The Pillars of Islam.

[warmup]

Write a 200 words description of the Pillar of Islam you focused on in class on Friday. If you runout of ways to describe the pillar then write about how it is similar or dissimilar to another religion we have learned about in world history. Also repost your blog's web address.

After you finish your warmup bring up your Animoto video from Friday in another window (we'll be using it at 11:15). 

[links]

The Nature of Islamic Art 

Virtual Tour of the Alhambra  

Access to your blog

[warmup]
Step 1: copy paste your blog URL (the complete address like http://therealworldwithinworldhistory.blogspot.com/)

Step 2: Answer the following questions:
-Looks through the arts blogs you bookmarked yesterday. Which two or three are you most looking forward to reading (or seem the most interesting)? Why?
-Are there any types of arts blogs that you want to see added to our list of blogs we can read?

Step 3: Reread your first two posts again. Do you like the way you sound? What skills or things do you want to learn about blogging?

[links]
Five Pillars
TWF
Local News: Star Tribune, CBS Minnesota, Kare 11

World News: BBC News, Global Voices, NY Times World, CNN World, World Class,

The Arts: Carrot Revolution, The Best Part, KissMyBlackAds, Pitchfork, Music Blog, Roger Ebert's Journal, Arts Cetera, State of Arts, The Satorialist, BlackArtDepot, Lens.

New blogs you could choose to follow: Writer Unboxed, Danciti, 

Make good ideas happen

[warmup]
Pull up the reflective essay you wrote earlier this semester. Spent 10 minutes reviewing, grammar checking and cleaning it up. Afterwards, post it to your blog (it should be your second entry). If you don't have you essay write a new one (assignment is in my drop box). If you didn't do you first post (welcome and introduction) write it. If you haven't started the blog yet start it.


[links]
TWF

RSS and Blogs

[warmup]
Write about how you spent Presidents Day weekend. Try and mimic a blog entry where you connect what you did this weekend to yourself, your peers/school, and the world at large.

For example...
Presidents Day has always been one of my favorite holidays... But my love for this day has nothing to do with why it's named or its history(for the heroics of our presidents and put in February because of George Washington birthday). It actually has to do with getting out of school. I can still clearly remember having my birthday fall on Presidents Day and telling my classmates that we didn't have school because of MY Birthday. 


This weekend I turned 29. It makes me feel old and instead of getting out of school I spent most of this presidents day grading and planning for school. ..... (etc. etc. etc.)

[links]
Local News: Star Tribune, CBS Minnesota, Kare 11
World News: BBC News, Global Voices, NY Times World, CNN World, World Class,
The Arts: Carrot Revolution, The Best Part, KissMyBlackAds, Pitchfork, Music Blog, Roger Ebert's Journal, Arts Cetera, State of Arts, The Satorialist, BlackArtDepot, Lens.

[warmup]
Watch and listen to this brief clip about the Sultanahmet Mosque (also know as the Blue Mosque because if it's distinctive use of blue). You have or will read about the Five Pillars of Islam and this video focuses on the Call to Prayer. It starts a bit slow so just give it a chance.
What is a minaret used for?
What's unifiing about the Call to Prayer?
What's you impression of either the mosque or the city of Istanbul?

*Extra Credit: How many days of school have we had so far this year?
Once you finish the warmup you can get straight to work on reading and creating your bubble map based on Islam.

Stereotypes

[warmup]
In class today we'll be looking at stereotypes, specifically stereotypes about Arabs, Muslims, & Islam. For your warmup today free-write about stereotypes. Start by defining stereotype (what does it mean to you) then go on to explain your personal experiences with stereotypes. If you don't think you have much experience with stereotypes or run out of things to write about add on to your answer why you think you haven't experience them.  (And as always if you keep writing until the timer goes off and I tell you times up.)

[guiding questions]
What's the difference between a stereotype and generalization?
What are some stereotypes that the media and our culture have about Arabs, Muslims, & Islam.
Who are the Arabs?
Who was Muhammad?
What did he teach Muslims about?
What does the culture of Islam value?

More Egypt

[warmup]
We'll be watching a short video together for warmup.

Fairy Tales

[warmup]
Once upon a time, far, far away, there lived a king who had a beautiful daughter who was a princess. They lived in a castle surrounded by a large forest.
Finish the fairy tale of the Princess and the Frog. After the story answer the following questions:
What happened in the story? (2-3 sentences)
What was the literal message of the story? (1-2 sentences) 
What was the underlying/moral of the story? (1-2 sentences)
List other stories you can think of that have a hidden moral message. (until the timer goes off)


[links]
Parables_of_Jesus from Wikipedia.

New seating chart

Check in with Mr. Hannan to find out your new spot. Take out yesterday's bubble map. Today free-write what it feels like when you are an outsider and picked on.

Reflecting on yesterday's discussion.

[warmup]
At least 24 hours have passed since our digital discussion on Christianity. Reflect (free-write) on the discussion from yesterday. You can focus on the content of the discussion, the process or both. If you were not here yesterday free-write about how you spent yesterday, what you think you might have missed and how you could catchup on what you missed.

[guiding questions]
How does bubbl.us work?
How did Christianity get its start?
How did it spread and what issues did early Christians face?
What are the core beliefs/teaching of Christianity?
How did Islam get its start?

How did it spread and what issues did early Islam face?

What are the core beliefs/teaching of Islam?

Discussion

[warmup]
Free-write about you experiences with discussions, especially passionate discussions. Best experience with a discussion. What made it so good? Worse experience with a discussion. What made it so bad? How can students help discussions go better? How can teachers help discussions go better?


[Courageous Conversations - Four Agreements]


1. Stay engaged.

2. Speak your truth.

3. Experience discomfort.

4. Expect and accept non-closure.

Cover it live.

…that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.”  That is the one thing we cannot say.  A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the Son of god; or else a madman or something  worse…let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us.  He did not intend to.
C.S. Lewis (Author of the Chronicles of Narnia)

Religion

[warmup]
Use the entire warmup time to free-write about your experiences with religion (your own, parents, others, w/e comes to mind). Students are expected to write quietly and stay on this pages for the whole 8 minutes. If you run out of things to write about write something else, anything, just make sure you keep writing.

[links]
http://animoto.com/sample-videos

[links]
www.google.com/a/wmep.k12.mn.us

Egypt

[warmup]
Yesterday we spent the day learning about the turmoil of North Africa, specifically Egypt. For you warmup today, write you impression of this upheaval. You do not have to answer all the questions in parentheses but you should be writing at least a paragraph with your thoughts. If you run out of things to write about on this topic write about something else until the timer goes off. (What's going on? Why do you think it's happening? What role did/is social media play(ing)? How do the images and sounds coming of Egypt make you feel?)

[guiding questions]
What caused the Roman Empire to weaken?
Who tried to save it? How?
What actually caused the Roman Empire to fall?
How does the decline and fall or Rome compare to what's going on in modern Egypt right now?