Monday, January 31, 2011

Jasmine Revolution Questions

1. Read the following article:

Walt, Vivienne. “Tunisia’s Nervous Neighbors Watch the Jasmine Revolution: The Arab world ponders the lessons of its first successful popular uprising.” Time. 31 January 2011.

I have provided definitions for some names and terms with which you might not be familiar. As you are reading, underline the following names and terms with colored pencil:

Nelson Mandela: First African president of South Africa.
Vaclav Havel: First president of Czech Republic (after break-up of Czechoslovakia).
Macabre: grim or ghastly.
Martyr: Someone who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a cause.
Ordnance: ammunition.
Al-Jazeera: Arab satellite news network based in Doha, Qatar.
Bolshevik Revolution: Russian Revolution of 1917 which created a communist state.
Carthaginian ruins: Carthage was an ancient city and civilization located near modern Tunis.
WikiLeaks: An international organization which publishes classified documents and communication over the internet.

2. Questions: Please answer with complete sentences on a separate sheet of paper.

1. What is a revolution?
2. Why did Tunisians overthrow President Ben Ali?
3. Describe how the revolution unfolded.
4. Prior to 2008, Tunisia was a prosperous country. What happened to the country’s economy in the past two years? What caused this to happen?
5. Why could the revolution in Tunisia have an effect on its Arab neighbors in North Africa and the Middle East?

Photo Credit: Christophe Ena /AP.

Geo Quiz #29: Asia Physical Features

Rivers: Euphrates, Huang He (Yellow), Indus, Irrawaddy, Mekong, Yangtze, Ganges.
Mountain Ranges: Himalayas, Hindu Kush
Bodies of Water: Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Lake Baikal
Deserts: Gobi Desert

A blank map of Asia can be found here.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Geo Quiz #28: Western Asia

Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
Bodies of Water: Caspian Sea, Aral Sea.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Geo Quiz #27: East Asia

Countries: China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan.
Capitals: Beijing, Tokyo, Ulan Bator, Pyongyang, Seoul, Taipei.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Geo Quiz #26: Southeast Asia

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.

Map Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Geo Quiz #25: South Asia

Countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.

Cities: Kabul, Karachi, Mumbai, New Delhi.

A blank map of South Asia can be found here.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Geo Quiz #24: African Cities

Cairo, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Kinshasa, Khartoum, Abidjan, Kampala, Brazzaville, Lagos, Dakar, Accra, Tunis, Rabat, Algiers, Tripoli.

A Map of Africa cam be found here.
Cape Town photo Wikimedia Commons.

Geo Quiz #23: African Physical Features

Rivers: Congo, Gambia, Niger, Nile, Zambezi.
Lakes: Chad, Victoria, Tanganyika, Malawi.
Mountain Ranges: Atlas, Drakensberg.
Mountains: Kilimanjaro, Kenya.

Atlas Mountains photo Wikimedia Commons.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Sudan Updates

NYT:
Jan. 9: "Southern Sudanese, in Jubilant Mood, Vote on Secession."
Jan. 10: "Voting is Peaceful in South Sudan despite Border Clashes." Addendum: BBC Somaliland Overview.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Ivory Coast Updates

NYT:
Jan. 4: "Ivory Coast Leader Softens Position in Crisis."
Jan. 5: "Ivory Coast Leader's Rival Remains Under Blockade."

Notetaking: Africa: Days 1 & 2

1. Record citation of article.

Nossiter, Adam. "Diplomacy Again Falls Short in Tense Ivory Coast Standoff." The New York
Times
. 3 January 2011.

Perry, Alex. "Can Sudan Split Without Falling Apart?" Time. 10 January 2011.

2. Read article and highlight important information with colored pencil. Look up any words you do not know in the dictionary and record those definitions and parts of speech.

3. Record Main Idea of article in complete sentence form. Decide what the article is actually about.

4. Record notes in bullet point fashion. Notes should not be complete sentences. Notes should include relevant information to Main Idea of article. Include information only. Do not include direct quotes.

5. Using your notes as your reference, create a short, one paragraph summary of the article. The first sentence should be your topic sentence and should contain the Main Idea. The rest of the paragraph should support the Main Idea with additional information. The paragraphy should be in your own words. It should not include the exact wording of sentences which is found in the original article. This is known as paraphrasing.

Ivory Coast #1-4 due Wed, Jan. 5
Ivory Coast #5 due Thurs, Jan. 6
Sudan #1-5 due Fri, Jan. 7

Photo credit: Time Magazine.

Fantasy Storyboards

Requirements:
  • At least 9 panels
  • Banner at top with title of story
  • 1 inch border around Storyboard
Each panel must include:
  • Exactly 1 sentence explaining what is happening in the panel. This text should be different than the sentences you wrote for your Fantasy Element assignment. Here you are describing what happens in your story in SEQUENTIAL FASHION.
  • Picture illustrating what is happening in the panel.
These elements must appear in the storyboard (though not necessarily in this order):
  • The Hero
  • The Sidekick
  • The Mentor
  • The Antagonist
  • A Mythical Creature
  • A Portal
  • The Fantasy World
  • The Quest
  • At least 2 obstacles the Hero will encounter on the Quest
  • The Climax of the Story
  • The Return of the Hero
Storyboards may be created with pencil. Inking and coloring of the storyboards is encouraged but not required.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Fantasy Story Elements

Stories relating to Heros and their Quests can be traced back to the dawn of civilization. The lineage of heroes can be traced from Gilgamesh to Odysseus to Frodo Baggins to Percy Jackson. Your fantasy story will contain many of the conventions of the fantasy genre that have been developed by storytellers over the years. For this assignment, you will describe each of the fantasy elements which will be included in your story. There will be a minimum sentence requirement for each element.

This assignment does not represent your actual story. This assignment serves as a means for you to plan your actual fantasy story.

1. Hero engaging in normal activity: 2+ sentences.
2. Portal to the Fantasy World: 2.
3. Fantasy World: 4.
4. Sidekick: 3.
5. Mentor: 2.
6. Antagonist: 3.
7. Quest: 3.
8. Obstacle #1: 2.
9. Obstacle #2: 2
10. Climax: 2.
11. Return Home: 2.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Geo Quiz #22: Eastern Africa

Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda.

Geo Quiz #21: Southern Africa

Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe.