Use the following questions to make notes on the first part of the novel. I will be collecting these notes on Wednesday morning, January 21, 2009. You are making the notes to help prepare for a class conversation about Impulse.
I am LOVING this novel so far, what about you?
The author, Ellen Hopkins, has a website where she talks about her books and posts new poems that she’s written.
Talk about the way this book is written. Does it help or hinder your understanding of the story? Explain yourself with evidence from the novel.
Talk about the characters. Are they believable? Why or why not? Again, explain yourself with evidence from the novel.
Choose 3 separate quotes from the beginning of the novel. Copy them down, write a response, and be prepared to discuss them.
If you are presenting a cultural issue, please clear it with me.
Find 2 recent newspaper or magazine articles about your topic. You will be handing these out to the other students along with 5-8 discussion questions. Remember, you need to design questions that will stimulate discussion.
Create a multimedia presentation about your topic. A simple PowerPoint presentation will not suffice! Your presentation will need to incorporate visual and audio elements. Some ideas to help you get started:
Choose a film about your topic to show the class and then guide the class in a discussion after the viewing of the film. This film must be cleared by me before it is shown.
Section A - Choose 2 of these questions to respond to, making sure you use evidence to support your ideas.
How does hearing the voices change your understanding or appreciation of the novel?
“Sometimes I feel like I’ve walked into the middle of a movie…” What does he mean by this? Have you ever felt this way?
In the audio version, we hear all of the directions we normally wouldn’t hear if we were watching a play or movie. Does this get in the way of your understanding or help it? Explain.
While the audio was playing, Marilou said, “There is no image. I want to see it.” What would it look like if there was an image (a movie or play)? Describe the colours, images, objects, people, etc… you would see if it was a movie. Explain your choices.
Section B Choose 2 of these questions to respond to, making sure you use evidence to support your ideas.
This story is one of discrimination. How so?
Miss O’Brien comments to Steve that being young and black may already make him seem guilty to the jury. What does this statement say about racism in the American legal system?
The novel does not answer the question of Steve’s guilt or innocence for the crime he allegedly committed. Do you personally think that Steve is guilty or innocent? Why?
I’d like to dedicate our first gender day of the year to the women who lost their lives at L’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal on December 6th, 1989. If you are interested in learning more about what happened, visit the Montreal Massacre: CBC Archives to view videos and hear radio reports from the time.
I thoroughly enjoyed our day together yesterday. We had a heavy morning, but sometimes they are necessary … don’t you think? I was glad that Karen was able to come in and talk to us. She was wonderful - very honest and caring. Major thanks to Marie for setting that up.
Here is a link to what she was talking about, for yourself or if there is someone in your life who you are concerned about.
Our potluck was AMAZING. Chelsea, your chicken and rice rocked! Kyleigh, those meatballs reminded me of my great-aunt mmmmmmmmm! Sarah, thanks for giving me your green pepper stuffed with couscous so I didn’t have to wait in line I could go on and on…everything was so good. Jaime, your coffee hit the spot - even with all that sugar Oh, and Michele, your salad - YUM. And of course I can’t forget Sam’s pizza cookie and Lexy and Bridget’s decadent chocolate fountains. I think I gained 5 pounds yesterday afternoon. For real.
Kourtney - thanks for sharing some of your precious schpetzel, we all know how much you like it
(for more pictures, check out Kaitlin’s facebook photos. Someone remind me to upload the pics from Marie’s camera next week!)
As promised, here are the videos we watched. There are also some videos here I was going to show but didn’t because of time restrictions.
Heidi Rathjen’s story.
I only found this one today. Heidi was a student at the Ecole Polytechnique on the the night that the Montreal Massacre took place. She tells her story in this short documentary that includes news footage from the event.
Description from the youtube site:
“The film reports the tragic events by relating the journey of the young woman from the tiny student union rooms to the cosy lounge of the House of Commons. Armed with courage and her sense of civil justice, she’ll quit a lucrative job at Bell Canada to create the Coalition for Gun Control and win her battle against the powerful pro-gun lobby. In 1995, Ottawa adopted the bill C-68 on gun control. “
Causing Pain: Real Stories of Dating Abuse and Violence
It Ain’t Love
This one is really strong, pretty heavy.
Why?
short ad about the white ribbon campaign
When I was 14 - Performance by Dawn Saylor
Here is the poem she is performing: When I was 14 by Dawn Saylor
When I was fourteen,
I got down on my knees
Because he said I would
If I loved him.
And what did I know then?
When I first betrayed my body?
Sold it for a kiss and a smile
Taught to please at any cost
Left to fight for independence
In the backseats of cars
On stained leather interior
Dank with the smell of expectations.
I traded integrity for security
And called it love.
Leaving pieces of an empty shell falling behind
My mother patting my head and saying
What happened to that nice boy you were dating?
While I pushed memories farther down
Buried beneath piercing sunlight
Dreamed my knight would come to save
And prayed scraping already skinned knees
While I cried myself to sleep.
So I bit the apple in confusion.
Abandoned my innocence beneath the tree of knowledge
And became as bitter as the fruit I couldn’t refuse
Time and again
Giving in, giving up
Waiting always wanting something more then pickup lines
Promising more then promiscuity
Clothing myself in false hopes
Enclosing my weariness in frail arms for years.
Cars turning into bars with one lamp and pile of discarded clothing
And I heard myself say no
Over and over but he didn’t hear me
Wouldn’t listen when he called me a whore, pinned me down
And took the only innocence I had left.
And I was searching still for purity.
Lurking in hidden corners
Hips swinging lips pouting
Trading a shattered innocence for bared
And brazen offerings.
I learned how to control
And three years of vengeance passed while I was that women despised
While they begged for plastic perfection
Found in the temptation inches from their faces I could feel the longing
The lies when they said
‘You’re so beautiful’
And it wasn’t enough
And so he loved music more then me, loved work more then me, loved money more then me, loved her more then me, and I loved him more then me.
And I gave in to where I thought love hid
To the times I thought it was real
We give in to what men want
We paint ourselves with what we think are colors of the rainbow
When we’re really cloaked in hips and lips
The brutal realities that leave us grasping
Tatters of the illusions of love and longing
And the shattered shreds of innocence
Until we wear our own colors
And part the curtains we drape over our mirrors in mourning
And look ourselves in the eye and say
With you I feel like Isis and I am beautiful.
Here is the little video we saw in class on Tuesday morning.
Don’t forget –> your own emoticon texts are due on Thursday Nov. 13
Roughly one paragraph
Include a translation on a separate sheet of paper
We will be exchanging and translating them on Thursday morning to see how effective they are for communicating ideas
Go to the website where I found the video to read the discussion below it. If you like, you can even add to it! (click on the video title below to do that)
The comments are quite interesting…what do you think?
You will see [Reply] directly underneath each comment. Click on that to reply to at least 3 comments. In a reply, you typically make a comment about what the person said and ask a question. It could be a question for clarification or something about the topic.
Second…
Create a Twitter account. Once you do, write a message to me that begins with @tracyrosen
You will then be able to click on the @tracyrosen to get to my page
Click on ‘follow’ under my picture
Do the same for everyone in our class
PlotBot - Write screenplays online, alone or with friends.
Answer these questions.
You can write them or type them as comments to this post (I prefer if you type them as comments).
You can email me any questions. (look at contact at the bottom of this page…replace the AT and DOT with @ and . )
1. Find the websites for the main political parties.
Look over the websites.
2. Do you agree or disagree with what Clarence Fisher has to say about each of the parties’ sites?
State whether you agree or disagree, then explain why, for each of the parties.
3.Based on what you read on each of the parties’ webpages…who do you think has the best chance of winning on October the 14th?
Explain why and give examples to support your thoughts.
This is due on Tuesday, October 14th.
I could go on and on…everything was so good. Jaime, your coffee hit the spot - even with all that sugar 
Oh, and Michele, your salad - YUM. And of course I can’t forget Sam’s pizza cookie and Lexy and Bridget’s decadent chocolate fountains. I think I gained 5 pounds yesterday afternoon. For real.
