible'. Between 50-300 interviews were carried out per country with a variety of people and ethnicities.

The project took:
'4 years of filming were required to gather all these precious accounts.
6 reporters, passionate about the project, embarked on this formidable human adventure.
Each with his or her approach and sensitivities made a mark on the project.
20 hours of personal narratives to discover at the exhibition in the Grand Palais
40 questions, always the same, posed to each of the interviewees.
75 countries crossed: covering the entire planet was not possible unfortunately. But our journey
was guided by a spirit of fairness, which was not an easy thing to achieve. All the continents are
represented, town and country as well as the most emblematic areas of conflict.'

The exhibition makes us consider:
• How can we make our social, professional, platonic and romantic relationships more authentic?
• How can we encourage communication between generations, communities and cultures?
• How is reconstruction possible in the wake of suffering or conflicts?
• Are we in control of our destinies, and how can we influence our world?

• Below are the questions interviewers put to 5,ooo people.
• Read the questions then visit the site here: 6 milliards autres and listen to the responses.
• Spend time exploring the site. Think about how you would respond.
• We will then take some of these questions and you will answer the questions and upload to your blog.

01 | Start the interview by asking the person to introduce him or herself, giving name, age,
profession, family situation and nationality.
02 | What is your profession? Do you enjoy it ?
03 | What does family represent to you ?
04 | What do you want to hand down to your children ?
05 | What did you learn from your parents ?
06 | What do you find difficult to say to your children ? Your family ?
07 | What is your greatest joy ?
08 | What is your greatest fear ?
09 | What angers you the most ?
01 | What did you dream of as a child ?
11 | What is your greatest dream today ?
12 | What have you renounced ?
13 | Are you happy ?
How do you define happiness ?
14 | What would you like to change about your life ?
15 | How do you define love ?
Do you think you give and receive enough love ?
16 | What was the last thing that made you burst out laughing ?
17 | When was the last time you cried ? Why ?
18 | What has been the most difficult test you have had to face in your lifetime ?
What did you learn from it?
19 | Do you have enemies ? Why ?
20 | What angers you the most ? And why ?
6 billion Others | 17
21 | What would drive you to kill someone ?
For what would you be willing to lay down your life ?
22 | Do you find it easy to forgive yourself ?
What would you not be able to forgive ?
23 | Do you feel free ?
Out of all the days in your life, which could you not do without ?
24 | Do you like your country ?
Have you ever wanted to leave your country ? Why ?
25 | What does nature mean to you ?
26 | Have you seen nature change since your childhood ? And what would you do to save it ?
27 | Do you live better than your parents ? Why ?
28 | What does money represent to you ? Why ?
29 | How do you define progress and what are your expectations ?
30 | What is man's greatest enemy ?
31 | What is man's greatest friend ?
32 | Why do men wage war ? What can we do to reduce the number of wars ?
33 | Do you confess to a God every day of your life ?
34 | What do you think there may be after death ?
35 | Do you know a prayer ? Can you say it to me ?
36 | What for you is the meaning of life ?
37 | What would you like to say or what questions would you like to ask the people who will see you ?
38 | What is your favourite song ? Sing it…
39 | What do you think of this interview, this exchange ? What do you think is its aim ?
40 | Do you want to add anything else in conclusion ?

Religions DBQ Preparation

Look at this link (a google doc) for the sources that you need in the DBQ on Thursday and Friday.

https://docs.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/document/d/18UssAQG9by_TP-QJCCs_uFbAXwuvhzuz0_-jCkmjUus/edit?hl=en

Good luck!

Learning Profile Blog Outline

Have you ever struggled in class, feeling the need to move, or simply change seats that so that you could listen better with your left ear or view the whiteboard from a different angle?

The amazing characteristic about understanding your Learner Profile is that it will help you and your teachers know more about the best learning situations for each student; that is your strengths, your preferences and areas that we all can work on and improve.

Today's blogpost is a reflection on Learning Profiles, and now that you have a better understanding of your profile we would like you to write and share the information with the class.

In a well structured response, (using the information you gained in class ) please reflect upon and answer the following ....

1. I learn best when......

2. I need to .....

3. The strategies that would help me in my learning....

4. I would like my teachers to know this about me.....

About The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

BACKGROUND:

In this gripping young adult novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present, the nation of Panem consists of a shining Capitol surrounded by 12 outlying Districts, in the ruins of an area once known as North America. In this stratified society where the Capitol controls all resources, 16 year old Katniss and her friend Gale forage for food in the wood surrounding their impoverished District. The main support for both families, Katniss and Gale are apprehensive about the approaching annual Reaping, when two "tributes" between the ages of 12 and 18 will be chosen by the lottery from each of the 12 districts to compete in The Hunger Games, a survival contest on live TV in which teenagers fight to the death.

When her beloved younger sister Prim is chosen as one of the "tributes", Katniss volunteers to go in her sister's place. Her fellow tribute from District 12 is Peeta, a boy with whom she soon develops a complicated relationship. After traveling to the Capitol and undergoing elaborate training and preparation, Katniss and Peeta are launched into the Game. In the terrifying events that follow, Katniss must marshal all her skills to stay alive and all her emotions to remain a caring human being in the face of the stark brutality of the Games.

"It's hard to choose one element that inspired The Hunger Games," says Suzanne Collins. "Probably the forst seeds were plantes when, as an eight-year-old with a mythology obsession, I read the story of Theseus. The myth told the story how in punishment for past deeds, Athens periodically had to send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete, where they were thrown into the Labyrinth and devoured by the monstrous Minotaur. Evan as a third grader, I could appreciate the ruthlessness of this message. 'Mess with us and we'll do something worse that kill you. Wr'll kill your children.'

"Other early influences would have to include watching too many gladiator movies, which dramatize the Roman's flair for turning executions into popular entertainment; my military specialist dad who took us to battlefield for family vacations; and touring with a sword fighting company in high school. But it wasn't until the much more recent experience of channel surfing between reality TV programming and actual war coverage that the story for this series came to me."

(Discussion Guide material)

YOUR TASKS!

1) Read the book - enjoy. (I bet you won't be able to put it down).

2) Open a Google Doc, share with me and do some searching on the web about this book. Link anything you find, or write a synopsis, add pictures and so on. Gather as much data about the book, author, plot, themes as you can.

3) Be prepared to share your findings in the near future!

Religions DBQ Preparation

Review the sources below - they are in your test tomorrow. Also take a look at my last post on January 27th, Holocaust Study. There are some great videos there to add depth to your understanding. Some of them you will recognize from class, some are new.

For the DBQ: Tuesday is Section A (Source Analysis). To prepare for this, examine the sources below. Do ask your parents for their input! Also, do some research on the web. Don't forget that I have linked to some amazing websites on my Moodle page. You are not allowed to take notes into the test for Section A.

Section B (Wednesday) is the writing part of the test. You will be allowed a note card on which you may write NOTES (bullet points, table, spider diagram). You may copy directly any quotes that you intend to use. I'll check the cards on Wednesday as you are taking your writing section.

Test Taking Tips!

• Remember to use the CLAIM, EVIDENCE, INTERPRET method of writing. 
• State what you see as fact, avoid ABSOLUTES (Nazi's ALWAYS did this or that; the people ALL felt this way...and so on). 
• Don't jump to conclusions unless asked in your opinion, or to deduce, or to worth something out. 
• Stick to the facts as you see them in the sources in front of you. 
• Refer to the sources "In source 1 I can see..." or "The similarities between sources 1 and 2 are...." in your answers.
• You may refer to other things that you know from our readings, discussions, your wider knowledge AFTER referring to the sources provided. Remember this is a DOCUMENT BASED QUIZ and therefore you must use the data presented in front of you.
• Read the questions over twice before jumping in to answer - highlight the DOING words in the question, identify if there are two parts to the question, look how many marks it is worth, and how many lines you have been given on which to write.
• Keep an eye on the time - aim to complete Section A on Tuesday.
• When working on Section B, review the writing tips given on the paper and be sure to look at the rubric carefully.
• And lastly....Good Luck! We've done some amazing learning this trimester - now it is your chance to show what you know.

RESISTANCE :DBQ REVIEW

STAGES OF GENOCIDE: Review this by clicking here for the 8 stages

PYRAMID OF HATE: Click here to review: pyramid of hate

RESISTANCE

The word resist comes from the Latin root sistere to stop: re+sist. So the denotation is to struggle against someone or something,to try to prevent by action or argument. So resistance, the noun, 'is the refusal to accept or comply with something'(Oxford Dictionary).

CONTEXT
The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. Mass killings began in June 1941 with the shooting of Jewish civilians during the German invasion of the Soviet Union. At the end of 1941, the Germans began deporting Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. By May 1945, about two out of every three Jews in Europe had been murdered.


Prewar European Jewish population: 9.5 million.

Before World War II, more than half of the world's Jewish population lived in Europe. Most Jews lived in eastern Europe, primarily in the Soviet Union and Poland. The Nazi party came to power in Germany in 1933. The Germans moved to extend their power in central Europe, annexing Austria and destroying Czechoslovakia. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, beginning World War II. Over the next two years, German forces conquered most of Europe. The Germans established ghettos in occupied eastern territories, isolating and persecuting the Jewish population. Nazi anti-Jewish policy expanded with the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Mobile killing units murdered Jews, Roma (also called Gypsies), Soviet political commissars, and others. The Germans and their collaborators deported Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. At the largest killing center, Auschwitz-Birkenau, transports arrived almost daily from across Europe. By war's end, almost six million Jews and millions of others had perished in the Holocaust.


Postwar Jewish Population, ca. 1950: 3.5 million — United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Look carefully at the maps below to draw conclusions about changes in the Jewish population.

What is propoganda?

Propaganda is biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior.
Propaganda simplifies complicated issues or ideology for popular consumption, is always biased, and is geared to achieving a particular end. Propaganda generally employs symbols, whether in written, musical, or visual forms, and plays upon and channels complex human emotions towards a desired goal. It is often employed by governmental and private organizations to promote their causes and institutions and denigrate their opponents. Propaganda functions as just one weapon in the arsenal of mass persuasion.(The Holocaust Museum: Propaganda)

Examine the following propaganda posters of Hitler and Jews.
Think about the impression created and the ways this impression is built in the minds of the viewer.

Examine the 1928 painting the Agitator by George Grosz by clicking on the link.

Read and interpret:Pastor Niemoller's poem: click here.

PART B: OBSTACLES TO RESISTANCE

Consider what Father says to Bruno in Boyne's The Boy in Striped Pyjamas: "Accept the situation in which you find yourself and everything will be so much easier" (page 53). Using the sources write a paragraph that examines why people remained silent, and 'accepted the situation in which (they) found themselves'. Why did more people not speak out against Hitler's harsh rule?

Holocaust Study

Take a look at these resources which are linked to our study of the effects of religious persecution in the WWII era in Germany. You will get a much deeper understanding of our novel, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (John Boyne) by understanding some of the background history. It is also great practice for the DBQ to analyze primary and secondary source documents.

Kristallnacht and Propaganda















The Liberation of Auschwitz (27th Jan 1945)
Read this BBC article and watch / listen to the interviews.
Also read this real life story of heroism and survival.
Take a look through this amazing website.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Your reactions...On your blog, write a reaction to the source material posted here. You may also reference the historical work that we did in class, and link to our novel study. We have examined paintings, posters and poetry - make as many connections as you can!
How do you feel about what happened?
How did this happen?
How can people recover from this event?
Should Grade 7 student's study this period of history...is it too 'dark' and depressing?
Why do you think we have studied this historical unit and chose this novel?
What will you remember after this unit is finished...what will be your 'Big Learning'?
Remember to include a cited image - and if you find more resources that you feel should be here, then add them to your response. Please look at the blog rubric (posted on Moodle).

Field Trip Photos

Our pictures!





Grade 7 Religions Trip 2010

And Ms Larsen's pictures (Click here).