Sci-Fi Dilemmas in District 9

This post is for JUNIORS only.

District 9 tackles a variety of real world problems: South Africa's apartheid, South Africa's racist attitudes towards Nigerians, people's willingness to buy into media smear campaigns, immigration issues, the abuse of authority by police, the utilization of concentration camps, and more. 

The film, however, is basically broken into three acts with each act focusing on one basic problem:

1. The first third of the film deals with MNU's treatment of the aliens and the way they plan to force them into a concentration camp. In other words, the first third of the film explores how horribly governments and corporations can treat groups of minorities.
2. The second third of the film deals with MNU's inhuman treatment of Wikus and how horribly governments and corporations can treat individual members of society.
3. The final third of the film deals with how people have a natural instinct for self preservation which often leads to selfish and callous behavior towards others.

Your task is to accomplish the following objectives:

• Select one of the three acts about which you would like to write.
• View the clip below that illustrates the act's central real world problem.
• Write a thoughtful, thorough, grammatically correct paragraph in which you thoroughly explain how the clip illustrates just how the problem exists in the film.
• Write a second paragraph in which you thoroughly explain how this real world problem exists in either (1) the real world, (2) A Long Way Gone, or (3) another film or book or your choice.

If you have any questions, please ask an instructor. As always, use the following list to edit your work:

• third person
• present tense
• no contractions
• correct grammar/punctuation
• correct spelling
• correct capitalization
• book titles italicized
• a creative, original title for your essay 

Act I:  The treatment of the aliens by MNU

(The treatment of minority groups by governments and corporations)

Act II:  The treatment of Wikus by MNU

(The treatment of individuals by a government or corporation)

Act III:  Wikus is ruled by his fear of MNU and his prejudice of the aliens
(Individuals are ruled by instinctive fears and prejudices)

Two more points of interest:

Be sure to bring your Fahrenheit 451 novels the day after break.

If you enjoyed District 9, you might also enjoy Monsters.

Sci-Fi Analysis

This post is for JUNIORS only.

In the TOSTU folder, you will find a document entitled "Veldt, True Love, EPICAC activity." Open the document and answer the questions in the text fields provided. Be sure to save the document to your own folder. Turn in a hard coy tomorrow.

A Raisin in the Sun Essay

This post if for FRESHMEN only.

Essay Overview
A Raisin in the Sun is about a family of dreamers. It is an exploration of where those dreams have brought them and where those dreams are likely to lead them. The play also challenges the popular view that dreams are always helpful, that people need to have dreams to be happy. Your task in this essay is to answer the following question:

In what ways can dreams harm dreamers?

Format

1. First, determine three general ways that dreams can be harmful to people.
2. Next, find one example for each way in the text.
3. Finally, find a second example for each way from one of the following exterior sources: current events, other literature, history, or popular culture.

You may wish to consider the following characters and dreams that each has:

• Ruth and Mama dream of becoming homeowners.
• Walter dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.
• Beneatha dreams of becoming a doctor.
• Asagai dreams of bringing independence to Africa.

Use the model found HERE to guide your planning.


Organization
While you do not need to complete a formal outline for this essay, you should use the following organizational structure for your five-paragraph essay:

I. Introduction
   A. hook
   B. link/topic
   C. thesis
   D. bridge

II. Harm 1
   A. example from text
      1. claim
      2. evidence
         a. set-up
         b. cited quotation
      3. explanation
   B. example from exterior source
      1. claim
      2. evidence
      3. explanation


III. Harm 2
   A. example from text
      1. claim
      2. evidence
         a. set-up
         b. cited quotation
      3. explanation
   B. example from exterior source
      1. claim
      2. evidence
      3. explanation


IV. Harm 3
   A. example from text
      1. claim
      2. evidence
         a. set-up
         b. cited quotation
      3. explanation
   B. example from exterior source
      1. claim
      2. evidence
      3. explanation


V. Conclusion
   A. reflection of thesis
   B. real-world application (So what?)

Who Would Win in a Fight?

This post is for JUNIORS only.

We're going to look at another essay based on research. Your first task is to read the Slate essay entitled "Who Would Win in a Fight: a Modern Human or a Neanderthal?" You'll notice that throughout the essay are links to articles that support the author's claims.


The next step is to copy and past the following questions into a Word document:

1.  What is the essay's guiding question?


2.  What unique physical detail helps make La Ferrassie 1 one of the "most important discoveries made in the field of Neanderthal research"?


3.  How old is La Ferrassie 1?


4. Why did Neanderthal males likely have "Popeye forearms"?


5. What are two ways that Neanderthals were physically superior to homo sapiens?

A.

B.


6.  What are two ways that homo sapiens were physically superior to Neanderthals?

A.

B.


7. What three conditions would give modern man "an excellent chance of defeating a Neanderthal?"


8. What is the average height and weight for males in the United States who are twenty years and older, and what is the source of this information?

A.

B.

C.


9.  How can the "human brain work against us in combat"?


10. What is the answer to the essay's guiding question, and is this answer found at the beginning or end of the essay?


Your final task is to answer the questions. Here are a few tips. You can copy and paste answers directly into your document from the sources. You will find some of the answers in the Slate essay, but you will also find some of the answers in the articles to which the Slate essay links. Be sure to read through the links as well as the essay itself.

When you are done, save, print, and hand it your Word document.

Morning Announcements

Morning Announcements Feb. 8, 2013 from Glenbrook South Television on Vimeo.

Do Armed Citizens Stop Mass Shootings?

This post is for Juniors only.

We're going to spend the day looking at an essay based on research. Your first task is to read the Slate essay entitled Do Armed Citizens Stop Mass Shootings?  You'll notice that throughout the essay are links to articles that support the author's claims.

The next step is to copy and past the following questions into a Word document:


1.  What is the essay's guiding question?


2.  Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas said on Fox News on Sunday, “I wish to God she had had an M-4 in her office.” What is the rest of this quotation?


3.  In the second paragraph,the author provides three examples of armed civilians stopping violent perpetrators. Summarize each of these examples in one sentence each.

A.

B.

C.


4. According to the essay, what are more common than armed civilians stopping violent perpetrators?


5. "When a shooter entered an AT&T store in 2010 in a small New York town with a list of six employees he planned to kill and shot one of them, a shopper who was an off-duty officer drew his .40 caliber handgun and killed the man." Was the off-duty police officer required to carry his gun at the time?


6. "An investigation by Mother Jones concluded that no more than 1.6 percent of mass shootings were ended by armed civilians." Name the title and author of the source of this information.


7. "Gun advocates argue that many mass murderers target 'gun-free' zones." According to the National Review Online, in what countries did the three worst K–12 school shootings take place until the Newtown horror?


8. What is the answer to the essay's guiding question, and is this answer found at the beginning or end of the essay?

Your final task is to answer the questions. Here are a few tips. You can copy and paste answers directly into your document from the sources. You will find some of the answers in the Slate essay, but you will also find some of the answers in the articles to which the Slate essay links. Be sure to read through the links as well as the essay itself.

When you are done, save, print, and hand it your Word document. 

This post if for FRESHMEN only.

Hansberry's title for A Raisin in the Sun came from a poem by Langston Hughes. First, read the poem.

A Dream Deferred

by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up 

like a raisin in the sun? 

Or fester like a sore-- 

And then run? 

Does it stink like rotten meat? 

Or crust and sugar over-- 

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags 

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Now go to my 'tostu' folder (open the jcowlin folder) and open the document entitled "A Dream Deferred: Text and Activity." Complete the activity by typing directly into the document. Be sure to save your copy to your personal folder and to print out a copy to receive credit.

Juniors - Here's the full video if you're interested.

Morning Announcement

Morning Announcements Feb. 1, 2013 from Glenbrook South Television on Vimeo.