March 19

Social 10-1

We were able to do an activity based around the story "The Rabbits". These book addresses some of the themes that we'll be looking at Unit 2, such as cultural contact, assimilation, imperialism, differing world views, and residential schools. We spent a fair bot of time looking at the symbolism in the book and some of the themes that the book introduces. I did a homework check on your Chapter 6 Key Terms and Questions today. Please remind me tomorrow to show you the results of your Unit 1 Final Exam.

IB 20 HOTA

We spent the entire period discussing the IA. I gave you a booklet that you should use as a guide to complete the various sections of your IA. We're booked into a computer lab tomorrow so that you can start working on your IA.

IB 30/35

We watched Episode 1 of "Eyes on the Prize" today. You were given a question sheet to go along with this episode, the questions from this worksheet are due tomorrow (April 4th). Episode 1 of "Eyes on the Prize" focused in on the murder of Emmett Till and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On the timeline that is on the video study guide for this episode it also mentions the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, however, the makers of Eyes on the Prize focus in on Emmett Till's murder, and the short public trial of his murderers. You can see Till's murder as a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement, and the open casket funeral of Emmett Till and the publication of the photos in Jet magazine as a catalyst for change in America's attitudes. Mississippi, where Till's murder took place gained national notoriety as a hotbed for white supremacy as well. If you are interested in the Till case you might want to do a little investigation of your own into the impact that the murder had on popular culture. Numerous songs, plays, poems, novels, TV shows and movies have drawn inspiration from the murder of Emmett Till and the court case. You may see parallels between the Till case and Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird (one of my personal favorites) to the TV show In the Heat of the Night (it was previously a movie too),and to the Bob Dylan song "The Death of Emmett Till". With the Montgomery Bus Boycott segment of the episode you saw the emergence of Martin Luther King on the national stage. We'll be exploring his role and leadership in the movement in the days to come.

I also talked briefly about rhetoric in the speeches of Martin Luther King. Check out this link for a bit of rhetorical analysis of the "I Have a Dream Speech", and a transcript of the speech.