Christmas Around the World

Christmas Around the World #1--click here
Christmas Around the World #2--click here
Christmas Around the World #3--click here

Poetry Analysis Questions and Poetry Project

 "Pumped Up Kicks"

Poetry Analysis Questions

Directions: Answer the questions below. Use complete sentences. Make sure to answer all parts of the question. 

1. Title: What predictions can you make from the title?
   
2. Paraphrase: Summarize the poem in your own words.
   
3. Connotation:Find examples of imagery, metaphors, similes, etc. and elaborate on their connotative meanings.
   
4. Attitude: What attitude does the poet have toward the subject of the poem?  Find and list examples that illustrate the tone and mood of the poem.
   
5. Audience: Who is the intended audience? How did you get that answer?
   
6. Speaker:  Who is the speaker of this poem? (Remember: the speaker and the author are not the same.) Your description of the speaker should start “The speaker of this poem is a person who…”

Poetry Project 

Commercial and Debate

Today's Tasks

1. Commercial: Directions – Create a 60-second commercial advertising your candidate. This commercial should focus on persuading undecided voters to vote for your candidate. This can be done using any combination of ethos, pathos, and logos arguments. Since this is a political campaign, the commercials can either be positive (highlighting your candidate's accomplishments and ideas), negative (attacking another candidate), or a mixture of both.  You will be turning in a storyboard, script, and final product. Your final product can either be a recorded commercial or one that is performed in class. Since the candidates are fictitious, anyone in the group can portray the candidate for the commercial.

Components:
1. Script – Description of what is happening (stage directions) in the commercial and what is said by the actors.
2. Final product – Your final product can either by a 60 second video or live action skit in class.

How you will be graded:
Script: 20 points
Requirements: 10 points
Persuasiveness: 10 points
Creativity: 10 points
Final: 50 points

Due Wednesday!

1. On Tuesday, there will be a presidential debate in class. Each group will select one person to play the part of the presidential candidate. This person will give a 30-second opening comments that describes who s/he is as a candidate and how s/he will make America better. Then the moderator (Mr. Spivy) will ask each candidate a variety of questions. If a the candidate mentions another candidate, then that candidate will receive a chance to defend him/herself. 

Below are a list of questions that might be asked of the candidates. Each candidate can bring up notes to reference, so it would be wise to write down answer to the questions below. 

You will be graded on how well each question is answered using sound logic (no logical fallacies) and if the answers match up with what your candidate believes. This will be worth 30 points. 

Questions:

1.       What is the best solution for an unwanted pregnancy?

2.       The rate of joblessness has dropped since the beginning of the Obama Administration; what will you do as president to continue this trend?

3.       If you could do one thing as president to assist the economy, what would that be?

4.       The environment in Washington has been toxic for nearly a decade with political parties typically choosing to argue with one another instead of trying to work together. This has led to the shutdown of the government multiple times. How can you as a president help improve the climate of Washington?

5.       How do your propose to balance the budget? Will this be a priority of your administration?

6.        At what point do you believe America should send troops to abroad to fight ISIS?

7.       Within the past two years, the amount of school shootings have multiplied; what is your solution to this problem?

8.       There are parts of Obamacare that have helped many people pay for healthcare that could not afford it before; there are other parts of Obamacare that are hurting the economy and making health insurance unaffordable for many Americans. Is there anything you would do to Obamacare as president? 

9.       What is your solution for the illegal immigration problem?

10.   Would you reform the welfare program?

11.   What would you do within the first year of your presidency? What does America look like when you are president?

12. What is your response to the attacks in Paris on Friday? 

Crises Tasks

Candidate Crisis: 

On NBC’s Nightly News last night, Brian Williams reported on a story about former Mayor Alexander Rubens. In the report, it was mentioned that Rubens had been living with his current wife, Tatiana, for over three years while still being married to his ex-wife, Elizabeth. In fact, even though the couple attended Mayor Ruben’s first mayoral inauguration as husband and wife, Rubens had actually already moved in with the model and had been living with her for over six months. The timeline suggests that even though the former Mrs. Rubens campaigned for her then husband, they were not actually living together and had been planning to divorce throughout the whole campaign. The two remained married for two more years until the right time was determined by the mayor’s staff. When asked for a comment, Elizabeth Rubens (the mayor’s ex-wife) stated, “I only did what Alex asked of me. I was still in love with the man and wanted for him whatever made him happy.” The only source that William’s revealed was an anonymous colleague of the former Mrs. Rubens.

Earlier this week on Fox News, a phone call that had been secretly recorded between Gov. Anthony Di Stefano and a group of top donors was aired during the primetime news hour. In this recording, a voice, which has been identified (but not verified) as Di Stefano can be heard saying, “I don’t get these Solvo people. They talk about being religious and caring for the poor, but they would push a homeless man in front of a moving car if they thought it would save them money. Are these people mentally challenged?” The Council for Disabled Individuals has quickly pulled their support of the governor’s presidential campaign and has decried him as, “a bully who is no better than the nasty kid on the playground.”

In the Los Angeles Times, portions of an essay entitled, “The Problem with Deism,” were published on the front page. This essay was written by Cara Sneed while she was a philosophy student at Oxford University forty years ago. In this essay, Sneed states that, “The belief in God only exists because people need to have something to rely on and that the truth is too difficult for most people to grasp.” She writes that “There can be no afterlife, and that believing in such an idea only occurs because people are gullible and willing to believe in anything that will give them hope.” This essay was written in a class that focused on religion. Many of her supporters have defended Ms. Sneed saying that this was only written for a class and that she was only trying to please a professor. However, many voters within her own party wonder if Sneed is actually an atheist. Sneed has never made mention of her religious beliefs.

The Washington Post reported on an investigation that they had conducted on former Sec. Diane Ellsworth’s time at the Pentagon. While most of this investigation revealed little, there was one piece of information that the investigative reporter found interesting. In the article, the reporter detailed that while Ellsworth was Defense Secretary, she pushed Congress to pass a bill that would allow the Defense Department to purchase new weapons from Titan Defense Supplier. At the time, Congress easily passed the bill which was quickly signed by the president. Nearly $1.5 billion was spent on the new materials, pushing the government into even more debt. It has now been uncovered that one of the largest investors in Titan Defense Supplier was Dr. Richard Wells, who is the younger half-brother of Sec. Ellsworth. As an investor in the company, Dr. Wells receives a portion of the company’s profit; Dr. Wells is also financial supporter of Ellsworth’s campaign. Some are now accusing Ellsworth of nepotism and making deals for the sole purpose of helping her family. While Titan Defense Supplier is one of the leading arms suppliers in the world, the report indicated that Ellsworth did not determine if any other company could provide the same materials for less money.

On MSNBC last night, Al Sharpton reported that while Rep. Ryan Davis was in college, he attended an independent Catholic Church (a church that is not sanctioned by the international church) lead by Father Zachariah Meyers. Meyers has been in the news throughout the decades for making anti-American and racist statements. At times, his comments have been so defamatory that some have accused him of being a traitor and have caused racial tension to rise. These comments include, “America isn’t great. America has never been great. God does not bless America. Why should He? We’re ungrateful. We pray for safety. Why? We’re the terrorists in the world!” The priest has also been known for railing against Jewish people, even stating, “Perhaps Hitler was sent on a mission from God.” This comment was quickly recanted. Rep. Davis attended this church for two years while he was in college.

Tasks:

Today’s Tasks (11/12/15):

1.       Write a speech (minimum one minute) that your candidate (anyone in your group) will give tomorrow at the beginning of class. This speech should address the crisis that your candidate now has to face. Decide if the person will simply apologize, if the person will justify his/her actions, or if this person will deny it. Will your candidate “throw another candidate under the bus” to shift the attention away from him/herself? Will your person own up to it like a decent human being? Make sure that you include logos, pathos, and ethos. If you need help with details, ask Mr. Spivy. –due beginning of class tomorrow

2.       Write a memo to your campaign volunteers throughout the country. In this memo, you need to tell your staff how they should address the crises of the other candidates. Should they be supportive of the other candidates? Should they be critical of the other candidates? Should they just ignore the other candidates’ crises?

Write a paragraph for each about each of the other candidates with how your volunteers should address these crises and the reasoning behind your decision.—due tomorrow

3.       Finish the tasks from earlier this week. That would include the three posters (one generic, one slogan, one issues) and the two issues articles (on abortion, immigration, or gun control). Follow the directions from earlier this week to help you in this endeavor.—due tomorrow

Campaign Day #4

Today’s Tasks:

#1- Finish your announcement speech. Practice this speech in front of another person in your group. Time the speech to make sure it is at least a minute and a half. Make sure that your speech uses logos, pathos, and ethos while avoiding logical fallacies (refer to the board for assistance)- due today during class. Follow the ten steps provided in this website http://wittcom.com/how-to-give-a-speech/.  

#2- If Mr. Spivy has approved your campaign posters’ rough drafts, then create your final campaign posters. Mr. Spivy will provide you with the correct paper and color pencils if you do not already have them- due Friday.

#3- Write two newspaper articles detailing your candidate’s stance on abortion, immigration, or gun control (choose two out of the three). Research the topic before you begin writing so that you have facts to back up your claims. Your articles will be three paragraphs long. The first paragraph should introduce the topic (provide general information or maybe a brief history). The second paragraph should detail your candidate’s views on this topic and why s/he holds these views. The third paragraph should describe the views of at least one other candidate and why your candidate believes that person is wrong. Do not use phrases like “I think” or “I believe” because it makes your argument weak- due Friday. 

Campaign End of Week

Campaign Items due at the end of today:

1.       A completed contract

2.       The discussion notes from your discussion about who your candidate is, why s/he is running, what s/he offers that no one else does, and why your candidate would be a good president.

3.       Your slogan, which has been circled

4.       The rough drafts for your three (or five for Block) campaign signs. Each sign should have the candidate’s name, the political party, and 2016 on them. A rough draft should be almost a perfect replica of what final version will look like.

5.       The press release including who your candidate it, what s/he believes in (do not include every single belief), and why s/he would be the best person to be elected president. Three paragraphs!

Due Monday

1.       One person from each group will give a speech as the candidate announcing his/her candidacy for the presidency. 

Campaign Day #2

Today’s Tasks

1.      If you did not finish step #2 from yesterday, that must be done today.

2.      If you did not create a slogan yesterday, that must be done today.

3.      Finish the rough drafts for your campaign signs. Use the direction from yesterday. If you finish the rough drafts, alert Mr. Spivy so that you can begin working on your final signs. Rough drafts are due today.

4.      Create a press release (short newspaper article) announcing your candidate’s decision to run for president. This press release should include who your candidate is, what s/he believes in (do not include every single belief), and why s/he would be the best person to be elected president-due tomorrow.

5.      On Monday, each group will give a speech announcing your candidate’s decision to run for president. One person in your group will assume the role of the candidate to give this speech (using I, me, we, us). This speech needs to announce to the country why your candidate is running for president, why they would be the best choice, and what makes them qualified. Use all three types of arguments that were discussed in class (logos, pathos, ethos). Research other presidential announcement speeches to help give you an idea where to start. This speech needs to be at least one minute and thirty seconds.