For today's class we will be having our performances. You be given the first 20 minutes to put the finishing touches on your skit. Just post a comment (like wishing me a good break :P) for warmup today. If you are fully prepared then either use to time to finish today's homework (the lecture/reading comparison) or work on the extra credit (the greece inspired Sketchup).
Core 3 skits will begin at 10:55.
Core 4 skits will begin at 11:50.
Here is the peer review form we will use during the skits.
SketchUp is a 3D modeling program designed for architectural, civil, and mechanical engineers as well as filmmakers, game developers, and related professions. We'll be looking at architecture and using SketchUp to build a model inspired by Greek Architecture.
1) What is your favorite building or structure in the world? (For example mine is probably Falling Water or the Toledo Mudhens home-field and my wife's is probably the Eiffel Tower.)
2) How does that building make you feel or what does it make you think of?
3) Have you heard of SketchUp?
... IF you have NOT answer questions (a-d) IF you have heard of it answer questions (f-i) ...
a) What technology and program do you feel most comfortable with?
b) What is the best part about using that program?
c) What is the worst part about it?
d) How many hours do you think you have spent with it to become comfortable with it?
f) What experiences have you had with Google's Sketchup? What were they?
g) Were they positive or negative?
h) What was the best part about using a program like Sketchup?
i) What is the most frustrating this about it?
http://sketchup.google.com/training/videos.html
[guiding questions]
How does google Sketchup work?
What are some defining features of Greek architecture?
What are some similarities between Greek architecture and modern buildings?
Whether you stayed at home or came in for a couple relaxed days at school... Welcome back! In class today we'll be back in Ancient Greece comparing that lecture from last week with information from the text book. BUT before we start. Answer the following questions:
1) How was your weekend with the snow?
2) What did you do with the extra free-time?
3) What do you think will be the hardest part about being back in regular school today?
4) What is the best part?
5) Do you think it was smart for Minneapolis schools to close? What about WMEP (us) schools staying open? Why?
[warmup]
Yesterday we started learning about the birth of Western drama. Next week (Monday for core 3, Tuesday for core 4) we'll be acting out our brief version of a Greek tragedy or Greek comedic-tragedy. If you misplaced the link to the assignment its on my website or you can just click here. For your warmup today answer the following questions:
1) Write a synopsis (what is going to happen in your play) in 50-100 words. The paragraph above is 61 words long.
2) What is your role for the play?
3) What do you personally need to do so you'll be ready to perform next week?
If you missed class yesterday take this time to first do the warmup from yesterday. Then read the assignment and start brainstorming what you could do for it.
[warmup]
Today we are starting to learn about the birth of western drama/theater. To get us thinking about dramas answer theses questions:
1) What characteristics make a good actor? Think of several television and/or film performances you have seen. Then write about three features of good acting and why? (Use examples to support your features)
--OR--
2) What characteristics make a good play/movie? Think of several several television and/or film performances you have seen. Then write about three features of a good drama and why? (Use examples to support your features)
[guiding questions]
Where did drama start and why?
What are the two main types of Greek drama?
What makes them special?
[warmup]
You've been learning about greek gods and mythology with Jarman. As we learn about the Greeks try to keep thinking about their gods and system of beliefs.
1) Who is your favorite Greek God? Why?
2) What are they known for?
3) How might the society that has him/her as a deity(god) be different from the religions of Asia (Hinduism, Buddhism, (D)Taoism, Confucianism)?
[guiding questions]
1) How did the geography of Greece effect the way the civilization in Greece evolved?
2) What is a polis?
3) What kind of government could a polis have?
4) What are Sparta and Athens? How are they similar and different?
5) What are some of the main events from during the Greek civilization?
Today we start looking at the ancient Greek civilians. The Greeks had countless contributions to the modern western world including, but not limited to: architecture, art, drama, literature, philosophy, math and science.
[warmup]
There are two options for the warmup today. You can write about the college tour of MCTC or what prior knowledge you have on the Greeks.
1)Answer the following questions about your college tour:
-What did you notice about MCTC (What did it look like and feel like in this local college)?
-What was the most impressive part of MCTC?
-Could you see yourself going there? Why or why not?
-Did this trip change your plans for PSEO or college? Why or Why not?
--OR--
2)Answer the following questions about your prior knowledge of the Greeks.
-List anything you know about the greeks and their contributions of the world.
-Where did you learn this knowledge from?
-What parts of Ancient Greece are you most excited to learn about?
[Lesson]
Go to my shared folder and download the Map of Ancient Greece(notebook file).
Follow the directions on the map to create your own map of Ancient Greece.
First thing is make sure to save it on your desktop.
-You will need to open all three of the links at the bottom to see the maps you are using as resources. http://www.la-grece.com/images/carte-physique.jpg http://bama.ua.edu/~ksummers/cl222/ancient_greece_map.jpg http://www.greeka.com/greece-maps/ancient-greece-map.jpg
-Turn it in to my drop box (it should about 20-30 minutes).
-Once you finish with the map you should be working on your script for Jarman (since you only got 5 minutes in his class to work on it yesterday).
[guiding questions]
What kind of geography does Greece have?
How might this geography have effected the way the greek civilizations worked?
Where is Greece (both modern Greece and the ancient Greek civilizations)?
What/where are some important features of Greece?
[warmup]
Today in class you'll be learning about two of the following four things. Read each introduction and answer the following questions:
-Which of these things seems the most interesting to study? Why?
-Make a prediction on how might it effect us today?
-Which of these things seems the SECOND most interesting to study? Why?
-Make a prediction on how might it effect us today?
Gheghis Khan ruler of the largest continues empire and a Prolific Lover. (DNA Data found that 8 percent of the men living in the region of the former Mongol empire carry y-chromosomes that are nearly identical. That translates to 0.5 percent of the male population in the world, or roughly 16 million descendants living today)
The great inventions of China. They’re called the ‘Si Da Ming‘ (literally “four big inventions”). Without them, the modern world as we know it today, probably wouldn’t exist. They are the following: papermaking, gunpowder, the compass and woodblock printing.
The Great Wall of China
The largest structure building by humans the Great Wall of China stretches over 5,500 miles (driving from Minneapolis to Miami THREE TIMES). Many manmade objects are viewable from space but none as clearly as this wall.
Terra-cotta Army
Built to protect an emperor in the next life this army has over 8,000 individual human sculptures. Each one is around six feet talk and the entire collection was built over 2,000 years ago.
Thanks everyone for participating in Fengjian (Feudalism) the Game. There were many creative players and keen negotiators in both classes. For our warmup today you are going to be reflecting on what happened and how it might have been for actual people in ancient China.
-What kind of patterns emerged during the game? (explain the cycle)
-As an actually Huangdi or Shi, what must you have to survive and thrive within a feudalist system? (both physically and mentally)?
-We all played as members of the upper class. How might feudalism effect the lower classes?
-Does it seem like the kind of government you’d want to live with? Why or why not?
Today we'll be experiencing an education simulation (playing a game). Today's warmup will be shorter to make sure we don't run out of time... So quickly tell me:
What makes a game good? This can be any kind of game from sports like basketball to board games and video games.
What qualities do people that are fun to play against or with have? (list 3 and why each makes the person someone you like to play with)
[guiding questions]
(will be updated shortly)
[vocab]
feudalism
huangdi
shi
shang
gong
nong
Welcome back from our Thanksgiving break. Before we jump right back into the content of World History I think it important we take a couple minutes to acknowledge Thanksgiving and why we had three days off of school.
Watch President Obama's address on Thanksgiving (at least the first two minutes worth, then it gets a little political).
-What do you personally have to be thankful for in your life?
-Obama says Americans "... come together and do what’s required to make tomorrow better than today." What steps are you taking to make tomorrow better for yourself, your family, or our community? If you aren't why aren't you and what could/should you be doing?
-What was your overall impression of Obama's message (support your answer with one or two things you liked or disliked)?
[guiding questions]
How did the geography of China effect its growth?
How was Ancient China organized?
How were the rise and fall of leadership in China a cycle?
[vocabulary]
Mandate of Heaven
Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han
Here are the Core 3 test/quiz spots. The desks by themselves are in the front of the classroom.Here are the Core 4 test/quiz spots. The desks by themselves are in the front of the classroom.
After you find your spot you should glance back at the guiding questions from the last couple weeks to review. You should also look at your Religions of the World Chart or your notes on the religions.
Read about it then give me a prediction of what advice a follower of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism would give me.
Paul, a 22-year-old premedical student, leaves his local college and decides he doesn't want to be a doctor. He moves across the country to work as a ranger in a remote forest. He is happy working in the forest, cleaning trails, and caring for plants and trees. His parents, however, miss him and want him to return to college. What advice do you think a follower of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism would give Paul?
1) A buddhist might tell Paul to...
2) A Confucianist might tell Paul to...
3) A Daoist might tell Paul to...
[todays class] Out of these three options which do you want to do the next two days?
-Watch a video explaining why some countries are rich and other are poor.
-Take a quiz on the major religions of Asia. (This one needs to be done before Thanksgiving break so we don't make it harder be forgetting it all enjoying our time off. We can take the quiz today or tomorrow.)
-Learn about early Chinese civilization and how has a repeating cycle of prosperity/unhappiness/war/revolution/new leadership (and repeat).
PICTURE ONE: The hands of a woman in Jaipur are covered with mehndi patterns painted with henna. Trendy in recent years, the lacework decorations are part of a 5,000-year-old tradition of creating designs to ward off evil or declare one’s happiness. These decorations are temporary and wear off after a couple weeks.
PICTURE TWO: British soccer player David Beckham has been collecting tattoos for many years. The total has just gone up to over nine. All the tattoos have a special meaning behind them from supporting his family to Chinese proverbs, "Death and life have determined appointments, Riches and honors depends upon heaven."
For your warmup today free-write about henna and/or tattoos. The expectation for today is that you will free-write for the entire eight minutes of warmup. You can either post your free-write as a comment or drop it in my dropbox (especially if it gets too long or personal).
-What do you think about henna & tattoos?
-Would you ever get either?
-What do you know about the symbolism behind henna & tattoos?
-Do you know people that have gotten either? Why did they get them done?
[guiding questions]
What is the oldest know tattoo(s)?
What kind of images or symbols might the major religions of Asia use to represent themselves?
[warmup]
1. Go to the virtual tour of the Himilayas.
2. Explore it and answer the following questions.
-What do you think of this area of the world?
-What would it be like to live in this environment?
-How might these mountains effect the people of Asia and how they live? (two ways)
[guiding questions]
For each of the four major religions of Asia:
What is its origin?
Who do they view of God and/or Universe?
What is human’s purpose on earth and in life?
[warmup]
1) Read this story.
2) Answer the following two questions:
-What step or steps of the eightfold path do this person seem to be following?
-What evidence did you find that supports your answer to question 1? (What made you think it?)
You are standing in line. How much do you like that? Oh, what's your mind doing? Thinking about this and you look down the line and they're taking that, they got a really big pile of stuff, it's going to take a long time... aahhh!"And then you are thinking this and you are thinking that." Don't do that...
You see the dissatisfaction that arises, "Oh I'm bored, and I'm looking at my watch and I got to get going, and I can't stand here in line... and oh! They just dropped something, now they got to clean it up!"
All of those kinds of thoughts, those kinds of dissatisfaction thoughts. What you think and ponder on, that's the inclination of your mind. You think and ponder dissatisfaction, dislike thoughts, your Harmonious Lifestyle is not so Harmonious at that time. So what to do? LET GO of that stuff!, every body in line is thinking basically the same thing. And it’s just nonsense thoughts. Impatient thoughts. All of that.
Put a little smile, start radiating some Loving-Kindness. Send some Loving-Kindness to the clerk. That's a hard job. Having a big line of people that are all impatient and quite often they are not very nice... all they want to do is pay for this stuff and get out of there. So send her some Loving-Kindness, she needs it. When you get up to her, practice the eightfold path.
[guiding questions]
What does the eightfold path look like in everyday life?
How does or might geography effect people?
What are major geographic features of Asia?
How does or might they effect the history of Asia?
1. Read this paragraph on the Tibetan prayer wheel and watch the video.
2. Post a comment answering the following questions:
-What is a tibetan prayer wheel? -Can you see any connections between what you know about buddhism and the Tibetan practice of using a prayer wheel? This is a giant prayer wheel located at the top of a hill beside a temple in the "old town" of Zhongdian city, or "Shangri-La." Tibetan buddhists believe that each time a prayer moves, it floats up into heaven. Therefore, in addition to moving prayers by whispering or chanting them, Tibetans also hang them up on prayer flags that send the prayer to heaven with each gust of wind, write them down and store them inside prayer wheels that they can spin in their hands, carve them onto prayer beads that they can run through their fingers, or, in this case, inscribe them on a tower-size prayer wheel that spins by the casual effort of two dozen monks, or the full strength of five.
[guiding questions] 1. What do each of the steps of the eightfold path mean (right knowledge, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration)? 2. How buddhist believe these steps work together to help end suffering? 3. How can these steps be applied to everyday life?
1. Go to http://pbskids.org/clifford/stories/index.html and choose a kids story to read/watch.
2. Answer the following questions:
- What do you notice about kids books that makes it unique compared to other types of stories?
- Most children books use tools (this can be anything from sentence structure to images) help beginning readers learn to read and follow the story even when they don't know how to read all the words of the story yet. What tools could you use in your story?
[warmup]
1. Read this quote from Buddha.
"Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.
2. Answer these questions:
-What is this quote talking about?
-Do you agree with it?
3.Post your answer as a comment. Remember you have to login (same as your computer) as name_lastname@wmep.k12.mn.us
[today's guiding questions]
Who was Buddha?
How did Buddha come to become the founder of Buddhism
What do Buddhist believe?
What is the eightfold path?
What are the four noble truths?
[today's vocabulary terms]
1st - 4th Noble Truth
8 steps of the Eightfold Path
enlightenment
The Hindu Festival of Lights, Diwali, is today. Diwali or Deepavali (row of lamps), according to Hindu belief, is celebrated to mark the return of Lord Rama (an incarnation of Vishnu) to Ayodhya from his exile after vanquishing demon-king Ravana. Diwali is as important to Hindus and Christmas is to Christians. Watch this 3 minute clip on Diwali. After watching it comment below on what you saw and learned about Diwali.
[warmup]
1. Do a quick google image search for "family tree".
2. Choose one interesting image.
3. Answer these two questions:
- What is the tree attempting to show?
- How does the tree use shapes (like lines) to show relationships?
Post your answer as a comment. Remember you have to login (same as your computer) as name_lastname@wmep.k12.mn.us
[today's guiding questions]
Who are the major gods in Hinduism?
What are these gods like?
How are they related?
How are these gods similar or dissimilar to each other and/or other gods?
[warmup]
Play Level 1 - Beginner Asian Countries for 6 minutes. You will need to have your headphones on or sound on but no music because the game requires sound! Once the timer goes off post a comment on this post with your "score information". Also screen shot your "score information" just incase you have trouble with the comment posting.
-Try the regions of East Asia & South Asia first. (Game Controls pull down menu in the upper left corner)
[guiding questions]
What are the primary beliefs of Hindu people and what is their concept of God?
Who are the major gods in Hinduism and how are they related?
What was the social structure in India?
How did dharma support the caste system?
[Warmup] Start a brand new empty pages document for Asia. Then free-write for 6 minutes about this quote by Confucius (if you feel like you are running out of things to write about shift your focus and apply his words to something else...):
"Knowledge is recognizing what you know and what you don't."
知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也.
Tragic news came to us over the weekend: St. Paul. Minn., rapper Eyedea, born Michael Larsen, died Saturday. He was 28.
Known to independent hip-hop fans worldwide for his rapid-fire delivery and celebrated locally as one of many stars on the Rhymesayers roster, Eyedea was also a respected freestyle battle champion, winning top honors at competitions such as HBO's "Blaze Battle" and Ohio's "Scribble Jam." At 18, Eyedea was already a part of Minnesota's thriving hip-hop scene as a hypeman for the city's most popular act, Atmosphere.
No cause of death has been announced yet. We were lucky to have Eyedea and his DJ partner Abilities play live in the The Current's studios last July, as part of David Campbell's The Local Show.
"While a number of studies have looked at the effect of seat location
on students, the results are often not clear, and few, if any, have studied the effects of with randomly assigned seats. In this study, we report on a course in which we randomly assigned students to particular seat locations at the beginning of the semester.
Seat location during the first half of the semester had a noticeable impact on student success in the course, particularly in the top and bottom parts of the grade distribution. Students sitting in the back of the room for the first half of the term were nearly six times as likely to receive an F as as students who started in the front of the room. Students were also more likely to receive an A in the front of the class.
These effects were in spite of many unusual efforts to engage students at the back of the class and a front-to-back reversal of seat location halfway through the term."
What did the study find?
What do you think about these findings?
We are going to have a new seating chart on Monday. Where would you prefer to seat (no guarantees that you'll get what you request but the better you explain your reasoning the better chance you'll get dibs)?
What are the key components of Egyptian Art? Can you recognize them?
What are the key components of Art Deco? Can you recognize them?
[Vocabulary] Know, learn and remember these vocabulary terms: Art Deco and Egyptian Art (Write the definition, use it in a sentence and find/create an image that helps you remember what it means.)
[Warmup]
Go to Artsconnected and look at one piece of art from each of the Egyptian Kingdoms (Old, Middle, New). Choose your favorite and answer the following questions: 1)What do you notice?
Use descriptive terms to explain what you see/hear (as if explaining to someone not present).
I notice that...
We are having a contest for the best description. Be very detailed. You want to explain it so a blind person who has never seen the art before knows exactly what it looks like. The person who describes their piece of art the best will win a ride down to lunch or back up (with Mr. H) on the elevator for themselves and one friend.
[Guiding Questions]
What was life like in ancient Egypt?
What advantages did Egyptians have over other people during this time period?
What kind of belief system did they have?
What kind of social structure did they have?
[Vocabulary] Know, learn and remember these vocabulary terms: Rosetta Stone, Maat and Istef, (Write the definition, use it in a sentence and find/create an image that helps you remember what it means.)
Today's assignment can be found in my shared folder and is due at the end of the hour.
Mr. Hannan>Shared Folder>Assignments>Egyptwebquest.docx
[Warmup]
The Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak's visit made me wonder what you 10th graders were thinking when he asked you to close your eyes and imagine what you want to do with your life? Today's warmup actually comes from that visit and a business/HR (human resources) blog called "PeopleAnswers". Read their entry then answer the question for yourself.
What do you want to be when you grow up? This question is often asked of younger kids. I remember when, many years ago, my oldest son proudly presented a little booklet of pictures. These pictures were drawn by each member of his class. The title of the little book was, “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?” There was the policeman, the singer, and of course, the fireman. The fireman was the most popular among the boys. There was this one little boy who decided to go against the grain. His first choice was to be a “snowman.” That’s right, a snowman! That is funny on so many levels. First of all, we live in Texas where it snows about once every 10 years, so I am not sure he has actually seen a snowman. Second, I have not checked lately, but the pay for a snowman is probably pretty low (although there are probably perks, such as free snow cones). On the good side, I guess it would be considered seasonal work with lots of vacation time! After a good laugh, I discovered that I learned a lot about the kid by that little exercise and that one picture.
What do you want to be went you grow up? Where do you want to be in 5 years? What steps do you need to take to make these dreams happen?
[Guiding Questions for October 6, 2010.]
What was life like before 5000 BCE?
What changed life in NE Africa and Mesopotamia?
What are the 6 traits of a civilization?
What two things did people need to develop agriculture?
How can we find/apply the six traits of a civilization in ancient civilizations?
[Vocabulary]
Know, learn and remember these vocabulary terms: domestication, silt, theocracy, city-state. (Write the definition, use it in a sentence and find/create an image that helps you remember what it means.)
Reflection is an important component of meaningful learning. Reflection is thinking for an extended period by linking recent experiences to earlier ones in order to promote a more complex and interrelated mental schema (way of thinking). The thinking involves looking for commonalities, differences, and interrelations beyond their superficial elements.
Many educators believe in the value of reflection, from Confucius to Plato to Aristotle to John Dewey.
You have two tasks for warmup today.
1) Write a paragraph in response to the idea of reflecting. Do you like reflecting on your learning? Does reflecting help you remember and make deeper connections? (If not then what does?) How do you like to reflect?
2) Watch your video project from our introduction unit (the videos and your rubrics are in my shared folder). What do you notice about the video now after a break? What connections can you see now?
People normally use a combination of evidence and sound arguments to convince people of a view or change a preexisting one. Thinking about your life... What would be the best two pieces of evidence to get you out of the following situations? (Explain why this evidence would be best.)
You were supposed to be home for by 11pm but your friend's car died so you didn't get home until 11:45pm...
You had to miss practice for the third time this week to catchup on school work. The coach thinks you are making excuses...
You told your folks you were studying at school but a teacher called to say she couldn't find you but you where there...
Mr. Hannan will be around to explain what to do with your bag/purse/pocket contents.
As we learn about the foundation of humans and human civilization, Africa. We need to understand an important term that describes history. That term is prehistory.
pre·his·to·ry
[pree-his-tuh-ree,-his-tree]–noun, plural -ries.1. human history in the period before recorded events, known mainly through archaeological discoveries, study, research, etc.; history of prehistoric humans.
Go to Oldest Art: The Top 50, a list of earliest prehistoric artworks: oldest petroglyphs, first carvings & sculpture, earliest stone age cave paintings: From 290,000 BCE. From there choose any of the art pieces. Art from any time period can tell us important information about society but these pieces are especially important because they are from prehistory. (There was no writing to tell us about what life was like.)
Report in you blog using the Five Ws (who, what, when, where, why) on your historical art piece. Use complete sentences to create this mini-report. Try for around 200-250 words. Make sure to include an introduction and conclusion. (Use the inspector in pages to word count. I'll help if you cannot find it). If you finish early call me over so I can check your work.
We here at FAIR Downtown are lucky enough to have a 1:1 program in place to ensure that every student has equal access to digital resources and acquires the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the twenty-first century. Today is our student first day of this school year with laptops!
Listen to the following song by American rapper Nas and Jamaican reggae artist Damian Marley. Some parts are hard to understand with out the lyrics so I included some below.
After you listen through the song once skip past the lyrics and find the questions I want you to answer. Listen again and do you best to answer all the questions.
The Lyrics to Ancient People.
These ancient thoughts
This ancient look
These ancient hearts
This ancient soul
These ancient songs
These ancient people
These ancient thoughts
This ancient look
These ancient hearts
This ancient soul
These ancient hopes
These ancient people
Like a bird, in the sky
And the sea, and the birds
And the trees, and the sun
Melody
Like a mountain, like a valley
Like the river, like the lake
Like the earth, when it quake
Space and sea
This is rock and roll meets aristotle
I fly those g5's through the skies to cabbo
Martial arts more ancient than tabbo
Schwartzman, more ancient than zorro
Ancient like the pharohs or priests of yoruba
Maher rabah-nasr is the best
Them paths like climbing mount kiliminjaro
Ancient men traded cattle
Before columbus was lost in travel, ancient canoes got paddeled
Before the horse saddle there was camel
Spears before arrow, arrow before ammo
Tribal paint before camel
Large
Chief before sarge, I'm lieutenant
Village elders before descendant
Used to sail the seas before the compass was invented
Ancient people spoke free, they didn't need a 1st amendment
In the beginning, the drum was the tech ...
...
These ancient thoughts
This ancient look
These ancient hearts
This ancient soul
These ancient songs
These ancient people
These ancient thoughts
This ancient look
These ancient hearts
This ancient soul
These ancient hopes
These ancient people
...
These ancient thoughts
This ancient look
These ancient hearts
This ancient soul
These ancient songs
These ancient people
These ancient thoughts
This ancient look
These ancient hearts
This ancient soul
These ancient hopes
These ancient people
...
QUESTION TO ANSWER:
Use your five senses to experience the song then explain what you noticed.
What did you picture as you heard the lyrics?
What words stuck out in the song?
What words were repeated?
How did the rhythm and beat sound?
What sounds did you hear (either in the song or imagine based on the music)
What types of music (or other songs) did the song remind you of?
Were there any books or movies that seems similar?
Did it remind you of anything else (like a child memory or experience)?
*for use later in class
https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/lan/en/atlas.html
Here are the Core 4 test/quiz spots. The desks by themselves are in the front of the classroom.
What do you want to be when you grow up? This question is often asked of younger kids. I remember when, many years ago, my oldest son proudly presented a little booklet of pictures. These pictures were drawn by each member of his class. The title of the little book was, “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?” There was the policeman, the singer, and of course, the fireman. The fireman was the most popular among the boys. There was this one little boy who decided to go against the grain. His first choice was to be a “snowman.” That’s right, a snowman! That is funny on so many levels. First of all, we live in Texas where it snows about once every 10 years, so I am not sure he has actually seen a snowman. Second, I have not checked lately, but the pay for a snowman is probably pretty low (although there are probably perks, such as free snow cones). On the good side, I guess it would be considered seasonal work with lots of vacation time! After a good laugh, I discovered that I learned a lot about the kid by that little exercise and that one picture.
