| English & Language Arts - middle |
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"With the huge salaries earned by some professional basketball players, one questions whether the players are "worth" what they are paid. The underlying question explored in this WebQuest is what do we value in American society? The controversy surrounding professional athletes' salaries is complex and multi-faceted . This activity will help students learn how American labor markets operate and how salaries paid to professional athletes influence our values concerning money."
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"The Samurai's Tale presents a vivid picture of an orphaned boy's life during Japan's civil war era. The events, character relationships, character flaws, noble character traits, and admirable human qualities have an ancient context not fully uncovered within the story. You will approach this WebQuest as an investigative reporter, part archeologist, part detective, and part psychologist. If you are clever at discovering details and making inferences, a greater depth of understanding of the events as well as the characters will unfold. Then you can ponder the question: As we look to this day, how are we like sons of samurai?"
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"You will be working with a team of four people who have been selected to decide the fate of a forest newly designated as a National Forest.
Should it be used for recreation? Set aside as a wilderness? Logged for timber? Or a combination of things?"
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"Your group is about to meet the newest members of your tribe, the Lenni Lenape (Delaware). These real people were captured by your warriors on a raid. They hate you. They are afraid of you. Your job is to give each of these "outsiders" a Lenni Lenapi identity. You need to teach each of these "prisoners" how to become true Lenni Lenape in everything they do. Then...you will need to decide which one will have to be let go."
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"An adventure awaits those who are curious and want to explore. An adventure awaits those who can't resist a good riddle. An adventure awaits those who are creative, and expressive." This WebQuest helps students analyze Folk Tales and then write their own.
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"There has been much discussion lately on the news and in the newspapers about whether the Australian Government should make a formal apology to the Indigenous people of Australia for the Government policies of the past which have affected them."
"The Prime Minister has requested a group be appointed to help advise himself and other central community representatives on how Australian people view saying "Sorry" to the Aboriginal People."
"You have been appointed to that Advisors group, which consists of an historian, a reporter, a health worker, an anthropologist and a librarian. Together with your other team members, you are required to investigate the issue and then report back your findings."
Question: "Should the Prime Minister and the Government say 'sorry' to the Aboriginal People? Why/why not?"
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"Reports have come out of China suggesting some terrible things about the way children are treated in Chinese orphanages. As with most things relating to this complex country, it's hard to tell what's true and what is propaganda. In this WebQuest you and your teammates will explore reports about how children are treated in China, the U.S., and other related topics. Your task is to come up with your team's version of the truth."
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"Imagine that you and a team of fellow archaeologists have been contracted by the U.N. Historical Society to uncover artifacts from the Ancient Greek culture. As you begin your dig, many important discoveries are made that give clues to the way of life in Ancient Greece. Your team has been asked to display your findings of Ancient Greece through a fairy tale. The team has decided that the tale of Cinderella would be a great story through which the Ancient Greek culture could be portrayed."
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"When you read literature from another cultural setting, comprehension can be a challenge. What does the setting look like? Why do the characters think and behave the way they do? Have you had similar problems? In their shoes, would you have made the same decisions? Just as knowing a language will help you to understand a person's message, understanding the culture of a time and place will deepen your interpretation of the literature, and strengthen your connections to the march of humanity."
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"The historian, if honest, gives us a photograph; the storyteller gives us a painting."
From "Historical Fiction for our Global Times" Leon Garfield
As we look back on our rich heritage, there are many landmark moments in American history - the American Revolution that freed the colonists from British tyranny, the Civil War that abolished slavery and united a nation. But, what if you could sit in some whirring, darkened time machine, pull a few levers, and disappear into the past?"
Selecting one of the five destinations listed below, your task is to travel back in time and write your own short short story taking into consideration the literary elements we’ve discussed in class.
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"For ages, puppets have been used to tell stories. A puppet's personality
is like the fossilized remains of dinosaurs who once roamed the Earth
millions of years ago. They are silent and motionless imprints of living characters who are frozen in time. Unless we use our imaginations.
A world of puppet characters is waiting for the right puppeteer to bring them back to life. What puppet is waiting for you?"
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"Summer vacation. Don't you just love the sound of those two words. Every school year we look forward to that weeklong trip we will take with mom, dad, and our siblings. Summer vacation is your chance to forget about school and have fun. This summer, you can't wait to go on vacation. The trip is almost three weeks away. You and your brother are so excited you can hardly wait! So you decide to go to Uncle Jimmy's house and go for a pre-vacation swim. As you walk out the front door you spot a note on the fridge. You go to read the note..."
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"Social injustice is rampant. To end this horrible problem, the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES has created the BUREAU OF PEACE & JUSTICE.
Clever BUREAU scientists have the created the FT98, a device which can transport people through time. The BUREAU will use the FT98 to send SPECIAL AGENTS throughout the past, present, and future to promote equality for all people.
You have been selected by BUREAU CHIEF JANNEY to be among the first SPECIAL AGENTS to use the FT98 to fight social injustice. You will utilize your knowledge of African-American history to ensure CAROL LOGAN SCOTT will become President and eradicate social injustice..."
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"You can't believe it is really happening, but a major publishing firm came to Colton, New York, looking for student authors for a new movie they hope to make with Disney. You feel goofy, but you have decided to take them up on it. They would like it to be a realistic fiction book about the Iditarod Race. It is an offer too good to pass up."
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"Written by an anonymous author, 'Abandoned Farmhouse' piques our interest. It is intriguing because of its ambiguity. Each reader brings his/her own prior knowledge to the poem and leaves, having drawn his/her own conclusions about the characters and the events in the poem. It is open to many interpretations. Your first challenge is to read the poem at least once and develop your own interpretation of the poem. When you are finished, you will write a poem of your own modeled on Abandoned Farmhouse."
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"You will produce, stage, direct, cast and costume a play about the real and rollicking Gold Rush in California."
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"How many times have you heard, "There is always more than one side of the story?" In this WebQuest, you will use the information you have gathered from reading Grandpa's Mountain by Carolyn Reeder to understand different feelings and perspectives about building the Skyline Drive in the Blue Ridge Parkway. You will show your understanding and explore different perspectives by taking on different roles of people who were involved, and also by continuing different discussions found in the book."
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"You are the creative and multitalented author Beverly Cleary and your fans are dying to meet you. Your agent has told your publishing company that you will write a new book featuring characters that you have already created and some new exciting characters as well. At your book signing in three days you will need to present the idea of your new book and answer questions about your new and old characters. "
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The purpose of this activity is to create your very own fairytale. To do this, you will first read a fairytale, answer questions that pertain to the elements of a fairytale and then create a cluster and finally, your original story.
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