Reading Beowulf

Final Project on Holocaust Unit- Raising Awareness of Modern Day Genocide

After the Holocaust, the United Nations created laws to prevent such an atrocity from ever happening again.  The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was held in 1948 and declared that genocide was a crime under international law and would be condemned by the civilized world.  Since that time, however, there have been other acts of genocide.  For your final project, you will familiarize yourself with other modern day acts of genocide.  

Assignment:  You will create a brief video educating people about the dangers of genocide, informing them about modern day examples of genocide and calling them to action.  

Possible Genocide to research:
Armenian Genocide
Rwanda Genocide
Darfur
Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
The Killing Fields: The Cambodian Genocide

Consider these questions:
What can we do to prevent further acts of hatred and violence towards a race of people?  Why do these acts continue to happen despite our knowledge and education?  
How can you make a difference?  

Use the resources below to learn about the modern day examples of genocide.

Confront Genocide

Survivors Stories from genocide in Darfur, Bosnia and Rwanda 

The Rwanda Genocide

PBS Resources on Genocide 

Amnesty International 

Facing History, Facing Ourselves:  Be the Change -Upstanders for Human Rights

Prevent Genocide International

View the you tube videos for an example of what you can do with our final project. 

Watch this You tube video that raises awareness and tries to get people to stop genocide.

A more general You Tube video about the Holocaust and acts of genocide

View former 8th graders' final projects:
Caleb
Cloud

Love That Dog-Learning about Walter Dean Myers

We just read Love That Dog.  Jack loves the poetry of Walter Dean Myers.  Listen to the brief video below.

Epic Legends- Perseus and the Gorgon

Watch the video of "Perseus and the Gorgon" below.  Click here to complete the graphic organizer comparing the three versions of the myth you have read and watched.

Download one of these QR Code eaders to view student work

Download this QR Code Reader if you have an iPhone

 

 

 

 

 

Download this QR Code Reader if you have anAndroid

 

Learning About Concentration Camps during World War 2

Learning About Concentration Camps during World War 2

Create 2 slides in our Concentration Camp presentation

Your slides should include:

1.  Name of Concentration Camp

2.  Location

3.  Map of Country

4.  Images of Concentration Camp (please don't put images on slide that are excessively graphic)

5.  Date it was opened

6.  Important facts/information about Camp should tell us where the concentration camp was.

 Click here to go to the Presentation 

Camps to Choose from:

Dachau

Buchenwald

Mauthausen

Auschwitz

Chelmno

Treblinka
Bergen-Belsen
Theresienstadt

Research Sites:
United States Holocaust Museum has a lot of good resources-
Concentration Camps 1933-1939
Concentration Camps 1939-1942
Killing Centers-an overview
Other sites to consider-
Thought Co-The Holocaust "The Camps and Other Killing Facilities"

Greek Mythology

We are going to begin a unit on Greek and Roman Mythology.  Before we start consider the question of what is a myth?  Why do people and cultures tell stories?  How do the gods a culture worship tell us what that culture values and thinks is important?  Finally, where do we see these ancient myths and gods in our world today?  Ever heard of a brand called Nike?  Hermes? Atlas?  To start, let's watch this brief overview.

Myths are a way of understanding the world. This lesson has been about Greek mythology, but every culture has myths. Myths define social customs and beliefs, explain natural and psychological phenomena, and provide a way for people to discuss things that cause anxiety. Mythology is all around us.
Create a Greek God Trading Card
What is Mythology? Powerpoint 
Famous Greek Myths Class Presentation
Here are just a few examples of places we find myths today.

• Days of the week Wednesday (Woden or Odin – Norse god); Thursday (Thor – Norse god); Friday (Freya Norse goddess); Saturday (Saturn – Roman god who ruled before Jove)
• Shoes Nike

• Cars-Toyota Avalon and Cressida, Cadillac El Dorado, Honda Odyssey, Mercury 
• Tires Midas  
• Astronomy  Constellations like Orion, the Argo, all of the planets and the Pleiades. The Milky Way itself was supposedly the road over which the stars traveled to Jupiter’s palace.
• NASA  The first part of U.S. space program was Project Mercury, named after the messenger of the gods because the project’s purpose was to send a message to the Soviets that America was in the space race. The Gemini Project was next; Gemini is Latin for “twins,” and the project was called this because the capsule held two astronauts. Apollo astronauts rode on Saturn rockets.

 Myths also make great stories. They come up in literature all over the place, from really serious stuff like Dante to comic strips. Myths inspire music; actually the word music comes from the mythological muses who inspired art of all kinds. Painters such as Michelangelo and Botticelli were inspired by myths. Even children’s movies are a good place to look for myths; you will find them everywhere, including Snow White, Star Wars  and The Lord of the Rings. (Taken from http://www.mensaforkids.org/MFK2/assets/File/Teach/LessonPlans/Lesson_GreekMythology.pdf)



Here's another brief video overview

Web references:

•  Greek Mythology
• Some Great Greek Myths
• Mythweb
• MythMan
• Mythography
• Encyclopedia Mythica

(Taken from http://www.mensaforkids.org/MFK2/assets/File/Teach/LessonPlans/Lesson_GreekMythology.pdf)

Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day!

Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day! Celebrate by selecting a poem, carrying it with you, and sharing it with others throughout the day at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, and workplaces.

Put Something In

Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-grumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.

-Shel Silverstein

  from A Light in the Attic

 Poem in Your Pocket Day was originally initiated in 2002 by the Office of the Mayor, in partnership with the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education, as part of the city’s National Poetry Month celebration. In 2008, the Academy of American Poets took the initiative to all fifty United States, encouraging individuals around the country to join in and channel their inner bard. In 2016, the League of Canadian Poets extended Poem in Your Pocket Day to Canada.
Poem in Your Pocket Day 2017 will be held on April 27.

Click here to read three pocket poems
Click here to get your Poetry in your Pocket template 
Another template for your pocket 
Or click here to turn your poem into a scroll 
Fold Your Poem into a cute package
Click here for directions on How to Make a Folded Swan

(text copied from https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/poem-your-pocket-day)

Introduction to Informational Writing

Where do you see informational writing? Number of websites created every day…in the last minute 571 websites were created. During our class over 25,000 websites have been created.  By the end of the month, you may have created your own website.

 

Padlet Timeline of the Holcaust

Writitng a Position Paper

You are going to write a position paper on whether "Role Playing Games with simulated violence are perilous or diverting for kids."  Choose a side and then use the resources below to find evidence that support your reasons.

“Do Games Like ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Cause Real-World Violence” by Erik Kain, ForbesMagazine

“Essential Facts about Games and Violence” a brochure produced by theEntertainment Software Association

“How online gamers are solving science’s biggest problems” by Dara Mohammadi,
The Guardian

“Shooting in the Dark” by Benedict Carey, The New York Times
 
“Violent video games may stop crime by keeping criminals busy playing violent
video games” by Evan Dashevsky, TechHive