3/5 Exemplars of Free Verse – Advocating for Human Rights

There were a variety of submissions, with different themes, different styles and lengths.   Some I needed to reread and think about, and others stood out immediately.  Here are some examples:

It’s time for victims to be the change we need to see.  All men are born free and equal.  Every man, woman, and child seek equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity with discrimination.  –  I saw a strong belief that the people who are being treated badly must realize they have to advocate for themselves in order for there to be change.  I had to reread this poem to see the strength in this, because it was so simple.

I have a dream.  Seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination.  We are up here standing together.  This is our hope.  Give them a piece of your mind. – Great ending sentence, I had a vivid image of people standing up and together and advocating for themselves.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today  and tomorrow.  I still have a dream.  I’m going to ask him how much money he received from the NRA but it doesn’t matter because I already know.  And divided by the number of gunshot victims in the U.S. in 2018 alone, that comes out to $5,800.  Is that how much these people are worth to you Trump?  This is our hope.  Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to him, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world. – This poem showed deep text analysis.  No one else chose this text, and it fits well in the middle. It addresses a deep problem in the U.S., and offers the solution of concerted citizen action.

I have a dream.  Where every man, women, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination.  The guns have changed, but our laws have not.  We shall look in vain to change the law.  If you do nothing people continually end up dead.  We shall change the law.  This is our hope, this is our faith. – I had a problem with this one, as I don’t feel the beginning lines fit well with the rest, however, the message of changing the laws or people will continue to die is so powerful.  So I gave it hua/hua.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.  Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.  So it’s time to start doing something.  All our government and president can do is send thoughts and prayers.  So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world. – The last last line took me a while to understand, but now I realize they are saying that even though the people face the problems, our political situation seems hopeless.  Very moving.

 

If one of these is yours, please see me.

 

 

 

 

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3/14 Exemplars on the similarities in religions

Most were able to identify the similarities between the three religions with the correct citations (explicit text and paragraph numbers).  A common problem was explaining why the similarities can lead to human rights.  It was a misunderstanding if you then decided to tell me a human right that included the right to your own beliefs, or no discrimination.  Here are some examples from students who answered the question correctly:

“understanding similarities in religions can lead to universal human rights because you need to understand others to help them. I think this because some religions have different customs like not celebrating this or that and you donʻt know what they donʻt do, so knowing what they do is a huge advantage.”

“If the people of the world would concentrate on the similarities of the major religions instead of the differences they would be more peace in the world and prevent something like what happened to the Jews from happening again”

“because the religions are somewhat similar we can look at these similarities and respect that there are some differences but we should respect them still. Thatʻs how understanding the similarities in religions can lead to universal human rights.”

“Understanding the similarities between religions lead to universal human rights because religions have special teaching that can help develop guide lines for universal human rights.”

“If you comprehend that another culture or religion is similar then you can recognize how you are equal because of your similar beliefs and the way you think could be almost the same.”

“I think that understanding and accepting religions can come to compromises and that they can agree with each other and that they can agree on laws that help their people and protect them. This can also lead to universal human rights because when they agree with each other’s religions more people can accept other, and that can lead to fewer wars and those religions can join together and help their people altogether.”

“My reasoning behind this is because I think that we should set apart our differences with other religions and focus on the similarities instead of fighting with each other because of the differences we have. I chose this Human Right because with all this thought and evidence I thought that it was the one that fit it the most.”

“In order to achieve Universal Human Rights, we have to recognize how similar we all are and that means that we recognize that no culture, person or religion is better than one another.”

That could lead us to feel more tolerant and to maybe even feel empathy for a group we were against. This could bring us to believing that weʻre all equal and that everyone deserves to have their human rights.”

“All of these similarities lead to universal human rights because it shows that the religions acknowledges the similarities while also recognizing the differences of them. It says that all of this types of religions still are the same though they seem to act different. Such as human right #1 “We are all born free and equal” It connects because it shows that Muslims, Jews, and Christians are very different yet so similar in simple ways. The stories were made by different people but share its same concept. This is why is connects.”

If yours was chosen as an exemplar, please see me.

 

 

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3/9 Formative values assessment

Students will be assessed at the end of the semester for their performance as Emerging Hawaiian Leaders and Learners.  The values we have been focusing on are Aloha, Kuleana, and Ho’omau.  Students have been keeping informal records of evidence that they are meeting their values, and I use my class observations and the grade book as my evidence.  I have made my formative assessment of each student, and have put this in the grade book.  I have sent each student a personal email as to my reasons behind my assessment.  They all had the opportunity to respond to me, and if they had sufficient evidence that I made a mistake in my assessment, then I changed it.

Hua means that they have provided me so much evidence that they understand this value, practice it, and serve as models to others of this value.

Pua means that for the most part, they show understanding of this value, and try to practice it.

Liko means that there is either a lack of evidence of understanding or practice, or there is evidence that they are sometimes doing the opposite of this value.

Kupu means that this student has actually not been practicing this value.

 

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3/9 Exemplar work for Human Rights 1-15

Human Right # and Description Violation Scenario Advocacy
#1 We are all born free and equal. When I was eating lunch with my friends, a boy wanted to sit by us, but my friends said he wasn’t smart enough to eat with us. I went to sit by the boy and eat lunch with him.
#2  Don’t discriminate. Someone teased me about the church I attend. I said that I can believe in what I choose, and so can they.
#3  The right to life. I saw some people hurting two girls at recess. I took them to safety and had the nurse help them.
#4 No slavery. A student was forcing another to do their school work. I told the teacher and she stopped it.
#5 No torture. A friend was trying to force me to dance at the dance. I told them that dancing was torture to me, and they stopped.
#6 You have rights no matter where you go. A new student is being treated badly. I stick up for my new friend and roast them back.
#7 We are all equal before the law. Police are treating people differently, based upon their skin color. I can be part of a peaceful protest against bad police.
#8 Your human rights are protected by law. I was at home and my dad was hurting my mom. I called 911.
#9 No unfair detainment. My friend has detention, but the teacher didn’t know the real story. I spoke to the teacher, and she apologized to the student for making a mistake.
#10 The right to trial. My friend was trying to defend himself, but the teacher was not listening to him. When the teacher was in a better mood, I went to talk to her and she agreed to listen to the student this time.
#11 We’re all innocent until proven guilty. Fun Factory said some people stole from them and so Mrs. Nishikawa had to talk to many students. I told the truth about myself and about others.
#12 The right to privacy. My brother is always poking into my business and into my room. I can tell him to stop, tell him to get out, and tell my mom.
#13 Freedom to move. President Trump is saying that the Dreamers have to go back. I can sign a petition that protects the rights of the Dreamers.
#14 The right to seek a safe place to live. My friend’s family was stuck in a dangerous neighborhood. I asked my parents to help them to find a safer place to live.
#15 Right to a nationality. Someone is from another country, and people ignore him when he asks for help, because he’s different. I don’t care that he’s from another country, and I help him.
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3/9 Malala due 3/29

The autobiography “I am Malala” was distributed on 2/20, with the worksheet.  We have reviewed the worksheet 3 times.  The last time was 3/7, which was the last day I had social studies classes.  Students took out their planners and scheduled their time.  They were supposed to have put down when their reading would be done, and when their worksheet would be done.  When they return on 3/27, they can ask any last minute questions and still be able to turn in their work on 3/29.  I have students who have already completed the reading.  All students were given class time to read, so they should have all started.

 

http://blogs.ksbe.edu/pekono/files/2018/03/Autobiography-Thinking-Map-Malala-2018.doc

 

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2/27 Free Verse Poem due tomorrow

Today students began their free verse human rights advocacy poems, using text from the three speeches they have studied in English and in Social Studies.  Some chose a partner, others chose to work alone.  Students should continue their work at home, so that tomorrow, they will be able to finish in 20 minutes.

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2/24 Exemplars for the GS Newsela

Point of View: Which person or group’s perspective was most fully developed in this article? Use explicit text to support, citing at least two strong pieces of evidence with paragraph numbers. Conclude by identifying a person or group’s perspective that was not fully developed. Check the blog for helpful hints.

Most people answered the prompt completely, but there were some who did not do the second portion.  If you missed the second portion, which was identifying the undeveloped perspective, then your answer was incomplete, and you received a 2.  Another reason you may have received a 2 was if the evidence you selected did not strongly support the perspective selected.

This was a typical 3 answer – The most developed perspective was that of the Girl Scouts, or someone from the Girl Scouts.  There was much evidence about the Girl Scouts and what they believed and what they stand for.  There was little evidence about what the supporters of the current name thought, or about the Talmadge family.

“In my opinion the person or group’s perspective that was most fully developed in this article was the Girl Scouts. One piece of evidence that supports my opinion is “”2017–18 has been the year for girls and empowerment,” Felix said. “What better way to honor this than by naming the bridge after the founder of the Girl Scouts?”” another piece of evidence that supports my opinion is “Forty thousand Girl Scouts visit Savannah every year. It would be a wonderful thing to have them “welcomed” by a bridge named after Low, Else said.” In my opinion the person or group’s perspective that was the least developed in this article was Talmadge’s descendants.”

 

 

 

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2/26 Important deadlines to plan for

We are very close to the end of the quarter.  As last week I was on travel, I left the students with daily class time to work on their long term project, HR 1-15.  I understand that some, but not all students used this time wisely, and without arguing.  However, there were too many that did.  Based upon this feedback, the due date for the completed HR 1-15 is 3/1.  This has been a project we have worked on for weeks, and last week finished their formative tableaux.  The rubric was provided 2/15.

My grade book closes 3/6 for this quarter.  All assignments due after that date will be put into the last quarter.

The latest Newsela assignment was given today, and students had class time to begin their reading, as I worked on updating their grades.  The reading must be complete by tomorrow.  The Write is due this Friday.  There is one more optional Newsela assignment in their makeup folder.  

 

 

 

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2/20 Examples of Newsela Writes for MLK/Super Bowl

This is a 3.  Simply stated, but enough context to show deep understanding.

King’s context: -Inspirational -Equality, Segregation, Racism -1960 Super Bowl context: -Entertaining -Persuade you to buy their product -Feb. 4, 2018 I think the usual context of King’s words and speeches are usually to inspire others. The context of this specific ad was to persuade people to buy their product, in this case it was to sell cars.

This is a 2 – It is missing the context of the ads.

The proper context of King’s words are usually no segregation, equality, voting rights and proper human rights. MLK was talking about equality as it says in his speech “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slave’s and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”. King wanted everyone to be able to vote because only white could. MLK did not want people misusing his words in commercial he wanted all people to live their lives in “equality”.

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2/20 Another alternative assignment for Newsela

I have added another alternative assignment, about an advocate for anti-bullying.  The due date for this one is 3/2.  If you missed a Write, or want to try again for a higher assessment, you may do the annotations and the Write.

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