St. Patrick's Day

Just like the Dominican Republic has a patron saint (and many of it's towns have their own patrons as well), many traditionally Roman Catholic countries have a special saint.

Ireland, an island country in Europe, has Saint Patrick as its patron saint. There are many legends (and rumors!) about Saint Patrick and his day, March 17.

In Ireland, Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated as a public bank holiday - which means there is no work or school! Since the 1990s, it has been a day used to showcase the Irish culture in Ireland and also in the Irish diaspora throughout the world. 

Read more information about Saint Patrick here.

Assignment:
Watch the video about Saint Patrick and read the information in the above link. Decide whether you think that Saint Patrick is a solid choice for the patron saint of Ireland or not. 

Prepare and write a PERSUASIVE paragraph (4-6 sentences) to convince your audience whether Saint Patrick is a good patron or not. You must use at least one FACT from the information found in the video and/or webpage and site your source (like we learned in class).

Publish your paragraph in the comments section below.

Some things to consider.

Watch the following videos. While you're watching, try to listen for the following questions:

How was the first vaccine created?
Why did people think the creator of the vaccine was crazy?

What is community immunity?
How can community immunity prevent the spread of diseases?

Prepare a short response to the questions. You can form a paragraph, following the structure we use in class, that tells a little bit about the history of vaccines and then how vaccines create community immunity. Publish your response in the comment section below. 

Anti-Vaxx

We are investigating the reasons why people choose not to vaccinate their children for our cause and effect essays. In class, we're reading articles and information that explain, mostly, why people in countries other than the United States are not vaccinating their children. However, the "anti-vaxx" movement in the USA is gaining momentum, and has recently come into the media spot light because of an outbreak of measles - a disease that was almost completely eradicated through the use of vaccines.

Watch and listen to the video and find two CAUSES for the anti-vaxx movement in the US and Great Britain. Prepare a short paragraph explaining whether you AGREE or DISAGREE with these reasons for not vaccinating a child.

Publish your response in the comment section below.

Material in WEBSISE

Students, 

Please find the document "COMMA USAGE" in your "materiales en linea" drop box on WEBSISE, print it, and bring it to class. 

IPS Students, you need this document for class on Thursday, March 5.

ILE students, you need this document for class on Monday, March 9.

Week of February 23-27

There will be NO homework on the blog this week as you should be editing and re-writing the final draft of your personal narrative essay.

Please take the time you would normally spend on the blog-based homework and use it to complete your essay.

Thank you!

Personal Narrative Assignment

Over the past three weeks, we've talked in class (and on the blog) about IDENTITY and VALUES.
No blog posts this week - you will write your essay and take an exam.

Assignment:
Write an essay in the personal narrative format/style that addresses one of the following questions:

What does your name mean to you?

What do you value?

What event caused a change in you?

Things to remember:

++For this assignment I am not concerned with how many paragraphs you have - BUT I will be looking closely at the structure of the paragraphs you have and the sentences you use. If you are unsure which punctuation to use to create a complex sentence, MAKE TWO SENTENCES. It is better, at this point, to have choppy sentences that are correct than run-on sentences that are not.

++Please, please, please take advantage of the spell-check on your computer. Microsoft is rarely wrong about misspelled words (and the grammar checker is pretty helpful, too).

++Remember, this is YOUR personal narrative. It belongs to NOBODY else. The more time you spend writing it, the better it will be. Please do not wait until the last minute to complete it. Please do not use your phone to type it out. Beyond the importance of getting a grade for this assignment, you should take PRIDE in your writing, especially because this is YOUR story.

Logistics:

++Your essay needs to be at least 350 and no more than 500 words long. Remember that your paper must be formatted correctly like we discussed in class. (You do NOT need to manually count the number of words, your word processor has a function for that.)

++ You will need to turn in a physical, PRINTED (not hand-written) copy of your essay. You also need to send me a digital copy of the file (professormelaniepucmm@gmail.com)

++I will proof-read your essay and return it to you - the proof-reading checks your grammar (but does not correct it) and gives suggestions for content. You will have exactly one week from the day I return your paper to you to REVISE your essay and turn it back in for a grade.

++When you turn in your FINAL COPY of your essay, I request that you turn in:
           ** Your final, clean copy of the essay

           ** The original proof-read draft (I won't know how much you've worked on the final copy if I can't see the original)
           ** The forms your peer editers filled out, and the original draft that they read

           ** Any graphic organizers, writing prompts or journals that you did IN CLASS as preparation for this essay.

           ** YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF WRITING FROM THIS UNIT. This can be a journal entry, a group writing activity, a homework assignment, anything that you enjoyed writing and think is a good representation of what you've done in class this month.

Check My Grammar

This homework is a little different than other assignments. You will copy and paste the following paragraph into a Word document, find and correct all of the mistakes, and then you will send it to my e-mail, professormelaniepucmm@gmail.com

The mistakes are ONLY in grammatical and structural conventions that we studied in class:
easily confused words, contractions, possessives, capital letters and double-lettered endings.

i sometimes catch myself judgging people I dont no, just because of the first impression they give. in reality, i do not have a clue about there real stories. i especially think people judge teenage girls with Babies to quickly. sure, they may have made a mistake, but the girls' usually know that, and their the ones who have to pay the price. i only experiencced the glares and rude comments for one night, but i thought of all the girls who have to deal with these looks wherever they go. we should all be slowwer to judge these girls, or anyone else, and realize that some things are not as they seam.

(Capital and capitol are often confused words! I had to check to make sure I was using the correct one when creating instructions for this assignment). 

Did you know? Valentine's Day

Assignment: Watch the video found here.
Then, go to this page and read the article about Valentine's Day.

Prepare a paragraph of 4-6 sentences that explains ONE CAUSE (or impetus) that has led to (EFFECT) today's traditional celebration of St. Valentine's Day.
For example: St. Valentine is a priest who went against the King's order (for what? I don't know! Read the page!), his saint day is celebrated on February 14.

Publish your paragraph in the comments section below.

Things that Change Us.

Read the following short story "The Little Things are Big Things," by Jesus Colon, a Puerto-Rican American who lived in New York City. Have you ever had an experience impact you so much that you decided to change your behavior because of it?

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"I’ve been thinking; you know, sometimes one thing happens to change your life, how you look at things, how you look at yourself. I remember one particular event. It was when? 1955 or '56...a long time ago. Anyway, I had been working at night. I wrote for the newspaper and, you know, we had deadlines. It was late after midnight on the night before Memorial Day. I had to catch the train back to Brooklyn; the West side IRT. This lady got on to the subway at 34th and Penn Station, a nice looking white lady in her early twenties. Somehow she managed to push herself in with a baby on her right arm and a big suitcase in her left hand. Two children, a boy and a girl about three and five years old trailed after her.



Anyway, at Nevins Street I saw her preparing to get off at the next station, Atlantic Avenue. That’s where I was getting off too. It was going to be a problem for her to get off; two small children, a baby in her arm, and a suitcase in her hand. And there I was also preparing to get off at Atlantic Avenue. I couldn’t help but imagine the steep, long concrete stairs going down to the Long Island Railroad and up to the street. Should I offer my help? Should I take care of the girl and the boy, take them by their hands until they reach the end of that steep long concrete stairs?



Courtesy is important to us Puerto Ricans. And here I was, hours past midnight, and the white lady with the baby in her arm, a suitcase and two white children badly needing someone to help her.




I remember thinking; I’m a *Negro and a Puerto Rican. Suppose I approach this white lady in this deserted subway station late at night? What would she say? What would be the first reaction of this white American woman? Would she say: 'Yes, of course you may help me,' or would she think I was trying to get too familiar or would she think worse? What do I do if she screamed when I went to offer my help? I hesitated. And then I pushed by her like I saw nothing as if I were insensitive to her needs. I was like a rude animal walking on two legs just moving on, half running along the long the subway platform, leaving the children and the suitcase and the woman with the baby in her arms. I ran up the steps of that long concrete stairs in twos and when I reached the street, the cold air slapped my warm face.


Perhaps the lady was not prejudiced after all. If you were not that prejudiced, I failed you, dear lady. If you were not that prejudiced I failed you; I failed you too, children. I failed myself. I buried my courtesy early on Memorial Day morning.


So, here is the promise I made to myself back then: if I am ever faced with an occasion like that again, I am going to offer my help regardless of how the offer is going to be received. Then I will have my courtesy with me again."


------------------------
Jesus Colon made a promise to himself that he would offer help to others no matter how the other person may react. By NOT helping the woman with her children, he was changed.

Assignment: Have you ever had an experience that affected you so much that you decided to change your behavior because of it? What was it like? Write one paragraph about it (you know the rules! 4-6 sentences following the structure we've practiced in class. Try to incorporate the transition and/or signal words!)

Prepare, proofread and publish in the comment section below.

Comments DISABLED ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15 at 9:15am.

Tell a story.

This is a picture taken by a National Geographic photographer in Lagos, Nigeria.

In one PARAGRAPH (4-6 sentences, following the structure we've been working with in class), tell what is going on in the picture. Give details to describe the photo and make your reader, who cannot see the picture, understand what you see.

Publish your paragraph in the comment section below.

What's in a name?

Hello Students!
There is only one option for homework this week: this one! 

Read the following selection, a short story called a vignette, by Sandra Cisneros from her book House on Mango Street. You'll find the assignment questions below!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing.

It was my great-grandmother's name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse--which is supposed to be bad luck if you're born female-but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don't like their women strong.

My great-grandmother. I would've liked to have known her, a wild, horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn't marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That's the way he did it.

And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn't be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window.

At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister's name Magdalena--which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least- -can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza. would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Assignment: Answer the following comprehension questions. Remember to answer each question using a complete sentence. ("Her dad" is not a complete sentence. "Esperanza is named after her dad" is.) Then, read the "Think Deeper" questions. Choose ONE and a prepare a short paragraph (3-5 sentences) that answers the question. Remember to follow the structure we've been practicing in class for your paragraph. Publish the answers to the questions and your paragraph in the comment section below.

Comprehension Questions:

1. After whom was Esperanza named? 
2. What does Esperanza find shameful or burdensome about her name? 
3. What kind of name would Esperanza like for herself?

Think Deeper

Why might Cisneros (the author) have chosen this name for her protagonist? What could her name represent?

What does her namesake's story tell you about the status of women in Latino society?

Flower Power and Hugs

Peaceful (and not so peaceful) protests have been a way for Americans to express their feelings and ideas en masse for years. Oftentimes, when a problem arises that affects many people in an unjust way, people take to the streets to show the authorities what they think.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the first major proponents of non-violence during the Civil Rights Movement and his ideas have left a lasting impact.

In the last assignment, you listened to a song about the Vietnam War. This war was no very popular in the USA (that's why they had to draft young men to go to the war!), and there were many protests in cities throughout the country. A lot of the peaceful protests turned violent when the police lost control.

If you're interested, you can check out The Kent State Incident to read more about how the police opened fire at a university war-protest. 

In October of 1967, anti-Vietnam War protesters gathered at the Pentagon. The police were there in riot gear. The picture below shows a young woman, Jane Rose Kasmir, placing a daisy in the barrel of a gun.

La jeune fille a la fleur, Marc Ribauld

Protests don't just happen at war time. In recent history, there have been HUGE gatherings in Washington to protest the legalization of abortion, the defunding of public schools and even to protest racism.

Very recently, there have been protests throughout the country against police brutality and racism. You may have seen pictures of famous people, especially famous African-Americans, with their hands in the air saying "hands up, don't shoot", or have seen the hashtag #wecantbreathe. Events in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City have led people to attend "die - ins" and to gather in protest in large cities. The protests have not been 100% peaceful, but, like in the picture above, there are glimpses of humanity and peace in them.

Below is a picture of a twelve year old boy hugging a police officer. The boy had been holding a sign saying "free hugs," and, as the story goes, the police officer started a conversation with him. When they finished speaking, the officer said "well, don't I get a hug?"

Assignment: Prepare a well-thought out narrative paragraph of 4-6 sentences that tells the story of ONE of the people in these pictures. (For example, you could write the perspective of the police officer receiving a hug.) Make sure you have an introduction sentence AND a conclusion sentence.

Publish your paragraph in the comments below.

Story Telling through Music

There are many ways that people tell stories. The oral tradition of story telling has been around since the beginning of time. When writing came into existence, those oral stories were then transcribed into writing. Lucky for us, though, oral storytelling did not stop.

One form of (very popular) oral story telling is music.  Sacred music tells us the story of the gods.  Popular music of different time periods tells us the values of its listeners and even what was happening at the time! Even classical music played with only instruments tells a story.

Listen to the song Travelling Soldier by The Dixie Chicks. It is a fairly "new" song, but tells a story that was common in the 1960s and 1970s in the United States. The US was fighting a war in Vietnam, and due to low enrollment in the armed forces (like the Army), the government drafted young men to go fight. If they didn't go, they went to jail instead. Many soldiers left behind sweethearts, and they shared letters (because there wasn't any e-mail!).

You can find the lyrics to this song here

Assignment:

Listen to the video and watch the video footage. If you need to, read the lyrics along with the song for better understanding.
Answer each of the following three questions with 2-3 well developed sentences.

1. Do you think that the sweet girl and the soldier were truly in love? Why or why not?

2. What might have made the news that her "boyfriend" was dead easier for the girl?

3. The girl probably knew that something terrible could happen to the soldier, but she wrote him letters anyway and put her heart into it. Is it better to take the risk for love or to avoid heartbreak?

What do you value?

When we meet people for the very first time, there are two questions that most ask:
What is your name?
What do you do?

Our name and our "job" often define us for others. But! Are you more than just a name and an occupation? 

What do you value?

"Values are central; they go to the very core of us, to our personal identity.  Our principles are perhaps the most important thing as, whether or not we live out our dream or achieve our mission, they are most likely to remain intact. Values are a foundation and a plumb line as well as a moral compass." -- therightquestions.org

Self exploration is necessary for your first writing assignment: the personal narrative essay. You will need to pinpoint a time in your life that helped you to understand your personal values. Self exploration is difficult - it is much easier to critique others than it is to critique ourselves. St. Augustine even said

“Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.”  

We search the universe for wonderful things without realize that we are wonderful creatures! 

Assignment:
Take a few minutes to think about your values or priorities in life. Make a list of four things/ideas that you value in order from most important to least important and publish your answer in the comments below.

(Some common values: family, faith, education, friends, romance, career, money) 

A picture is worth 1000 words

Below you will see the photo Migrant Mother by renowned photo journalist Dorothea Lange. 

In order to analyze the photo in writing, we, as writers, must ask some general questions:

When, where, and by whom was the work made?
Where would the work originally be seen? (In a museum? Probably not!)

What purpose did this piece serve?
For whom was the work made?
From what materials was it made?

"Asking questions can be a useful strategy early in the writing process, especially for students who feel they don't have much to say about the material they've been asked to write about. The first step in developing ideas about a text/work of art is to look closely at it. Asking questions and answering them is one way to focus your attention; it's also a way to begin finding things to say. Unexpected answers often emerge as soon as you raise a question." - A Short Guide to College Writing, Second Edition

The questions that we ask will depend on our interests and how the text (or work of art) affects us. An architecture student might be interested in the construction of the piece - how each shape fits together to form the whole - while a sociology student might question the significance of the boys' turned away faces.

Assignment: Choose ONE of the following questions and answer it in three to five sentences. Publish your response in the comments section below.

          ** What is the focus of this photo?
          ** How would you describe the mother's facial expression?
          ** What is surprising or strange about the image?
          ** How might the subject (mother) have felt about being photographed?